Under Blackpool Lights | |
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Video by | |
Released | December 7, 2004 |
Recorded | January 27, 2004 and January 28, 2004 |
Genre | Punk blues, garage rock |
Label | Third Man |
Director | Dick Carruthers |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The A.V. Club | link |
The Guardian | link |
Under Blackpool Lights is the first official DVD released by The White Stripes. The DVD consists of 26 tracks recorded at The Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens in the English seaside resort of Blackpool on January 27 and 28, 2004, [1] and directed by Dick Carruthers using super 8 film. Among these tracks, as with most White Stripes live performances, are several cover songs – such as "Take a Whiff on Me" (Lead Belly), "Outlaw Blues" (Bob Dylan), "Jack the Ripper" (Screaming Lord Sutch), "Jolene" (Dolly Parton), "Death Letter" (Son House), "Goin' Back to Memphis" (Soledad Brothers), and "De Ballit of de Boll Weevil" (Lead Belly). [2]
The DVD's title comes from a moment during the performance in which Jack White addresses the audience:
"I heard George Harrison say the Beatles used to go see Blackpool lights – what is that? A different place altogether? I'm in the right place at the wrong time? That's how I feel every day." [3]
Blind Willie McTell was a Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues. Unlike his contemporaries, he came to use twelve-string guitars exclusively. McTell was also an adept slide guitarist, unusual among ragtime bluesmen. His vocal style, a smooth and often laid-back tenor, differed greatly from many of the harsher voices of Delta bluesmen such as Charley Patton. McTell performed in various musical styles, including blues, ragtime, religious music and hokum.
Huddie William Ledbetter, better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standards he introduced, including his renditions of "In the Pines", "Goodnight, Irene", "Midnight Special", "Cotton Fields", and "Boll Weevil".
The White Stripes were an American rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White and Meg White. They were a leading group of the 2000s indie rock and garage rock revival.
The boll weevil is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working in the American South. During the late 20th century, it became a serious pest in South America as well. Since 1978, the Boll Weevil Eradication Program in the U.S. allowed full-scale cultivation to resume in many regions.
John Anthony White is an American musician who served as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. A key artist of the 2000s garage rock revival, he is known for his distinctive musical techniques and eccentricity. He has won 12 Grammy Awards among other accolades. Rolling Stone included him on their 2010 and 2023 lists of the greatest guitarists of all time. The New York Times called White "the coolest, weirdest and savviest rockstar of our time" in 2012.
Megan Martha White is a retired American musician who served as the drummer and occasional singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. A key artist of the 2000s garage rock revival, White is noted for her "primal" style of playing and elusive media image. Though she typically performed backing vocals for the band, she occasionally sang lead for one song on each album, including "In the Cold, Cold Night" and "Passive Manipulation".
Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer.
Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth studio album by the American rock duo the White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005, on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant. With its reliance on piano-driven melodies and experimentation with marimba on "The Nurse" and "Forever For Her ", Get Behind Me Satan plays down the punk, garage rock and blues influences that dominated earlier White Stripes albums. Frontman Jack White plays with different technique than in the past, replacing electric guitar with piano, mandolin, and acoustic guitar on all but a handful of tracks, as his usual riff-conscious lead guitar style is overtaken by a predominantly rhythmic approach.
"The Big Three Killed My Baby" was released in March 1999 as a 7" single and is the third track on re-releases of The White Stripes, the eponymous debut of the Detroit-based American garage rock band the White Stripes. A live recording of the song is featured on Under Blackpool Lights; the band's first official DVD release. The single is backed with "Red Bowling Ball Ruth".
"The Denial Twist" is the third single released from American alternative rock band the White Stripes' fifth studio album, Get Behind Me Satan (2005).
"Hello Operator" is the only single released from De Stijl, the second album by the Detroit, Michigan, garage rock band the White Stripes. It was released in May 2000, backed by the White Stripes' off-kilter cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene". Live recordings of both songs are available on Under Blackpool Lights.
"Let's Shake Hands" is the debut 7" single of Detroit-based American garage rock band The White Stripes. It was released in March 1998, and marks their first recording. A live recording of the song is featured on Under Blackpool Lights as well as Under Great White Northern Lights.
Soledad Brothers were an American garage rock trio from Maumee, Ohio. Taking strong influence from blues rock, the band consisted of Ben Swank on drums, Johnny Walker on guitar and vocals, and Oliver Henry on sax and guitar. The band produced four albums: Soledad Brothers (2000), Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move (2002), Voice of Treason (2003), and The Hardest Walk (2006).
"Cocaine Blues" is a Western swing song written by Troy Junius Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie." Roy Hogsed recorded a well known version of the song in 1947.
The American duo the White Stripes has released six studio albums, two live albums, four video albums, one compilation album, one extended play, 28 singles, and 20 music videos.
"Jolene" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Dolly Parton. It was produced by Bob Ferguson and recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee on May 22, 1973, then released on October 15, 1973 by RCA Victor as the first single and title track from her album of the same name.
"Take a Whiff on Me" is an American folk song, with references to the use of cocaine. It is also known as "Take a Whiff ", "Cocaine Habit", and "Cocaine Habit Blues".
"Boll Weevil" is a traditional blues song, also known by similar titles such as "Boweavil" or "Boll Weevil Blues". Many songs about the boll weevil were recorded by blues musicians during the 1920s through the 1940s. However, a rendition by Lead Belly recorded in 1934 by folklorist Alan Lomax led to its becoming well-known. A 1961 adaptation by Brook Benton became a pop hit, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Fats Domino's "Bo Weevil" is a different song.
Under Great White Northern Lights is a 2009 documentary film about the White Stripes' summer 2007 tour across Canada directed by Emmett Malloy. It contains live concert and off-stage footage. The film's accompanying album is a collection of various recordings from throughout the tour. The documentary was released on DVD and Blu-ray, and the album was released on CD as well as 180-gram vinyl LP. A special edition box set was also available. The CD, LP, DVD, BD, and box set were all released on March 16, 2010 in Canada, with other dates worldwide.