Surely many of you have heard of Detroit’s double act The White Stripes or Akron, Ohio’s duo The Black Keys. Both bands goals are simple they want to rock the shit out of you. The two bands have unique aesthetics simply being a two-man blues rock duo composed of a guitarist and drummer. Each band has there own way of playing, songwriting, and recording. Whether you love Meg White’s simplistic drumming or you melt at the sound of Dan Auerbach’s voice, both groups differ in variety. But, which of the two is the odd band out? We’ll take a look at the guitarists, drummers, and 3 albums starting from the first, to the magnum opus record, and latest.
Jack White is now known as one of the contemporary bluesman of our generation. His high shrieking voice similar to that of Ray Davies and Robert Plant. Hits home with his fast paced guitar work and spastic guitar solos. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys voice is very grizzly and baritone usually compared to deceased delta blues player Junior Kimbrough. Auerbach uses his thumb to play bass notes and ring finger to pluck the higher notes, giving a melody with both rhythm and bass; A great trait of The Black Keys. Generally White uses a pick to play guitar, but is a master of soloing and performing catchy guitar hooks. Both White and Auerbach play slide guitar (a glass or lead pipe worn on the finger) astonishingly, picking up sounds of the great delta-blues players such as John Lee Hooker or Robert Johnson. Jack blends different genres of music with his old time rock and roll that involve punk, folk, and yes, even heavy metal. Dan just sticks with dirty southern delta blues but sometimes dabbles in folk, country, gospel, jazz, and psychedelic rock. As far as songwriting goes Jack’s lyrics deal with love, heartbreak, existentialism, and eccentric vaudevillian acts. With lyrics such as “Well the windows turning blue, and the waters overflowing. And I hope I’m not a fool, for laughing at myself as you were going.” Dan’s lyrics are if anything, sub par, nothing we’ve already heard in typical blues music, such as the song “Keep Me.” “Keep me clean, keep me warm. Keep my soul away from harm.” Dan does have one great song where his songwriting really shines. In the song “The Lengths,” the first acoustic song by the band, the lyrics really come out and show the imagery of a love that is no more. With lyrics such as, “ Tell me what you were thinkin’/ to treat somebody so/ the care, he took the lengths/ to which he’d go/ Coals are hot to walk across/ without your shoes, but in the end/ you know that you have nothing to loose.”
Both bands perform a diverse selection of cover song on their albums. The White Stripes always create innovative arrangements of Bob Dylan, Cab Calloway, Robert Johnson, and many more. The Black Keys will usually make a more heavier version with lots of distortion and fuzz, such as The Beatles “She Said, She Said,” and The Kinks “Act Nice and Gentle.” On the whole The Black Keys have a thicker richer sound, whereas The White Stripes base their outfit on punk, blues, and garage rock, so normally it’s going to be more intense. Jack will play a simple progression of two to four chords on the guitar and immediately have his audience’s undivided attention. Both guitarists do approach there music with a minimalist style playing a couple of chords notes, Dan’s playing is very hypnotic and slick, once you listen to his playing you’re drawn into his beam of rhythm and blues. Dan uses Gibson Guitars to get a bulky sound when he adds fuzz. Jack uses cheap plastic guitars such as Airline, to get a twangy sound when he performs and records; a perfect sound for solos.
As far as everyone’s concerned most people will usually go with Jack as being the greater part of the two man band, he has rhythm and can solo a madman. His lyrics are brooding, fun, ironic, and catchy. No doubt that he is a true revivalist about blues music. But what about Dan, he uses old blues-guitar techniques, sings more like a delta-blues player, he has the ebb and flow of a true bluesman. When it comes down to it both show great excellence and stamina in rock and roll music. But how about soloing? Well when it comes down to it both are very good at soloing. Jack White is definitely the victor in this department, and it’s not the fact that he has lightning quick solos, it’s the fact that he can mimic so many different genres of music into his guitar “Conquest” has a Latin-matador influenced sound and Jack dabbles in all sorts of genres, being a big leader in the alternative rock community. Dan Auerbach can solo but not as well as Jack, Dan tends to fill little solos in between drum fills of drummer Pat Carney. But if anything The Black Keys aren’t about crazy solos they just want you to lay back and enjoy the music. Ff anything Dan would probably make a great bass player in the long run.
