Get Behind Me Satan

Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth studio album by The White Stripes and was released in June 2005. 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 (Is Over For Me)", Get Behind Me Satan downplays the blues influences that dominated earlier White Stripes albums. Frontman Jack White plays with markedly different technique than in the past, trading in his electric guitar for an acoustic on all but a handful of tracks, as his usual riff-conscious lead guitar style is overtaken by a predominantly rhythmic approach. Rolling Stone ranked it the third best album of the year, and it received a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2006.

Jack White recorded the album at his own Third Man Studios in Detroit, MI, and mixed it at Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN. This represented a change from their previous album because The White Stripes didn't use a professional studio for production work.

Jack White stated in an interview on the radio show Fresh Air that "truth is the number one theme throughout the album Get Behind Me Satan."

Garnering strong reviews, Get Behind Me Satan entered the U.S. and UK charts at #3, becoming a major success; it ranked higher in the U.S. charts than their previous records, but lower in the UK charts than Elephant. "Blue Orchid", the first single, became a radio hit in the United States and the band's second UK Top 10 hit. "My Doorbell" was the second single off of the album, followed by "The Denial Twist". Both also reached the Top 10 in the UK. Get Behind Me Satan has sold 850,000 units in the United States as of February 2007, yet - despite approaching platinum status - the album has oddly not even been certified gold yet.

In 2006, the album was included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery.

"Instinct Blues" was featured in Michel Gondry's 2006 film The Science of Sleep.

The title Get Behind Me Satan is derived from a well-known line from the story of the Temptation of Jesus which is later repeated against the disciple Simon Peter, in of the New Testament. In the King James Version, the quotation is slightly different: "Get thee behind me, Satan".

The album cover was used in the Gilmore Girls episode "I Get a Sidekick out of You", with Lane and Zach in Meg and Jack's positions, respectively.

Track listing
All songs written by Jack White.


 * 1) "Blue Orchid" – 2:37
 * 2) "The Nurse" – 3:47
 * 3) "My Doorbell" – 4:01
 * 4) "Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)" – 3:15
 * 5) "Little Ghost" – 2:18
 * 6) "The Denial Twist" – 2:35
 * 7) "White Moon" – 4:01
 * 8) "Instinct Blues" – 4:16
 * 9) "Passive Manipulation" – 0:35
 * 10) *Features Meg White on lead vocal and timpani
 * 11) "Take, Take, Take" – 4:22
 * 12) "As Ugly as I Seem" – 4:10
 * 13) "Red Rain" – 3:52
 * 14) "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)" – 4:19