The White Stripes - De Stijl XX [Limited Edition] (2020) [Vinyl]

The White Stripes’ sophomore album, De Stijl, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2020. To mark the occasion, Jack White’s Third Man Records has announced a special vinyl-only companion release featuring unreleased demos, B-sides, and live recordings from the era.

As was the case for the companion release to The White Stripes’ self-titled debut, the De Stijl 20th anniversary package is available exclusively through Third Man Records’ Vault subscription service. However, if you’ve been looking for an optimal time to sign up, now may be it.

That’s because the double-LP set contains upwards of 30 never before heard tracks. Among the choice selections are Jack White’s original acoustic boombox demos for De Stijl, with many of the tracks featuring alternate and unused lyrics. Additionally, LP 1 boasts previously unreleased covers of Thee Headcoats’ “You’re Right, I’m Wrong” and the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself”, recorded at Corduroy Recording Studio in Melbourne, Australia in Fall 2000.

The second vinyl captures The White Stripes’ New Year’s Eve 2001 performance at the Magic Stick in Detroit. Across 17 tracks are the band’s only known covers of AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock” and “Dog Eat Dog” featuring Chris McInnis on bass, one of the only times the band employed the instrument in a live setting. The live recording ends with a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “After Hours” sung by Meg White, which marked her only performance of the song. The entire set has been speed-corrected and remastered in high-quality directly from the original board tape.

The 20th anniversary package also includes an archival booklet featuring unseen photographs, flyers, posters, hand-written lyrics, and other band memorabilia.