Review
Genre and Mood
Gaullin and Julian Perretta take Seven Nation Army, a garage rock song that became the world’s favourite stadium chant, and make it a dance record. It is electronic and short, under three minutes. The mood is energetic and bold, and the riff, repeated as in the original, is still the whole point.
Song Summary
The White Stripes released Seven Nation Army in 2003 as the lead single of their album Elephant. Jack White wrote it as a little experiment, a compelling song without a chorus, built on a seven-note riff that he played on a semi-acoustic guitar through a pitch-shifting pedal, an octave down, so that it sounded like a bass. Gaullin’s version keeps that riff and Jack White’s words, credited to him alone, and moves them to a dance beat, with Perretta singing in place of White’s distorted vocal. At under three minutes it is shorter than the original.
Musical Breakdown
Intro
The riff is the first thing to listen for. It no longer needs a guitar: the seven notes are instantly recognisable on any instrument.
Verse 1
Listen to Perretta’s vocal against the memory of White’s: the original’s distortion is part of its menace, and a dance version has to decide what to put in its place.
Main Section
Listen for where the arrangement puts the riff at its fullest: a crowd that has sung it in stadiums knows exactly what to do with it.
Outro
At under three minutes, the track does not outstay its welcome.
Concepts in Focus
A riff is a short, repeated musical figure that carries a song. Seven Nation Army is one of the clearest examples there is: five pitches, seven notes, a held note, four syncopated ones and two closing notes of the kind often heard in laments. Because it works without words, football fans have sung it in stadiums for two decades, and it served as a theme of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Gaullin’s version proves the same point from the other side: change every instrument, and the riff is still the song.
A cover version is a new recording of someone else’s song, faithful or transformed. This one changes the genre, the voice and the length, but keeps Jack White’s song, credited to him alone. Compare it with the deep house cover of Lucky Luke – Cooler Than Me, another Lithuanian producer’s take on a familiar hit through the same label channel.
Artistic Context
Gaullin is a Lithuanian producer, and Seven Nation Army was released on 14 May 2021 by Columbia and B1 Recordings, with Lithuania HQ, the YouTube channel and label that also published the video. Julian Perretta is a London-raised singer-songwriter whose 2010 single Wonder Why and 2011 album Stitch Me Up made him better known in continental Europe than at home; Stitch Me Up reached number one in France. He went on to sing on Southstar’s Miss You in 2022 and on Substitution with Purple Disco Machine and Kungs in 2023. Gaullin and Perretta later paired up again for a cover of The Neighbourhood’s Sweater Weather.
Impact and Reception
The original won the Grammy for Best Rock Song and has been called arguably the world’s most popular sports anthem; artists from Ben l’Oncle Soul to Alice Russell have covered it. Gaullin’s version is one of the latest in that line, and it is here because it shows how little a great riff needs. Play the White Stripes first, then this, and count the seven notes in both.
