20 Signs of Life From 2003

Neil Young vs. Jimmy Page? I’ll take Neil Young at his soulful, ragged best any day, although he doesn’t have half the guitar technique of the Led Zeppelin maestro. And although Jack White of The White Stripes is frequently compared to Page, he has more Neil Young in him than most critics want to admit. A limited technician, White manages to do more with less than almost any guitarist in contemporary music.

Those minimalistic techniques are displayed gloriously on Elephant, The White Stripes’ fourth CD release. Recapturing the raw blues power and wattage of classic Zeppelin and Stones albums, White’s guitar squawks, squeals, soars, and generally rocks the house. “Ball and Biscuit” is a single-entendre, greasy blues strut, “Black Math” is Foghat-styled boogie, and “Hypnotize” is hypercharged Zep complete with a Robert Plant-like wail. Eleven other songs continue in the same vein. So forget the fact that Jack White is no Jimmy Page, that he’s no Dylan in the lyrics department, or that Meg White’s Neanderthal thumping does little more than keep the thunderous beat. It doesn’t matter. On Elephant, it’s all about the noise, and Jack White can bring it. The brutal, searing guitar riff that explodes a minute into the opener “Seven Nation Army” will remind you of all the reasons you love rock ’n’ roll.