Under Great White Northern Lights

It’s no real secret that the White Stripes are a monster live act, making it a bit perplexing why until 2010 a proper live album has eluded their discography. Considering that the reigning King and Queen of Garage Rock have hardly slackened to catch their breath since arriving on the music scene in the late ‘90s—churning out new releases every one or two years without exceptio n and regularly perching atop critics’ year-end best-of lists—it may simply be that the time hadn’t made itself opportune to properly put their arena-burning credentials into context. Following Meg White’s retreat from the public eye due to a recurring bout with acute anxiety, and with Jack White spinning off more side projects than you can shake a stick at (including two chart-storming indie rock supernovas, pushing his record label Third Man Records into accelerated gear, as well as several producing gigs), the stretch from 2007’s Icky Thump to 2010 has been the longest span of time that the public has gone without a studio album from the Detroit duo.