Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes

Get Behind Me Satan, the White Stripes' fifth album, came out in June 2005, through V2 and Third Man in America and XL and Third Man abroad, and it's the duo tearing up their own rulebook. Jack White produced the whole thing, and he and Meg White made it at his house in just February and March of that year.

The stomping garage-blues crunch is still in there, but it's been knocked sideways by odd, experimental production and lyrics that turn over the idea of truth and even name-check the actress Rita Hayworth. "Blue Orchid" is the exception that proves the rule, a shrieking, fuzzed-out riff monster; "My Doorbell" bounces along with a jaunty, loose-limbed swing, and "The Denial Twist" is a gawky, rattling little dance. Even Third Man, Jack White's own label, has called it the most misunderstood record the band made.

Critics liked the risks, though some found the production cramped. It still reached number three in both America and Britain, made the top ten in nine countries, and took Best Alternative Album at the 2006 Grammys, one of two nominations. Oddly, it didn't appear on vinyl until 2015, because the band had meant to cut a separate live version for it that never happened.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.