Vinyl: VAULT 44: The White Stripes De Stijl XX Third Man Records TMR COMPLETE

Selling lots more of my Third Man Vault Records with vaults from The White Stripes, Jack White and more already for sale so keep your eyes peeled! If you have any questions or are interested in multiple vaults feel free to send me a message :)

Will be posted via Royal Mail Tracked and Signed.

In the year 2000 the White Stripes released their sophomoreLP De Stijl. Named after the minimalist Dutch art movement of the early 20thcentury, the album was a marked deviation from the raw, urban punk bluesexhibited on their debut LP from the year prior. Eschewing the cold confines ofa studio, De Stijl was tracked in Jack White’s living room, giving the band thefreedom to take the time to massage their songs into their picturesque finalforms. The year would prove to be a further continuation of the band’s upwardtrajectory, complete with their first-ever headlining tour, a clutch run ofdates opening for Sleater-Kinney, a first-time overseas jaunt hitting Japan,Australia and New Zealand…all culminating in the tiniest peek into the presshype overload that would land their way come 2001.

De Stijl is oftentimes outwardly slow, somber and downtempo.Nowhere is that more evident than on the original acoustic boombox demosrecorded by Jack White. Seemingly all done in an afternoon (and some of whichmay have been accidentally recorded over) the skeletal framework of such deepcuts as “Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise” and “I’m Bound to Pack It Up” butt upagainst a vocal-less seedling of “Expecting”, an exercise in keyboard dexterityvia “Piano Octaves” and the unabashedly ebullient unheard and unreleased gem“Vanilla Fields.” Only recently discovered in the basement of Stripes’archivist, Ben Blackwell, these recordings, many with alternate and unusedlyrics, were completely forgotten by White, yet form a pivotal foundation andstructure on which the De Stijl album would build from.

During the White Stripes’ “Three Island Tour” in October andNovember of 2000, the band found themselves at Corduroy Recording Studio inMelbourne, Australia. The plan was to record two songs direct-to-acetate andpress them immediately after as a limited edition tour-only 7-inch single. Thea-side was set to be the Billy Childish-via-the-Headcoatees song “You’re Right,I’m Wrong,” complete with Jack White jumping from bass to organ to guitar allin real-time. No room for tripping over a guitar cord of flubbing a lyric…orthe band would have to start from scratch. No punch-in’s, no overdubs…just pure1950’s archaic recording procedure. The b-side was an early attempt at the BurtBacharach/Hal David song “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” which wouldbe re-recorded by the band the following year at BBC Maida Vale Studios andultimately end up as a top-line single off their

Elephant album, released to widespread critical acclaim in2003.

As the way things sometimes go, the recording didn’t feelquite right at that moment. The levels peaked a little bit, there was somethingstill left to be desired, some long-forgotten disagreements about approach andstyle and volume causing a metaphorical fissure to erupt across the controlroom window of the recording studio. The recordings were shelved and remainedunder lock-and-key in Australia until Third Man Records arranged for their safedelivery to the climate-controlled Nashville tape vault in 2012. While it wastough to sit on them, only now does it feel right and appropriate to share these,some of choicest gems the Vault has ever shared with the fans. We’re unaware ofany other unheard studio recordings of Jack and Meg from 2000, so theexcitement here is palpable.

As New Year’s Eve 2000 crested over to 2001, Jack and Megperformed a celebratory set at the Magic Stick in their hometown of Detroit.Rather than just approach the set the same off-the-cuff way they’d perfectedover the previous six months of incessant touring, the band put in the effortto make the evening special. Fresh off their Australian tour dates, the bandexhibited a rediscovered appreciation for the early works of AC/DC and decidedto place it front and center by starting the show with intense takes on both“Let There Be Rock” and “Dog Eat Dog.” Joined by good friend Chris McInnis(They Come in Threes, PA) on bass for these two songs, it would be one of onlya handful of times the Stripes would employ the four-string instrument in thelive setting, creating a rock solid power trio here which is totally in serviceto the songs. The rest of the set is strong, with all the quintessential2000-era highlights…”Hello Operator” with “Little Bird” and “Lord, Send Me anAngel” along with a stellar “Let’s Build a Home/Goin’ Back to Memphis” medley.All punctuated with a set-closing rendition of the Velvet Underground’s “AfterHours.” Originally written by Velvetsfrontman Lou Reed for drummer Moe Tucker to sing, the Stripes version has Megstepping out from behind the drum kit for the first time ever in concert,delivering her lines with all the charm and verve that fans would come to lovefrom her later outings singing both “In the Cold, Cold Night” and “PassiveManipulation.” As with the AC/DC tracks, this would be the only time the WhiteStripes would ever cover “After Hours.” In a career chock-full of outstandinglive performances, this gig stands out as one of the most-special and uniqueshows the band ever played. Available in mediocre quality on bootlegs for years(thanks to a slick fan who fished a copy out of a dumpster), this version isspeed-corrected and remastered in high-quality directly from the original boardtape.

Furthermore, it wouldn’t be a full Vault package withoutwholly exploiting the visual medium by including a DVD of TWO killer shows fromthe peak of De Stijl touring. We 100% guarantee they are shows you have NEVERseen before, taken directly from the original tapes deep within the TMRarchives, never previously shared, exciting and insightful as all get-out. Butyou’re gonna have to wait just a bit to find out which shows those exactly are.Did you see the band in 2000? Maybe you’re in the crowd shot. Didn’t see themin 2000? Well now you can. You like Easter Eggs? Well maybe we’ll include some.Have a show you particularly want to see? Tell us and if we have it, maybewe’ll dig it up and use it to make your day. You’re welcome.

Of further unabated excitement is the archival bookletserving as a road map through the most recondite peaks and valleys of the WhiteStripes travels and travails in the year 2000. Filled with all sorts of previously unseen photographs, flyers, posters,hand-written lyrics, death letters, ransom notes, Zodiac Killer ciphers,Mongolian horse racing slips, Braille crossword puzzles and other assortedfish-wrapping, giving you, Johnny Q. Fanboy, hours upon hours of fun reading,digging and learning why this is a band, a release and a year worth payingattention to.

LP 1 includes:

Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise

A Boy’s Best Friend

Sister, Do You Know My Name?

I’m Bound to Pack It Up

Expecting

Vanilla Fields

Piano Octaves

You’re Right, I’m Wrong

I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself

ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED!

and more!

LP 2 tracklist:

Let There Be Rock (AC/DC cover)

Dog Eat Dog (AC/DC cover)

You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)

Hello Operator

Death Letter

Little Bird

Lord, Send Me An Angel

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground

Apple Blossom

Broken Bricks

Cannon

Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise

Jolene

I’m Bored

Let’s Build a Home / Goin’ Back to Memphis

Suzy Lee

After Hours (Velvet Underground cover)