Under Great White Northern Lights
Cover to the standard Compact Disc edition
Live album by
the White Stripes
ReleasedMarch 16, 2010 (2010-03-16)
Recorded2007
VenueCanada
GenreAlternative rock, garage rock, punk blues, blues rock
Length59:14
LabelThird Man
The White Stripes chronology
Icky Thump
(2007)		 Under Great White Northern Lights
(2010)		 Live in Mississippi
(2011)
Deluxe box set contents

Under Great White Northern Lights is the first live album from the White Stripes for the 2009 rockumentary film of the same name covering the band's summer 2007 tour in Canada. The album featured songs recorded by the band, during their tour and has accompanied the film's DVD release on March 16, 2010. Third Man Records distributed the album in CD and vinyl formats, which also included a box set.[1] At the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, the box set won Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.[2]

Release

The album was released on March 16, 2010 by Third Man Records and Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Canada,[3] and XL Recordings internationally.[4] A week ahead of its release, it was made available for an exclusive listen at the National Public Radio website.[5] It is available as both a CD and 180-gram vinyl LP.

A limited edition box set containing the film was released on March 16, 2010.[6] The box set includes the documentary, the 16-track live album CD, and the same 16-track live album on 180-gram vinyl. Exclusive components to the box set includes a live 7" single featuring "Icky Thump" on one side and "The Wheels on the Bus" (records live in Winnipeg on July 2, 2007) on the other, a 208-page hardcover book of photographs from the tour, one of six possible silkscreen prints, and a DVD of the band's 10th anniversary show in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, entitled Under Nova Scotian Lights.[7][8]

Reception

Aggregator Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned Under Great White Northern Lights a score of 78 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork felt that the box set reinforces "the White Stripes' mythology and displays the awesome power of their live show".[10] Commenting on the songs and the packaging, he felt that it "sounds ridiculously heavy, with many songs easily trumping their studio counterparts, but the LP is also relatively linear and song-based".[10] Martin Robinson of NME commented "The live album is built from tracks taken from different shows so doesn’t show off the improvisatory nature of their setlist-free shows, but again, it’s a reminder that their three-year absence is a bit of a tragedy."[11] Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote "Since a big part of the Stripes’ live show also rests on their visuals, the Under Great White Northern Lights DVD gives the complete experience, but this album is satisfying enough to make it a must for most fans."[12]

Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly commented that the album "does a great job of highlighting both sides of The White Stripes' carefully controlled public persona."[13] Anthony Lombardi of PopMatters wrote "Under Great White Northern Lights feels like an appropriate recap of the unprecedented path the White Stripes have blazed over the past decade. For as long as the lack of a proper live release has created a hole in their otherwise peerless catalog, the delayed appearance of this record was well worth the wait and is an inarguably deserving crown on the superlative career-thus-far of Jack and Meg. If you’ve regrettably missed out on the band’s raging, unrivaled live show, this set does the volume-cranking, sweltering intensity they create some overdue justice. As a stand-alone release, it’s impressive; as a document and celebration of the greatest band of 21st century (sorry, Radiohead), it’s imperative."[14] Andrzej Lukowski of Drowned in Sound wrote "It looks likely that a new record will happen, which is good, because Under Great White Northern Lights would be a funny postscript. It's not particularly revelatory, less cohesive a concert film that Under Blackpool Lights, and in no way intimates that the band was about to go into hiatus. Really, it serves, more than anything else, as a reminder of just how singularly odd the White Stripes are, and how boring things are without them around."[15]

Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine wrote "This isn’t the first album to communicate that feeling, but it does it with a wonderful level of abandon. In achieving this, Northern Lights captures the live show as circus, the aura where group participation and the raggedness of improvisation supersedes a faithful rendering of songs, an interpretation that, if not always satisfying to listen to, is at least fascinating to behold."[16] Chris Coplan of Consequence commented "Each track is darker and deeper and more bluesy and eccentric and haggard and just as beautifully catchy."[17] Will Dean of The Guardian wrote "UGWNL is a live album for those who were there, and unless you're one of 600 Iqalummiut fans, you probably weren't."[18] Andy Gill of The Independent commented that the album and the film is "a strong affirmation of the principles of directness and immediacy which have served The White Stripes so well."[19]

Track listing

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Let's Shake Hands"Jack White3:13
2."Black Math"White3:06
3."Little Ghost"White2:23
4."Blue Orchid"White2:55
5."The Union Forever"
4:26
6."Ball and Biscuit" (incorporating portions of I Believe I'll Dust My Broom and Phonograph Blues both by Robert Johnson)White3:08
7."Icky Thump"White4:13
8."I'm Slowly Turning Into You"White5:33
9."Jolene"Dolly Parton3:55
10."300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues"White4:52
11."We Are Going to Be Friends"White2:24
12."I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself"
3:11
13."Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn"White3:23
14."Fell in Love with a Girl"White2:26
15."When I Hear My Name"White2:40
16."Seven Nation Army"White7:32

Personnel

  • Jack White – vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizer
  • Meg White – drums, percussion
  • Hector MacIsaac – bagpipes

Chart performance

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 33
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 30
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 31
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 54
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 54
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 41
Greek Albums (IFPI)[28] 3
Irish Albums (IRMA)[29] 48
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 8
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] 23
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 84
Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] 24
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 25
US Billboard 200[37] 11
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[38] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[39] 4

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Gray, Tyler (March 14, 2010). "Jack White on making beautiful music with his ex-wife Meg". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Highlights From the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards". The New York Times. February 14, 2011. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Under Great White Northern Lights (CD or Double LP)". Third Man Records – Official Store. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Under Great White Northern Lights". XL Recordings. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Stephen (March 8, 2010). "Exclusive First Listen: The White Stripes Live". National Public Radio. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  6. ↑ Ben Rayner (February 26, 2010). "Q&A Jack White, the sleepless songwriter", Toronto Star. Retrieved May 7, 2023
  7. ↑ "Greetings from". the White Stripes. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Buy It, Steal It, Skip It: The White Stripes' Under Great White Northern Lights". Vanity Fair. March 15, 2010. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Reviews and Tracks for Under Great White Northern Lights (Live)". Metacritic. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Dombal, Ryan (March 26, 2010). "The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  11. ↑ Mackay, Emily (March 12, 2010). "Album Review: The White Stripes – 'Under Great White Northern Lights' (Third Man/XL)". NME. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  12. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Review: Under Great White Northern Lights". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ Pastorek, Whitney. "Under the Great White Northern Lights". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  14. ↑ Lombardi, Anthony (March 22, 2010). "The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights". PopMatters. Archived from the original on June 7, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Album Review: The White Stripes - Under Great White Northern Lights". DrownedInSound. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  16. ↑ Cataldo, Jesse (March 15, 2010). "Review: The White Stripes, Under Great White Northern Lights". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  17. ↑ Coplan, Chris (March 15, 2010). "Album Review: The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Consequence. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  18. ↑ Dean, Will (March 9, 2010). "The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Album: The White Stripes, Under Great White Northern Lights (Third Man/XL)". The Independent. March 19, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  24. ↑ "The White Stripes Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Greekcharts.com – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  29. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 11, 2010". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Charts.nz – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  37. ↑ "The White Stripes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  38. ↑ "The White Stripes Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  39. ↑ "The White Stripes Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  40. ↑ "British album certifications – White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights". British Phonographic Industry.
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