As far as two piece bands go guitarists would be nothing without their drummers, Meg White’s childish minimalist drumming and Pat Carney’s jazzy drum style both exceed excellent in playing the drums. Pat’s solos are loud and rhythmic, yet soothing, his use of cymbals and snares give a neutral sound not too soft and not too loud. Giving the band an excellent beat and mood. But this doesn’t mean that Meg’s a bad drummer, if anything Meg White is the perfect drummer for Jack. She plays along with Jack’s strumming using the bass drum, and the jingle of the ride cymbal to give a perfect garage rock revival sound. She even has a great singing voice an example is in the song “In The Cold, Cold Night,” “St. Andrew (This Battle Is In the Air)” and “It’s True That We Love One Another.” She does have a childish style to her drumming but that’s what’s charming about the White Stripes is there childish attitude and stage presence. But she can definitely rock out and make her drums sound thunderous, almost tribal. A great example is in the track “Black Math” she practically sounds like John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. Pat’s drumming is a lot more organized and structured, giving him the option to perform stunning drum breaks, solos, and time signatures together he and Dan coordinate through rhythm and bass almost taking over one another, such as the song “Girl Is On My Mind,” the way the two switch of there timing and fills is mind blowing. Pat is a very big factor in The Black Keys personally he has the perfect drive and rhythm to accompany Dan’s magnetic guitar riffs. He is the perfect drummer for Dan. In fact, if anything Pat’s drumming brings out Dan’s guitar even more, the two literally count on each other to make there music spring out. What’s fascinating about Meg though is not only does she play drums but she also uses percussive instruments such as maracas, egg shakers, castanets, and even bells. There’s definitely a more “do-it-yourself,” aesthetic to Meg’s drumming and percussion. In a way she’s almost like a child playing it simple to the beat of Jack’s guitar.
Both drummers are stunning and innovative, and possess a natural talent with their instruments. But truthfully Pat Carney has the upper hand when it comes to being a drummer. He has more of a say in The Black Keys than Meg does in The White Stripes. Pat also helps out in recording, and producing most of their albums, he even plays lap steel guitar on “The Lengths.” He has an amazing sense of timing, drive, and can rock out and loose control any second. Seeing Pat perform is always a treat as well, his glasses will usually fly off his face when he’s soloing. He just has more attitude and looks like he’s having fun on stage, he looks like how a real musician should look when playing. Meg just sits there with a blank expression waiting for Jack to start off. Point goes to Pat Carney of The Black Keys.
Now most people know that when looking back on both these bands. They’re quite different now to what they were back then. Recording processes changed, overproduction is used; the band gets bigger, blah, blah, blah. But that’s what makes bands and music in general so unique? The first White Stripes album, 1999 self-titled “The White Stripes” was recorded in what used to be a run-down chicken-processing factory, but then became Ghetto Recorders studio in Detroit. The Black Keys debut album came out a few years later in 2002’s “The Big Come Up”. It was recorded in Pat’s basement, within seven hours. Both bands used a four-track recorder for a more lo-fi homemade sound. And it’s very apparent in both albums. With reverberating guitar, background hiss, peaking mics, and echoing drums, fit with raw rock and roll. “The Big Come Up” as a whole flows really nicely, the opening track, “Busted” is a great opener for the album showing off Dan’s rhythm and slide guitar techniques along with Pat’s crash cymbal, snare, and bass drums booming. Other tracks such as “The Breaks” and “Heavy Soul” show that The Black Keys can play 3 different notes over and over for three minutes and still make it sound catchy, and alive. Pat’s drum work is another great thing that gives this album texture and movement, especially in the tracks “Them Eyes” and “Yearnin.” The whole album is fantastic there isn’t a single song to skip, The Black Keys have a huge vintage sound to there playing, almost as if your listening to an old blues record from the 1930’s. Each song lasts about two to three minutes, so every song is catchy, heavy, and addictive as the album progresses. The album is mostly delta blues mixed in with garage rock it’s a simplistic album nonetheless, just two guys jamming out in their basement. With simple three to for chord progression; easy and simple, just like old rock n roll.
As for “The White Stripes,” not so much, there are a lot of great songs on this album but it flows too weirdly, leaving the listener bored at times, a lot of the songs almost sound similar both “Astro” and “Cannon” are fairly comparable sounding and both songs play after one another. However, Meg’s drumming is thunderous and loud which compliments Jack’s guitar in both songs. A lot of the songs can be repetitious and points, it seems that some songs are too long and really drag out for a while. It’s a very eclectic album; the track “Sugar Never Tasted So Good” is a good folk-blues acoustic song with Meg on the drums giving a garage-rock jingle to her drums. The track “Screwdriver” shows that Jack can really shred on guitar, the opening solo sounds like a cluttered mess at first, then it tears into this sly bluesy riff sounding similar to The Stooges. “The White Stripes” is a great album, but it doesn’t hold a candle up to “The Big Come Up,” the album is too long in general, it would’ve been better if they had taken a couple of tracks off the list.
Now for the magnum opus of the two bands, in 2003 The White Stripes released there album “Elephant,” which is a masterpiece at it’s best. The opening track, “Seven Nation Army” caught the ears of a new generation, and started bringing the band to higher places. “Elephant” is a lot different in comparison to the self-titled album; it’s angrier, darker, deeper, and even more whimsical than the first. This album flows amazingly, it is more overproduce with piano and guitar riffs overlay with Jack’s backing vocals during the gospel-soul track, “There’s No Home For You Here” and the melodramatic Burt Bacharach cover, “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself.” The album is not overproduced to where it’s obnoxious or noticeable. With heavy blues driven crashing drums and loud fuzzy guitar in “Black Math” and “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine,” The Whites Stripes have progressed even beyond blues-punk, and as your listening to this album it’s crazy to think that it’s only two people making all this music. With bizarre songs such as “Little Acorns” The White Stripes got Detroit newscaster, Mort Crim, to do an opening audio skit to this surreal Black Sabbath sounding song. Meg’s drumming really improved in “Elephant,” her jungle-like tom and bass drum give a heavy epic beat in “Hardest Button to Button” and makes Jack’s minimal guitar use not wasteful. “Elephant” has everything a listener needs great songs, catchy melodies, and ball busting drumbeats.
