Third Man Records vinyl exclusives, Part 50: White Stripes “Live at The Detroit Institute of Arts 11/2/01” (2021)
The 50th set of exclusive vinyl items offered to members of Third Man Records’ Vault service was mailed out to the members in December of 2021. For those who are unaware, Third Man Records is the label owned by Jack White, who is the leader of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, and the Dead Weather, and is now a solo artist. The Vault service promises to deliver exclusive vinyl-only records (usually one full-length album and one 7” single) to its members every three months.
The 50th Vault package featured a 2-LP live album from the White Stripes recorded in 2001, as well as a DVD documenting the same concert, and a 7-inch single containing two tracks from White’s two upcoming 2022 solo albums.
The 2-LP set Live at The Detroit Institute of Arts 11/2/01 chronicles a November 2001 concert by the duo of Jack and Meg White at the titular museum's Rivera Court. The two discs are visually striking, the first one pressed in transparent vinyl with red splatters, the second one pressed in translucent white. The gatefold cover also included four cards printed with Steve Shaw photographs from the concert.
This concert captured the Stripes a few months after the release of their White Blood Cells album, when their star was quickly rising. The duo were mostly in good form for this event, at least after a rough start (it’s hard to tell if the jarring bit of guitar grinding during “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground” was a mistake or was intended). The Whites performed a decent selection of covers and originals, displaying their soon-to-be-well-known folk-and-blues-influenced garage rock aesthetic. Despite some volume inconsistencies, the sound quality of this live album is cleaner than that of many other live White Stripes albums issued through the Third Man Vault. This can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it gives the set more immediacy than muddier recordings; on the other hand, it causes the mistakes to be more noticeable than usual. Also, the clearer sound draws more attention than usual to Jack White’s singing voice, which has never been his strongest asset.
But the duo’s strengths are usually plentiful here. Jack’s efficient guitar playing was well-matched with Meg’s simplistic yet effective drumming. Jack’s guitar agility is particularly impressive on the blues covers “Death Letter” and “Stop Breakin’ Down”. The Jack White originals “Let’s Build A Home” (which incorporates Henry and June’s “Goin’ Back To Memphis”) and “Screwdriver” offer reliably fast-and-furious blues stomps.
The cover songs in this set are well-chosen, showing Jack’s influences and his skills. Jack has one of his better vocal moments on Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup Of Coffee”. During the Blind Willie McTell song “Lord, Send Me An Angel”, White jokingly plays the part of a womanizer, as he would on his similar solo track “Three Women” many years later. He enthusiastically rocks out on a medley of songs by Detroit rockers Iggy Pop (“I’m Bored”), the Gories (“Omologato”), and the MC5 (“Looking At You”). For covers of two ‘70’s country classics: Jack sings with a convincingly pleading voice on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, and goes a cappella for part of Loretta Lynn’s “Rated X” – possibly to make a statement about his and Meg’s divorce (even though the two were pretending to be brother and sister at this point). And the Gene Vincent number “Baby Blue” (not to be confused with the Badfinger song) sizzles with rockabilly verve.
Of course, the duo's originals are also performed well here, selected from their early singles (they do better with “Let’s Shake Hands” than with “The Big Three Killed My Baby”) and from their first three albums. Their then-new White Blood Cells album was best represented by the furious punk burst of “Fell In Love With A Girl” (the song that was helping them receive wider attention at the time) and the innocent ballad “We’re Going To Be Friends”. All in all, a worthwhile live album.
An even better way to experience the concert is by watching the accompanying DVD The White Stripes: Live At The Detroit Institute Of Arts 11/2/01, which visually documents the two complete sets (totaling 85 minutes) performed by the Whites during that night at the museum. The unusual venue (Jack tells the crowd it’s an “OK room to play in, it’s not the greatest”) certainly gives the show a unique visual backdrop. Surrounded by pillars, Michigan state flags, and statues of Jesus and of a zebra’s head, the duo is made to look as if they unexpectedly brought their minimalist electric blues-rock into a strangely stately setting. It certainly didn’t have a sedating effect on them, as this professionally shot video allows us to see as well as hear Jack’s passionate performing, particularly on “Stop Breakin’ Down”, “Let’s Build A Home”, and the show-closing “Screwdriver”. When he plays his guitar during “Astro”, it amusingly looks as if he could barely withstand the instrument’s emanation of electric current. Meg – whose bout with acute anxiety would famously bring the final White Stripes tour to an end several years later – seemed to be enjoying her role as the drummer during this show. The duo’s interplay during “Rated X” supports the notion that the song was a personal one for the then-recently-divorced couple. On every level, this DVD would have made the grade for a commercial release.
