Jack White is on record as claiming that analogue is the pinnacle of recording technology, so nobody should really be surprised that The White Stripes’ latest, Elephant, is available as a double-vinyl issue. Yes, one record is red while the other is white, and while the colors will no doubt discourage those who already worry about this much-hyped release, this album will blow away every doubt when the needle settles into the groove.

Thanks to a great video for the single, "Fell in Love with a Girl", this band burst onto MTV and the public’s consciousness with last year’s excellent White Blood Cells. Rather than soften their sound in a blatant attempt to build upon a growing mainstream fan base, the Stripes have delved deeper into bluesy roots and sonic experimenting, and while this does indeed lengthen the duo’s reach, the magnificent Elephant proves their ambitions do not exceed their grasp.

Immediately, the ominous bass notes introducing the first single, "Seven Nation Army", signal The White Stripes' intentions to mess with audience expectations. The song grows over a persistent beat only to blast into the churning, snarling bite of the chorus. The hook is almost entirely a few slides of a guitar, hinting at both the band’s desire to experiment with traditional rock song structures and the influence of roots music such as country and blues on the sound of the album.

Even these echoes, however, are more inventive than a listener might first think. While "Bell and Biscuit" certainly duplicates the repeating conventions of blues, Elephant, like many Led Zeppelin albums, feels like blues more than it truly sounds like blues. What at first listen might strike one as a fawning imitation on repeated spins reveals itself as an impressive construction building from obvious influences, and this subtle trick lies at the heart of Elephant’s genius. The band isn’t treading water; it is diving into a territory all its own.

Realizing the band’s uniqueness is perhaps critical for many listeners in enjoying this album. While the Stripes in 2001 and 2002 were lumped together with The Strokes, they really were quite a different band in many respects. Where The Strokes built upon the edgy, new wave jitters of bands such as Wire, The Stripes are more at home next to The Rolling Stones. Both the Stones and the Stripes love the grit of rural folk music, and both bands recast those styles into a mold all their own. While some may grumble that the White Stripes sound too derivative, Elephant is certainly no more a carbon copy of its predecessors than 12X5 was. Both are novel reinterpretations of what came before, and both announce a band hitting its stride.

The band’s self-assurance results in an album of startling variety and yet an incredible consistency. Meg’s smoky vocals on "In the Cold, Cold Night" flow into the majestic piano chords cushioning "I Want to Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart". Even the remake of David and Bacharach’s "I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself" never sounds out of place though it follows a mere flip of the platter after the bitterly growling and psychedelic-tinged glory of "There’s No Home for You Here". The band makes the older song its own, and one unfamiliar with the original would never suspect it wasn’t a Stripes’ original. Only a triumphant band blatantly acknowledges its influences while twisting them into an original sound, and the Stripes stuff Elephant full of such tokens of naked confidence.

The garage-rock origins of the band are perfectly suited to vinyl, and while Elephant is hardly an audiophile release, the album is a terrific fit for the format. The warmth of the drums and the occasional bump of bass, the palpable sense of atmosphere around the squawking guitars, the nearly-physical force of the rumbling and whining chaos – all these elements leap from the records with a presence the CD of this release cannot match. This album was cut from the analogue tapes, not a digital master, and the resolution is all the sharper for it. While the fidelity is no match for, say, the finest classical music releases, it really shouldn’t be. Here, it is a perfect match for this band and this record, and thus is perfect for this release. One listen to "Girl, You Have no Faith in Medicine" proves the point.

Both musically and sonically, Elephant is the vanguard of 2003. It may not make quite the splash in the media that Nirvana’s Nevermind did upon arrival in 1991, but like that pivotal release, the latest from the White Stripes is sending out currents that will be felt for years. Anyone who follows my reviews on this site knows that I am not easily given over to enthusiastic praise, but I am not lying when I tell you that any listener with an interest in truly modern rock music absolutely needs this record. Believe the hype; it really is that good.

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