The Black Keys released the album “Rubber Factory” in 2004, which was oddly enough recorded in a rubber factory. This album pretty much put The Black Keys on the map and brought on their later success. The album was finished in two weeks, and shortly thereafter the record caught on quick. The start off, “When The Lights Go Out” is an eerie and dark, sounding like the track came crawling out of the swampy delta. The Black Keys also started working with psychedelic rock; having many overlays of backwards guitar solos that would make The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix proud. Like “Elephant” “Rubber Factory” is a little overproduced than the last two albums, leaving it with overdubbed and backward guitar solos. “Aeroplane Blues” is a great example of Dan’s psychedelic sounding drone from his guitar, while Pat lays down a dirty trashy beat on his drum set. Dan and Pat’s showmanship really show in the track “Girl Is On My Mind” when each is left doing rhythmic patterns and switching duties of playing notes. They do a cover by The Kinks called “Act Nice And Gentle” and it’s one of the corniest songs in the whole Black Keys discography, nothing special, just a whiny song, with whiny lyrics, and a whiny guitar solo. The one track that really stands out in “Rubber Factory” is “The Lengths” as said earlier, this is one of the first acoustic folk, alt-country, blues whatever you want to call it song that The Black Keys have ever done. It features Pat playing drums and lap steel guitar, giving the track a country-like sounding ballad. The lyrics are sad and heartbreaking and you can hear it in Dan’s voice how emotional he was feeling when singing this melancholy song. “Rubber Factory” isn’t as raw as the debut album but it’s a great album nonetheless.
Nothing will compare to what comes next in The Black Keys line-up; their latest album released in 2007, “Attack & Release” is there most diverse album by far. The album itself is deeply inspired by gospel and soul music. Produced by Danger Mouse, “Attack & Release” is highly overproduced. Even the first track, “All You Ever Wanted” shows off the extravagance of overproduction, with overlaying acoustic guitars, church organs, and altered vocals. It doesn’t even sound like there’s two guys playing, it sounds like a band; it sounds like The Black Keys got a back up band. However the track “I Got Mine” sounds like an older version of The Black Keys. There are a few guest musicians in this album as well, such as Pat’s uncle Ralph Carney (Tom Waits saxophonist), jazz guitarist Marc Ribot, and folk singer Jessica Lea Mayfield. Ribot’s surf style guitar solo in “So He Won’t Break” is spine chilling and dark, and Mayfield on backing vocals through out the album mesh perfectly with Dan’s low voice. Carney’s flute playing in “Same Old Thing” sounds as if Jethro Tull and Jimi Hendrix combined forces. Not going to lie I wanted to take a shower after hearing this album. It’s basically The Black Keys selling out, pulling a Dylan, whatever you want to call you it. This album is very overproduced and the songs can be boring at times. The songs are repetitious and far too long to be Black Keys songs. “Attack & Release” is different and in some ways good with composing arrangements in music.
Finally the latest album from The White Stripes comes 2007’s “Icky Thump” which a lot more diverse than “Attack & Release.” The White Stripes take “Icky Thump” to a whole new level with traditional Scottish, Latin, and of course blues music. This album is fun and zany “Icky Thump” if anything would be “The White Album” of The White Stripes. The first track “Icky Thump” has very political lyrics towards the immigration laws, and the dark corrupt consumerist nation that is America. Same thing goes for the track “Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn” a Scottish folk song accompanied by bagpipes. With lyrics such as, “One sound can hold back a thousand hands, when the pipe plays a tune forlorn. And the thistle is a prickly flower aye, but how it is sweetly worn.” No doubt the album is about the current events of ’07. “Catch Hell Blues” sounds like an old White Stripes song with great slide guitar and lyrics about digging for water, and testifying religious views. Another epic song is “Conquest” the song is accompanied by horns sounding similar to a matador bull fight, Jack’s shrieking vocals echo as he’s accompanied by Meg on backing vocals and jungle like drums. “Icky Thump” as a whole is a great album, a staple in any music collector’s collection.
Both bands are amazing but now it’s the time for the verdict. Which two-man band has the better part to the blues-punk outfit? The White Stripes are great, but in all honesty The Black Keys are better than The White Stripes, but I still like The White Stripes a lot. When I was fifteen I picked up “The Big Come Up” it was the first album I owned by them. Looking at the pictures in the records I saw two guys sitting on a porch dressed in normal clothes just hanging out. It looked like I could have a beer with them. And I connected to that cause they two normal guys. The White Stripes base their band around three colors of white, red, and black, and that’s why I don’t fancy them too much. It’s all about theatrics, and the fact that Jack and Meg play off like their brother and sister even though they were married once. The Black Keys can play heavy or sot blues and make you feel good to dance. The two bands are great and excel in amazing talent and fusing blues music with different genres of music. It’s the future that makes us wonder what these bands will sound like later on in life.
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