Jubilantly minimalist, The White Stripes is often praised for its bare-bones approach to bastardized blues, ripping apart the entire framework of a song and leaving the meager guitar-drums-vocals elements to sear an impression in the listener's ear.

And now that The White Stripes has signed to a major label for its fourth release, Elephant, singer-guitarist Jack White wants everyone to know that the "Seven Nation Army" of the album's opening song can't hold him back.

And it's not hard to buy into his logic. The opener plods along with what shockingly sounds like a bass line hammering away. The guitar, not surprisingly, sizzles and scorches, and Meg White, as always, plays drums like an overactive toddler placed behind a stack of empty boxes. Simply one song into the album, it seems that The White Stripes is all-powerful, and the duo certainly keeps it going throughout the album.

Want a straight-forward quick blues ditty like the ones that littered the band's previous albums? Then "Black Math" is for you.

Want a loud, campy, explosive Burt Bacharach cover? Then the brilliant rendition of "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" is right up your alley.

Want the gentle coo of late '60s-style Nico? Then just sit back and listen to Meg White take over the vocal duties on "In the Cold, Cold Night."

Want a guitar solo-laced blues rock epic reminiscent of "Dazed and Confused"-era Led Zeppelin? Then tune into "Ball and Biscuit" and hear Jack White's guitar explode for more than seven minutes.

Want an odd spoken-word poetry intro that segues into a piano-infused hard-rocking blues song with an uplifting message on how to overcome your problems? This is The White Stripes, after all, and, on "Little Acorns," Jack White encourages his listeners to "take all your problems and rip 'em apart." Much like he rips apart every musical formula he touches.

Through 14 tracks, Jack and Meg provide different twists on their celebrated sound. The album is probably not going to win the band any new fans. And it absolutely, unequivocally does not deserve the five-star review bestowed upon it by Rolling Stone.

Not every song is good, but most of them are. The one great difference between Elephant and 2001's White Blood Cells is that this album stars Jack White, guitar god, while, two years ago, he played Jack White, catchy songwriter. On a song like "Ball and Biscuit," it's hard not to imagine White's guitar leaping from his hands and playing on its own. This works both ways: On one hand, White is able to amaze with his outstanding guitarwork and use of distortion, but, on the other hand, some of the songs lack the catchy, sing-along quality nearly every song on the band's previous albums had.

The White Stripes has done better before, but what makes Elephant stand out is that, remarkably, the band somehow managed to produce the same rugged, under-produced sound it had on its independent releases.

On "The Air Near My Fingers," Jack White sings, "I never said I ever wanted to be a man." With Elephant, he lets the world know that if being a grown-up means making over-produced, shiny albums, he's more than pleased with being immature.