The 7-inch single contained two new Jack White solo studio tracks, one apiece from his two new solo albums which will be released later in 2022. The A-side track, “Taking Me Back”, is a track from the album titled Fear Of The Dawn, which will be released on April 8th. This track has a modern alternative rock sound, using both traditional and electronic instruments (all of them played by Mr. White) to emphatically convey a feeling of agitation. This is not the music-history-from-the-garage Jack White of the White Stripes era; this is the more futuristic, technology-embracing Jack White who brought us the 2018 Boarding House Reach album – although when you listen to this high-tech track on vinyl, there almost seems to be something vaguely retro-‘70’s about it. Jack the music historian then travels about a century back in time for the single’s B-side track, “Taking Me Back (Gently)”. This track will be included on the album Entering Heaven Alive, which will be released on July 22nd. It’s a much more old-fashioned alternate version of the A-side track – and by “old-fashioned”, I mean that it’s reminiscent of classical, jazz, and ragtime music from the first half of the 20th century. The instrumentation by some of White’s frequent supporting players is all acoustic, including vintage-sounding violin and piano. (Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler is credited with playing the “trap kit” – a pre-WWII-era way of referring to a drum kit). It’s a charming throwback to a pre-rock-and-roll time period. Are these two tracks representative of the sounds of their respective albums? We shall find out soon.
Another 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 LP’s have “Gordy” carved in Side A, “Newton” carved in Side B, “Tyree” carved in Side C, and “Guyton” carved in Side D. The 7-inch single has “Taking Me Back” carved in Side A, and “Taking Me Back” carved backwards in Side B.
The White Stripes “Live at The Detroit Institute of Arts 11/2/01” (Third Man TMR-747) 2021
Track Listing:
Side A:
1. Little Room
2. The Big Three Killed My Baby
3. Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
4. Hotel Yorba
5. Lord, Send Me An Angel
6. Astro
7. Jack The Ripper
8. Death Letter
Side B:
9. One More Cup Of Coffee
10. I’m Bored
11. Omologato
12. Looking At You
13. We’re Going To Be Friends
14. Baby Blue
15. Cannon / Grinnin’ In Your Face
16. Boll Weevil
Side C:
1. Let’s Shake Hands
2. When I Hear My Name
3. Jolene
4. You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
5. Hello Operator
6. Stop Breakin’ Down
7. Apple Blossom
8. Fell In Love With A Girl
Side D:
9. I Fought Piranhas
10. Let’s Build A Home
11. Goin’ Back To Memphis
12. Do
13. Rated “X”
14. Expecting
15. I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman
16. Your Southern Can Is Mine
17. Screwdriver
The White Stripes: Live at The Detroit Institute of Arts 11/2/01 (DVD)
Scene Selection Listing:
Set One
1. Little Room
2. The Big Three Killed My Baby
3. Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
4. Hotel Yorba
5. Lord, Send Me An Angel
6. Astro
7. Jack The Ripper
8. Death Letter
9. One More Cup Of Coffee
10. I’m Bored
11. Omologato
12. Looking At You
13. We’re Going To Be Friends
14. Baby Blue
15. Cannon / Grinnin’ In Your Face
16. Boll Weevil
Set Two
17. Let’s Shake Hands
18. When I Hear My Name
19. Jolene
20. You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
21. Hello Operator
22. Stop Breakin’ Down
23. Apple Blossom
24. Fell In Love With A Girl
25. I Fought Piranhas
26. Let’s Build A Home
27. Goin’ Back To Memphis
28. Do
29. Rated “X”
30. Expecting
31. I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman
32. Your Southern Can Is Mine
33. Screwdriver
Jack White “Taking Me Back” (Third Man single TMR-748) 2021
Track Listing:
a. Taking Me Back
b. Taking Me Back (Gently)
Reviews of other Third Man Vault packages
The 50th Vault package featured a 2-LP live album from the White Stripes recorded in 2001, as well as a DVD documenting the same concert, and a 7-inch single containing two tracks from White’s two upcoming 2022 solo albums.
