Third Man Records TMR Vault 26 MINT UNOPENED White Stripes Dead Weather RARE

$

70

Up for grabs is this mint, unopened Vault 26 offering from Jack White’s Third Man Records. Vault 26 was offered up December, 2015. This one is unopened and will remain that way until the winning bidder receives it. I have included a photo of what’s inside, as per Third Man Records promotion for this. Here are the release notes:
The White Stripes LP Live At The Gold Dollar Vol. III — pressed in blood-red vinyl with black wisps — documents a concert performed by Jack and Meg White at that now-defunct Detroit bar in February of 1999, a few months before the duo’s self-titled debut album was released. (Gold Dollar Volumes I and II, which documented the first two White Stripes live shows from 1997, were issued in Vault Package #13 in 2012). The Stripes sounded hungry in early ’99, and seemed understandably fired up about their coming album release. At this gig, they played the majority of the songs that turned up on the debut album, a few from early singles, and two (“Let’s Build A Home” and “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”) that turned up on the next two albums. Their playing on this set is intense, powered by Jack’s grinding electric guitar fury, his raw punk-like vocals, and Meg’s primitive drum beats. At one point, Jack remarks that someone told him he looked “pissed off all the time”; although we can’t see what they were talking about on that night, we can certainly hear a similar ferocity in the set’s distorted electric blues-rock. A few high points: Jack’s angry ranting about the auto industry in “The Big Three Killed My Baby”; the duo’s first-ever live performance of Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down”, after which Jack unnecessarily apologizes for its “roughness”; and their first live performance of “Suzy Lee”, in which roughness is once again a virtue. One drawback: a flawed performance of the Stripes’ debut single “Let’s Shake Hands”, which almost drowns in a swamp of uncontrolled fuzz-amp noise at the set’s end. Even so, with the addition of Vol III, the Vault’s Live At The Gold Dollar series is now 3 for 3 at demonstrating the effectiveness of the White Stripes’ early live shows. 

The bonus items in this package are a trove of memorabilia related to that 1999 White Stripes show, featuring copies of the event flyers designed by Jack White (one of which comes in the form of an iron-on decal), a copy of the handwritten set list (which omits one track and reverses the order of two others), two 8 X 10 glossy photographs taken at the show by Doug Coombe, a newspaper clipping that previewed the upcoming show, a handwritten list of indie records sold at the show’s merchandise table, the Gold Dollar’s printed schedule of bands playing at the bar during February 1999 (Dean Fertita and The GO can be spotted among the names), and an enamel pin of the new Third Man Records Cass Corridor logo (advertising their new Detroit store located near the Gold Dollar’s former location).

The Dead Weather single is pressed in gold-colored vinyl with black wisps. Before the Dodge And Burn album was recorded, the original idea was to gradually issue the album’s tracks on vinyl singles in Vault packages until the album was eventually completed. But it turned out that only two singles – offering four tracks in all – were issued in Vault packages before the album was released in September of 2015, and one more single was issued in the same Vault package as the finished album. Unwisely, Third Man has made the decision to continue issuing the remaining tracks from the now-released album in subsequent Vault packages. Clearly, the single in this package is strictly for fans who feel a need to own all of the Dodge And Burn album’s tracks on physical 7-inch vinyl singles. The single’s A-side “Impossible Winner” is the most surprising track from Dodge And Burn. It’s an utterly accessible pop ballad that one might expect to hear from one of Jack White’s Tidal partners. On this track, Alison Mosshart sings in a manner reminiscent of Miley Cyrus before she turned bad-girl, against a backdrop of piano and strings. When heard at the end of the album, this song serves as a climax that contrasts with the rest of Dodge And Burn, like the sun coming up after the darkness. It was a natural choice for release as a single, especially if the band was aiming for a radio hit. The B-side, “Mile Markers”, sounds more like the Dead Weather we know. It’s a dark, fuzzy goth-rock creation with cryptic lyrics talk-sung by Mosshart, seemingly describing the emotional distance between her and an ex-lover. It’s arguably the album’s least interesting track – which is what makes it B-side material. Due to a mistake, the song “Cop And Go” was pressed on the B-side on the single’s first pressing. That song goes even darker. Using a sonic noise backdrop resembling a landline phone’s off-hook warning tone, the song has an ominous atmosphere throughout. Mosshart’s agitated lead vocal creates even more tension (“You cop like a cop and you go, go, go, go!)”. This leaves two more Dead Weather Dodge And Burn singles to come from the Vault...

A note for fellow vinyl aficionados: the practice of engraving text in the dead wax, or the runout grooves between the sticker and the last track’s grooves, is present on these items. The 7-inch single has “Rebel minion wisps” carved in its A-side, and “Erase Mr Milk” carved in its B-side. The LP has “Let Me Help You Up” carved on Side One, and “That’ll be three dollars” carved in Side Two.
These Vault packages from Third Man Records are incredible and exclusive to Vault members. You can still join, but this one was shipped 6 years ago!
I have included some photos illustrating that the box is unopened but I have avoided showing my personal address. The package will be wrapped in shipping paper to protect the original packaging and the winning bidder can decide if they want to keep it MIB or open it to enjoy the treats inside.
I have 900 feedback and not one negative. The few times there have been a problem, it’s been worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.
$20 shipping to the US or Canada.