More about: The White Stripes

Jack White’s Third Man Records has just announced it will be releasing and shipping a three-vinyl collection documenting The White Stripes’ early hometown shows.

As part of White’s subscription service, where fans pay around $60 for a quarterly delivery of vinyl, special access to news and chatrooms, plus a ‘bonus item’, fans will shortly receive ‘The White Stripes Live in Detroit 1999-2000-2001’, covering three formative shows from the early days of the band.

The first vinyl documents the band’s 1999 show at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, an upmarket northerly Detroit suburb. The band performed there as a sop to their more middle-class fans who felt squeamish about travelling into ‘rough and tumble’ Detroit to catch their heroes at their usual haunts. Unique qualities to this performance include the first ever live use of piano by the band, notably a tender rendition of ‘You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket’ and an embryonic rendition of later hit ‘Dead Leaves And Dirty Ground.’

Vinyl number two covers an August 2000 set at Detroit’s venerable Magic Stick venue, and follows the band’s breakthrough West Coast ‘De Stijl’ tour. Look out for an early take on Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ and a rare surviving cut of Captain Beefheart’s ‘Ashtray Heart’.

Record number three, from July 2001, sees the band’s emotional final performance at The Gold Dollar, Detroit, before they hit the international big time with ‘White Blood Cells’. Unusually for the band, who liked to keep setlists ad-hoc, this performance – the most packed in Gold Dollar history – sees them perform ‘White Blood Cells’ in order, in its entirety.

Each LP will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and packaged in a custom sleeve. They will also ship with high-quality reproductions of the posters Jack White designed for each gig.

The deadline to sign to Third Man's subscription service and receive The White Stripes Live In Detroit: 1999-2000-2001 is October 31.

For more info visit the Third Man website.

Or sample the goods here…

More about: The White Stripes