The 2-LP set Live at The Detroit Institute of Arts 11/2/01 chronicles a November 2001 concert by the duo of Jack and Meg White at the titular museum's Rivera Court. The two discs are visually striking, the first one pressed in transparent vinyl with red splatters, the second one pressed in translucent white. The gatefold cover also included four cards printed with Steve Shaw photographs from the concert.
This concert captured the Stripes a few months after the release of their White Blood Cells album, when their star was quickly rising. The duo were mostly in good form for this event, at least after a rough start (it’s hard to tell if the jarring bit of guitar grinding during “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground” was a mistake or was intended). The Whites performed a decent selection of covers and originals, displaying their soon-to-be-well-known folk-and-blues-influenced garage rock aesthetic. Despite some volume inconsistencies, the sound quality of this live album is cleaner than that of many other live White Stripes albums issued through the Third Man Vault. This can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it gives the set more immediacy than muddier recordings; on the other hand, it causes the mistakes to be more noticeable than usual. Also, the clearer sound draws more attention than usual to Jack White’s singing voice, which has never been his strongest asset.
But the duo’s strengths are usually plentiful here. Jack’s efficient guitar playing was well-matched with Meg’s simplistic yet effective drumming. Jack’s guitar agility is particularly impressive on the blues covers “Death Letter” and “Stop Breakin’ Down”. The Jack White originals “Let’s Build A Home” (which incorporates Henry and June’s “Goin’ Back To Memphis”) and “Screwdriver” offer reliably fast-and-furious blues stomps.
The cover songs in this set are well-chosen, showing Jack’s influences and his skills. Jack has one of his better vocal moments on Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup Of Coffee”. During the Blind Willie McTell song “Lord, Send Me An Angel”, White jokingly plays the part of a womanizer, as he would on his similar solo track “Three Women” many years later. He enthusiastically rocks out on a medley of songs by Detroit rockers Iggy Pop (“I’m Bored”), the Gories (“Omologato”), and the MC5 (“Looking At You”). For covers of two ‘70’s country classics: Jack sings with a convincingly pleading voice on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, and goes a cappella for part of Loretta Lynn’s “Rated X” – possibly to make a statement about his and Meg’s divorce (even though the two were pretending to be brother and sister at this point). And the Gene Vincent number “Baby Blue” (not to be confused with the Badfinger song) sizzles with rockabilly verve.
Of course, the duo's originals are also performed well here, selected from their early singles (they do better with “Let’s Shake Hands” than with “The Big Three Killed My Baby”) and from their first three albums. Their then-new White Blood Cells album was best represented by the furious punk burst of “Fell In Love With A Girl” (the song that was helping them receive wider attention at the time) and the innocent ballad “We’re Going To Be Friends”. All in all, a worthwhile live album.
An even better way to experience the concert is by watching the accompanying DVD The White Stripes: Live At The Detroit Institute Of Arts 11/2/01, which visually documents the two complete sets (totaling 85 minutes) performed by the Whites during that night at the museum. The unusual venue (Jack tells the crowd it’s an “OK room to play in, it’s not the greatest”) certainly gives the show a unique visual backdrop. Surrounded by pillars, Michigan state flags, and statues of Jesus and of a zebra’s head, the duo is made to look as if they unexpectedly brought their minimalist electric blues-rock into a strangely stately setting. It certainly didn’t have a sedating effect on them, as this professionally shot video allows us to see as well as hear Jack’s passionate performing, particularly on “Stop Breakin’ Down”, “Let’s Build A Home”, and the show-closing “Screwdriver”. When he plays his guitar during “Astro”, it amusingly looks as if he could barely withstand the instrument’s emanation of electric current. Meg – whose bout with acute anxiety would famously bring the final White Stripes tour to an end several years later – seemed to be enjoying her role as the drummer during this show. The duo’s interplay during “Rated X” supports the notion that the song was a personal one for the then-recently-divorced couple. On every level, this DVD would have made the grade for a commercial release.
