Music Review: White Stripes latest album sticks with you

I'm not quite sure what it is about the addictive musical style of The White Stripes, but simply put, the former husband and wife duo just plain rock.

Their new album, titled "Icky Thump," which was released in June, is the band's sixth album since 1999 and their first on a major record label. From the blaring rock chords and vocals that come from the album's first track and single, "Icky Thump," to the Spanish horns that blast during "Conquest," and even the bagpipes that accompany the slower melodies of "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" and "St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)" there are a variety of different sounds that pump out of the Stripes' latest effort.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Jack White, who also wrote most of the songs on the album, is an extremely talented songwriter and musician who knows how to convey the proper emotions and feel of a particular song. His ex-wife, Meg White, provides the steady thump on the drums as she lays percussion beats to most of the tracks while also providing backing and lead vocals on some tracks.

The album ranges from fast rock tempos, i.e. "Icky Thump," "Conquest," and "Rag and Bone," to slower tunes such as "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)" "A Martyr for My Love for You," and "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn." White mixes a little bit of rock 'n' roll, blues, funk and even metal into this newest mixture of music that seems to come straight from his soul.

The thing that amazes me about the duo is their ability to convey a unique sound that not many of today's best and most popular four and five-piece rock bands can duplicate, in my opinion. And this is, quite simply, two ordinary people, and extraordinary musicians, taking the listener on a musical odyssey; each one of the songs telling a unique and different story of its own. It's the combination of vocals, guitar, piano, drums, keyboards, and a wide array of other instruments that help Jack and Meg tell those stories.

What's intriguing about listening to the Stripes is that a person (at least myself) can often hear hints of the music of such other famous bands as The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and others. At times, White's voice reminds me of The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison's lower-pitched bluesy voice, and other times, I can distinctly hear Robert Plant's high-pitched rock 'n' roll scream; either one is simply music to the ears. And his guitar playing is simply some of the best of the modern musical era.

Meg can also hold her own during the occasional vocal solo, but she is at her thundering best when she pounds the skins, keeping the beat for Jack's shredding guitars, mesmerizing vocals, and the engrossing storytelling of his songs.

I began listening to all of the Stripes' CDs last year, and quickly found myself moving from one album to the next repeatedly, listening first-hand to the duo's development as musicians from their first self-titled album in 1999, to "Icky Thump," released in June 2007. Their music is often riveting, sometimes calming, and always attention-grabbing.

From toe-tapping beats, to the occasional drowsy love ballad, the listener is taken on a journey they will not soon forget.