The White Stripes - The Hardest Button To Button (XL)
release date: 17 November 2003
The Hardest Button To Button was presumably that on Jack White's shirt, after he sustained a broken finger in the summer. Happily he seems to be over that, and this latest release from the Elephant album reinforces the feeling that a fully fit White Stripes are one of the most vital acts around.
The drill is familiar - an ominous pounding drum and killer guitar riff support the vocal, a radio friendly rock number. Of more interest to fans will be the accompanying cover of a band Jack produced, the Soledad Brothers' song St Ides Of March. Recorded during a soundcheck in Berlin, Jack's bluesy, boozy rock gives the lines 'sweet potato pie, sweet sugar plum' a rough and ready feel.
The video for the single completes the tracklisting - as with director Michel Grondy's previous White Stripes vids, well worth a look.
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