BEDA #25: Walking With a Ghost review

Album Review
“Walking With a Ghost”-- The White Stripes

Being exceedingly familiar with Tegan and Sara’s version of “Walking With A Ghost”, I was I had high expectations with this cover. On first listen, The White Stripes’ version sounds discordant and screechy. On subsequent plays, I found that the instrumental breaks added character to the song, and I enjoyed the guitar riffs and tuning. This version has a harder, grittier feel.

The live version of Same Boy You’ve Always Known has a distinctly acoustic feel, which tends to be absent from Walking With a Ghost. The ordering of this song after the first provides a contrast which highlights its acoustic, bare-bones nature.

In As Ugly As I Seem, vocalist Jack White whispers softly into the microphone. The recording sounds intimate and quiet, as if he was playing to a living room, rather than an entire stadium. Using live recordings for this EP makes the emotion that is conveyed in these songs all the more tangible and real. It feels like Jack and Meg White are playing to a group of people and speaking directly to them, as if I was being directly acknowledged.

The Denial Twist begins with a guitar riff and screechy vocals that are reminiscent of early AC/DC tracks. This is my introduction to The White Stripes, to be honest, so I’m new to their style of music. It was interesting to observe Jack White’s versatility and range of emotion, from the emotional Same Boy You’ve Always Known to the old-school rock style of this song.

Screwdriver, too, reminds one of old-school rock. The White Stripes carry off the attitude that comes with this music with aplomb. Meg White more than makes up for the lack of other instrumentation with drumming that synchronizes perfectly with Jack’s guitar. “You need to know the difference between a father and a lover” has traces of Freud, but obviously, taken in context, has a feminist tone.

I have to admit, I only bought this CD because of this one track. Other reviews compare The Kills to The White Stripes. I’ve only heard The Kills’ Midnight Boom, but to put The White Stripes in the same boat would be a mistake, as they sound nothing alike, beyond the initial male/female duo arrangement.