The White Stripes - Icky Thump (2007) {Warner US 180g 2x LP} 24/192khz

Icky Thump is the sixth and final studio album by US alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released June 15, 2007 in Germany, June 18, 2007 in the rest of Europe, and June 19, 2007 in the rest of the world. It was the band's first album on Warner Bros. Records.

Icky Thump entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 223,000 copies sold. By late July, Icky Thump was certified gold in the United States. As of March 8, 2008, the album has sold 725,125 copies in the US. On February 10, 2008, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

Icky Thump was recorded and mixed entirely in analog at Nashville's Blackbird Studio by Joe Chiccarelli. According to Chiccarelli in an interview with HitQuarters, the band had already rehearsed and demoed around half the album, with the rest being conceived in the studio. The album took almost three weeks to record—the longest of any White Stripes album to date. The recording differed from previous albums in that White had the comparative luxury of recording to 16-track analog rather than his usual 8-track. Also, Chiccarelli said: "We spent a little more time than he is used to experimenting and trying different things on that album, whether it was different ways to record the drums or the vocals, or different arrangements, or cutting takes together.

The 180g vinyl edition contains alternate versions of both "Icky Thump" and "Rag and Bone". "Icky Thump" is a slightly different mix to the digital version and is also edited to be 14 seconds shorter. "Rag and Bone" is also a different mix but in addition contains totally different vocals for each verse (possibly the original guide vocals and there are no vocals from Meg) and is missing the harmonies from the last chorus.

On December 6, 2007, Icky Thump was nominated for four 2007 Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the single "Icky Thump", winning Best Alternative Album and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. Q Magazine named Icky Thump as the 2nd best album of 2007. Furthermore, the album placed #17 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.


Track listing

All songs by Jack White, except where noted.

01 "Icky Thump" – 4:17
02 "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)" – 3:54
03 "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues" (Jack White, Meg White) – 5:28
04 "Conquest" (Corky Robbins) – 2:48
05 "Bone Broke" – 3:14
06 "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" – 3:05
07 "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)" – 1:49
08 "Little Cream Soda" – 3:45
09 "Rag and Bone" – 3:48
10 "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" – 4:34
11 "A Martyr for My Love for You" – 4:19
12 "Catch Hell Blues" – 4:18
13 "Effect and Cause" – 3:00

The White Stripes

Jack White – vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizer, production, mixing
Meg White – drums, percussion, vocals

Additional personnel

Regulo Aldama – trumpet on "Conquest"
Jim Drury – bagpipes on "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" and "St. Andrew"
Steve Hoffman – vinyl mastering
Vlado Meller – digital mastering