VAULT 42: The White Stripes XX Third Man Records TMR COMPLETE

	£		70
	$		93

Third Man Records Vault 42 - The White Stripes XX - Includes: 2x12" LPs, a DVD of two live performances from

The White Stripes, a 24-page archival booklet, all in a hard-cover hinged case.

1999 was a pivotal year for the White Stripes. Fromrecording their first album through rumors of the band’s demise and embarkingon their first-ever tour, the band worked extremely hard and was fortunate tosee small but incremental gains from their efforts. Third Man Records ishumbled to explore the depths of the band, their self-titled album and theentirety of their 1999 for our 42nd Vault package, THE WHITE STRIPES XX.

With only a handful of days spent recording in the cold,amenity-free studio in a Detroit January, it is of legitimate surprise thebounty of previously forgotten alternate takes and unreleased tracks that existfrom said sessions. At a time when every last inch of tape meant dollars spent,the fact that ANYTHING extraneous was saved is not just remarkable, but awindfall for fans two decades later. While acolytes have previously heard “DeadLeaves” and “Let’s Build a Home” on a 7-inch single as part of Vault package 11from 2012 (both included here), they have not heard the acoustic demo of “DeadLeaves”, the alternate takes of “Jimmy the Exploder” or “I Fought Piranhas” or“Wasting My Time.” The explosive take on Burt Bacharach's (via Arthur Lee andLove) “Little Red Book” busts the game wide open to the point of confusion,begging the question… how was something THIS amazing left OFF the album? Theversion of “Screwdriver” as released originally back in 1999 was recorded at JackWhite’s domicile at 1203 Ferdinand in Southwest Detroit, while here we’veuncovered the totally-different-vibe version done in the studio setting.Alternate takes of “Sugar Never Tasted So Good”? There’s two of ‘em. Multiplestabs at “Why Can’t You Be Nicer to Me?” fit in here nicely, though the tunewas momentarily shelved before being reinvigorated and re-recorded for theband’s De Stijl nearly a year later.

The tracks collected here present the listener with analternate reality version of how — after a few non-aberrant turns and divergentcreative paths — the White Stripes self-titled album could exist in acompletely different space. Newly mixed by Jack White at his Third Man Studiosin Nashville, TN, this is the level of material that the Vault was specificallycreated to share.

Come September of 1999, the band was as surprised as anyoneto have been invited to open three performances for indie rock favoritesPavement. Hitting respectable college towns in the South/East, the shows wouldfind the Stripes in front of their largest crowds they’d encountered at thatpoint in their career. A hyper-speed (read: nervous) version of the band’s setat the Recher Theater in Towson, Maryland has been shared in tape-tradingcircles for nearly 15 years, but it is the far-superior performance at the Ritzin Raleigh, North Carolina the following evening that finds Jack and Meg in topform. From the early workouts on fan-favorite covers like Dolly Parton’s“Jolene” and Brendan Benson’s “Good to Me” through the off-the-cuff take onEarl King’s (via the Gories) “Trick Bag” and absolute bombastic runs of “BrokenBricks” and “The Big Three Killed My Baby” show highlights how quickly the bandwas to find their footing in front of unfamiliar audiences, and ultimately, winthem over.

Additionally, Third Man has unearthed footage from twopivotal, game-changing live performances by the White Stripes in theirhometown. The March 13th performance at Paycheck’s in Hamtramck is remarkablefor many reasons: a crowd sang along to a White Stripes song for the first time(“Sugar Never Tasted So Good”), the band played their first-ever encore(“Slicker Drips”), and the group ultimately put to rest the conjecture that itwould be their last-ever performance. The night was truly a watershed moment inthe duo’s history.

Nearly two months later, their debut album is released andthe May 30th performance celebrating its unveiling to the world is as equallygroundbreaking and sublime. Highlights include the first public use of Jack’ssoon-to-be-signature Airline Res-o-glass guitar, his first utilization of anancillary, affected vocal microphone on stage, and the only known time JackWhite licked a cartoonishly large faux peppermint while in the middle of aguitar solo.

Finally, the coup de grace: an exhaustive, insightful,11.75” x 11.75” booklet containing the bevy of photos, flyers, lyrics,receipts, musings and anything/everything that, at the time, probably seemedjust like garbage, but now, twenty years later, provides all kinds of contextand clues into how this odd dyad from Southwest Detroit was well on their wayto a path of rock and roll flag-waving

The White Stripes XX

Self-Titled Outtakes -

Dead Leaves

I Fought Piranhas

Jimmy The Exploder

Let’s Build a Home

Little Red Book (Burt Bacharach)

Screwdriver

Slicker Drips

Sugar Never Tasted So Good

Wasting My Time

Why Can’t You Be Nicer to Me?

Live at the Ritz 9/26/99 LP

Astro

Jimmy the Exploder

Do

Sugar Never Tasted So Good

Little People

Broken Bricks

Suzy Lee 

Let's Build a Home

Jolene (Dolly Parton)

Good to Me (Brendan Benson cover)

I’m Bored (Iggy Pop cover)

The Big Three Killed My Baby

Trick Bag (Earl King)

Screwdriver

Live at Paycheck’s 3/13/99 DVD

Broken Bricks

Let’s Shake Hands

The Big Three Killed My Baby

Do

Jimmy the Exploder

Wasting My Time

Cannon - John the Revelator

Screwdriver

Astro

Sugar Never Tasted So Good

One More Cup of Coffee (Bob Dylan)

Lafayette Blues

Slicker Drips

Live at the Magic Stick 5/30/99 DVD

I’m Bored (Iggy Pop)

Broken Bricks

The Big Three Killed My Baby

I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Bacharach/David)

Jimmy the Exploder

St. James Infirmary (traditional)

Astro

Cannon - John the Revelator (traditional) - Grinnin In YourFace (Son House)

Stop Breaking Down (Robert Johnson)

The Same Boy You’ve Always Known

Wasting My Time

When I Hear My Name

Lafayette Blues

Sugar Never Tasted So Good

Let’s Shake Hands