The White Stripes announce archival live album ‘Live In Las Vegas’
American blues rockers The White Stripes will release a new live album, Live In Las Vegas.
The new live LP will be the 58th release from Third Man Records’ ongoing ‘Vault Package’ project. The album chronicles The White Stripes’ 2003 performance at The Joint and the Hard Rock Casino.
Featuring a bonus seven-inch single with Bob Dylan covering ‘Ball and Biscuit’ with Jack White, Live In Las Vegas also has its precedent in a low-key V2 Records release at the time of the 2003 show. The new album represents the first commercial release of the limited-edition live album select fans received.
“In the midst of the run of shows in September 2003, a promotional idea was cooked up by the team at V2 Records – 40 or so fans would be flown out to the White Stripes show at the Joint (at the Hard Rock Casino) in Las Vegas, get a meet-and-greet with the band, and then some time afterward be presented with a vinyl pressing of that evening’s show,” the press release for the new album states.
“The original pressing is sparse to say the least. With no printed artwork, tracklisting or even credits The White Stripes Live In Las Vegas rubber-stamped on the labels is the only true identifier on this record,” the statement adds. “A dip through the original paperwork shows only 100 copies were ever pressed, all at United Record Pressing in Nashville.”
The band’s appearance at The Joint came just five months after the release of Elephant, which became the best-selling White Stripes album in their catalogue. The attention and popularity that the group were commanding was at its peak, as seen by the diverse guest list of attendees at the concert.
“Consider this snapshot of the night… Josh Hartnett, Steve Mcdonald, Darryl Hannah, Scott Caan and Josh Klinghoffer were all there, not necessarily together or gambling,” the press release explained. “Soledad Brothers and Whirlwind Heat tore it up as the opening bands, and the Stripes’ set itself was spectacular.”
“The unpredictable moments electrify…an off-the-cuff take of Buddy Holly’s ‘Not Fade Away’ to a mid-set abandonment of ‘Offend In Every Way’ because of its reliance upon the D minor chord and an opportune tease of ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ imbue the evening with spontaneous joy,” the statement says. “Songs from Elephant had taken shape as muscled, taut beasts of energy as the blasting jolt of pure rock and roll lava via ‘The Hardest Button To Button’ testifies. All these factors make this night stick out as measurably better than the rest.”
Check out the tracklisting for The White Stripes – Live In Las Vegas down below.
The White Stripes – Live In Las Vegas tracklisting
- 1. ‘Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground’
- 2. ‘When I Hear My Name’
- 3. ‘Not Fade Away’ (Buddy Holly)
- 4. ‘St. James Infirmary Blues’ (traditional)
- 5. ‘Black Math’
- 6. ‘The Big Three Killed My Baby’
- 7. ‘I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart’
- 8. ‘Death Letter’ (Son House)
- 9. ‘Take A Whiff On Me’ (traditional)
- 10. ‘In The Cold, Cold Night’
- 11. ‘Wasting My Time’
- 12. ‘I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself’ (Burt Bacharach / Hal David)
- 13. ‘Offend In Every Way’ (incomplete)
- 14. ‘The Union Forever’
- 15. ‘Seven Nation Army’
- 16. ‘You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket’
- 17. ‘I Think I Smell A Rat’
- 18. ‘Look Me Over Closely’ (Terry Gilkyson / Marelene Dietrich)
- 19. ‘Cannon’
- 20. ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ (traditional)
- 21. ‘Cannon’ (reprise)
- 22. ‘Ball And Biscuit’
- 23. ‘The Hardest Button To Button’
- 24. ‘You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)’
- 25. ‘Hello Operator’
- 26. ‘We’re Going To Be Friends’
- 27. ‘Hotel Yorba’
- 28. ‘Fell In Love With A Girl’
- 29. ‘Your Southern Can Is Mine’ (Blind Willie McTell)
- 30. ‘Screwdriver’
- 31. ‘Boll Weevil’ (Leadbelly)
7-inch single:
- ‘Ball And Biscuit’ (live March 17th, 2004) – Bob Dylan & Jack White
- ‘Ball And Biscuit’ (live May 2nd, 2002) – The White Stripes
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