Third Man Records Vault delivers an exclusive 12" and 7" vinyl + a bonus item every quarter. On top of that, there a lot of other perks including live streams of events, pre-sale opportunities, shop access, and chat room access with Jack White and Third Man Employees.
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About Third Man Records Vault
The Subscription Box: Third Man Records Vault
The Cost: $60 per quarter (There's a $20 option as well, but that doesn't include the 12" vinyl record)
The Products: A quarterly Vault package which includes a 12” record, a 7” record, and a bonus item.
Ships to: Worldwide!
Third Man Records Value #34 Review
They include a card every month detailing all the items. Vault package #34 is all about The White Stripes and their now legendary early performances in Detroit! This month’s vault has 3 full-length 180 gram LPs in a beautiful slipcase. Each LP features soundboard quality live performances from the album tours around their first three albums, and with each album, you can really feel the progression of the band. Let’s get into this vault!
The bonus items this month are these reproduction handbills from the shows featured in this vault! Each one of these was designed by Jack White and according to the info card, originals have gone for big money on the resale market. These are printed on high-quality cardstock, unlike the originals which were on standard copy paper, and would look good on the wall with the rest of your Vault goodies.
The main focus this month is this awesome set of LPs housed in a high-quality slipcase that will look amazing amongst your music collection. The artwork on the box is based on the original flyers too, making the whole package feel nice and cohesive.
The first LP in the package is The White Stripes Live at The Magic Bag, July 30, 1999! The artwork for this LP is based around their self-titled album released that year, and features die-cut white t-shirts that are highlighted by the white inner sleeve - a nice touch that we will see repeated with each LP. The vinyl here is a bright red that perfectly matches the rest of the package. The show featured on this album sounds ok - you can tell it’s older and the sound isn’t very dynamic. You can tell this is a band getting started, there are missed notes here and there but it just lends to the authenticity of the show. There’s great banter from Jack here and there, we learn that Meg has mono but she still sounds great. This also marks the first time they played live with a piano. The renditions of Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground and You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket are amazing and subdued and it felt like I was hearing them for the first time. There’s some vocal clipping during Broken Bricks but you have to assume it’s a venue/soundboard issue and not the vinyl - everything else is crisp and clear.
Next up is The White Stripes Live at The Magic Stick, August 18, 2000! This LP’s artwork is a nod to De Stijl, the album they put out that year. The recording from this show is considerably cleaner than the last, and the set runs basically nonstop from front to back. There’s a great cover of the Dolly Parton classic “Jolene” that feels quiet and minimalistic compared to most White Stripes tracks. Jack gets mumbly as the set wears on, and towards the end, we find out that he isn’t feeling great. The soundboard recording cuts out most of the crowd noise and makes this recording almost feel like it’s in a rehearsal space. They took a crowd request to play Broken Bricks towards the end of the show and totally killed it.
Finally, we have The White Stripes Live at The Gold Dollar, June 7, 2001! White Blood Cells was due to come out in a little under a month, and the band decided to play the album front to back for their fans! This is the first and only time the band would ever play any album live in its entirety, and the recording sounds fantastic. As with the other two shows, there are missed notes and dropped beats here and there but it makes it feel like an authentic and not-over-produced set. Jack mentions that they played that room three years ago and there were only 10 people there, but this recording is from one of several sold out shows which speaks to just how big this band was becoming.
Verdict: The 34th Third Man Records Vault was pretty awesome. We get a solid look at the history of this band as they were becoming one of the world’s biggest acts. The packaging, as usual, is incredible, and the pressing quality from the new Third Man Pressing plant is perfection. Check out all the past Vault releases to get a sense of what you could expect for future releases!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, order by 1/31 to receive Vault 35.
Check out all of our Third Man Records Vault reviews and the Vinyl Subscription Boxes in the Subscription Box List. Rate, review, and follow this subscription on the Third Man Records Vault profile page.
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