The 7-inch single contained two new Jack White solo studio tracks, one apiece from his two new solo albums which will be released later in 2022. The A-side track, “Taking Me Back”, is a track from the album titled Fear Of The Dawn, which will be released on April 8th. This track has a modern alternative rock sound, using both traditional and electronic instruments (all of them played by Mr. White) to emphatically convey a feeling of agitation. This is not the music-history-from-the-garage Jack White of the White Stripes era; this is the more futuristic, technology-embracing Jack White who brought us the 2018 Boarding House Reach album – although when you listen to this high-tech track on vinyl, there almost seems to be something vaguely retro-‘70’s about it. Jack the music historian then travels about a century back in time for the single’s B-side track, “Taking Me Back (Gently)”. This track will be included on the album Entering Heaven Alive, which will be released on July 22nd. It’s a much more old-fashioned alternate version of the A-side track – and by “old-fashioned”, I mean that it’s reminiscent of classical, jazz, and ragtime music from the first half of the 20th century. The instrumentation by some of White’s frequent supporting players is all acoustic, including vintage-sounding violin and piano. (Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler is credited with playing the “trap kit” – a pre-WWII-era way of referring to a drum kit). It’s a charming throwback to a pre-rock-and-roll time period. Are these two tracks representative of the sounds of their respective albums? We shall find out soon.
Another 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 LP’s have “Gordy” carved in Side A, “Newton” carved in Side B, “Tyree” carved in Side C, and “Guyton” carved in Side D. The 7-inch single has “Taking Me Back” carved in Side A, and “Taking Me Back” carved backwards in Side B.
The White Stripes “Live at The Detroit Institute of Arts 11/2/01” (Third Man TMR-747) 2021
Track Listing:
Side A:
1. Little Room
2. The Big Three Killed My Baby
3. Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
4. Hotel Yorba
5. Lord, Send Me An Angel
6. Astro
7. Jack The Ripper
8. Death Letter
Side B:
9. One More Cup Of Coffee
10. I’m Bored
11. Omologato
12. Looking At You
13. We’re Going To Be Friends
14. Baby Blue
15. Cannon / Grinnin’ In Your Face
16. Boll Weevil
Side C:
1. Let’s Shake Hands
2. When I Hear My Name
3. Jolene
4. You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
5. Hello Operator
6. Stop Breakin’ Down
7. Apple Blossom
8. Fell In Love With A Girl
Side D:
9. I Fought Piranhas
10. Let’s Build A Home
11. Goin’ Back To Memphis
12. Do
13. Rated “X”
14. Expecting
15. I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman
16. Your Southern Can Is Mine
17. Screwdriver
The White Stripes: Live at The Detroit Institute of Arts 11/2/01 (DVD)
Scene Selection Listing:
Set One
1. Little Room
2. The Big Three Killed My Baby
3. Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
4. Hotel Yorba
5. Lord, Send Me An Angel
6. Astro
7. Jack The Ripper
8. Death Letter
9. One More Cup Of Coffee
10. I’m Bored
11. Omologato
12. Looking At You
13. We’re Going To Be Friends
14. Baby Blue
15. Cannon / Grinnin’ In Your Face
16. Boll Weevil
Set Two
17. Let’s Shake Hands
18. When I Hear My Name
19. Jolene
20. You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
21. Hello Operator
22. Stop Breakin’ Down
23. Apple Blossom
24. Fell In Love With A Girl
25. I Fought Piranhas
26. Let’s Build A Home
27. Goin’ Back To Memphis
28. Do
29. Rated “X”
30. Expecting
31. I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman
32. Your Southern Can Is Mine
33. Screwdriver
Jack White “Taking Me Back” (Third Man single TMR-748) 2021
Track Listing:
a. Taking Me Back
b. Taking Me Back (Gently)
Reviews of other Third Man Vault packages
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