London, England
6 December 2001
In July and August 2001, the White Stripes performed live in the UK for the first time, their front page NME appearance and those live appearances provoked the biggest media storm of hype in years. Headlines shrieked:
"Blunk Music - The greatest band since the Sex Pistols or Hendrix (Daily Mirror)
"The best thing since Hendrix?" (The Times)
"The great White hope of pop? (The Telegraph)
and more accurately
"Britain's rock fans make stars of US White Stripes" (The Guardian).
The band said they were "overwhelmed" by the attention of the British media, at the time they did not even have a UK record deal.
From the distance of 15 years later, the hype seems like mid-summer madness, until you dig a little deeper and understand that big names on the music scene at that time were Papa Roach and Limp Bizkit. The Strokes and the White Stripes signalled something new, a back to basics approach to music, providing raw excitement and energy.
James Oldham of the NME described their live set as follows:
"They veer wildly from their own material, seguing into deliberate covers like Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' or Blind Willie McTell's 'Ticket Agent Blues' and occasionally incorporate a few bars of a '60s garage classic like Link Wray's 'Jack The Ripper' into whatever song they happen to be playing. Their own material is just as startling, suddenly jack-knifing from the overdriven blues feedback of 'Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground' and 'Death Letter' to the melodic folk simplicity of 'Hotel Yorba' or 'We're Going To Be Friends'. In the space of 45 minutes, they plot a course though Nirvana, the blues, Wings, the Pixies, '60s garage, Led Zeppelin and the Kinks. It's a revelation, an amazing spectacle fuelled by defiant simplicity. They finally quit the stage drenched in sweat, looking totally exhausted. There's a brief silence then deafening applause."
And in his most prescient comment he states:
"That no one in Britain really knows who they are yet is besides the point. In a week's time, no-one will be talking about anything else."
The White Stripes would return to tour in November and December 2001, promoting their third album and most successful to date 'White Blood Cells'. Now that the two Peel sessions have been officially released, this pre-fm recording from the Forum in London is the best bootleg document of this time. Part of the set has been released on a limited picture disc vinyl record appropriately titled 'I Think I Smell A Hype.'
1. Fell In Love With A Girl
2. When I Hear My Name
3. I Think I Smell A Rat
4. Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
6. Expecting
7. Death Letter
8. Little Room
9. The Union Forever
10. Jolene
11. I'm Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman
12. Hotel Yorba
13. Isis
14. You're Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
15. We're Going To Be Friends
16. Apple Blossom
17. I Fought Piranhas
18. Let's Build A Home
19. Astro
20. Jack The Ripper
21. Rated X
22. I'm Bored
23. Screwdriver
Source: SBD>DAT>PRE-FM>CDR>EAC>WAV>mkwACT>SHN
Quality: A+
Original note from the seeder:
I had to remove track 5, "Lovesick," from this torrent because it violates DAD/EZT seeding rules: it appeared as a b-side on the White Stripes' 2002 single "Fell In Love With A Girl" (XL Recordings/Third Man - XLS-142CD2). I wish I could torrent the complete SBD>DAT>Pre-FM>CDR version of this show but rules are rules. I compared the SHN file from this version of this show to the FILWAG single. They sound identical. The sound quality is *that* good. Hopefully someday the White Stripes will decide to release the entire show. Until then... CitizenGatsby
No comments:
Post a Comment