Listening Room: The White Stripes - “Catch Hell Blues”
As part of my 2007 wrapup, I decided to go back and listen to The White Stripes’ Icky Thump. One of my favorite song titles of the year – one of my favorite song titles ever – is the great “Catch Hell Blues.”
Is it just me or does this one sound a little like Led Zeppelin’s “In My Time of Dying” on massive amounts of steroids? I love Jack’s slash-n-burn slide work and the grinding, shrieking blasts of feedback and sonic mayhem!
Add to all that apocalyptic noise a stanza like this:
And if you’re testing God
And lying to his face
you’re gonna catch hell
That’s just vicious!
I know Stripes’ apologists get sick of people bagging on Meg’s drumming, but she really does sound about two weeks behind the beat on this one.
Filed under: Tags: Listening Room, White Stripes
Come on Josh, this WS track is a good foot stomper with a great title… but you could take all the steroids in Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens combined, and this track doesn’t hold a candle to ‘In My Time Of Dying’.
Tough to say, Sir Sahm. “Catch Hell Blues” is an amphetamine-laden distillation of the epic sprawl of “In My Time of Dying.” They’re both great songs.
Seeing as how Jack White has admitted to the heavy influences of Zep, it’s safe to say he was trying to copy the sound of IMTOD.
Plus, Bonham drumming… case closed.
Copying is a strong word, but of course there’s a Zep influence on what TWS do.
It’s not even worth mentioning Bonham as a better drummer than Meg. It’s kind of like saying water is wet.