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.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out our review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
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!
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.
After vault #31, a few TMR Vault subscribers let me know that the packaging varies with each shipment, so I knew not to expect anything this month. While there was no shelf box like #30, everything was perfectly packaged for shipment and arrived completely intact.
Vault package #32 features several items all centered around The Dead Weather! I’ve been a fan of The Dead Weather since first hearing them years ago and was really looking forward to digging into this vault. The vault focuses on a blistering live set that was recorded at The Mayan in LA on August 26, 2009. You’ll get a double LP of the set on high quality colored vinyl, a DVD of the set, a TMR key of some sort, and the final installment of the Dodge and Burn 7” series with a box to store them all in. This is a huge item for long-time subscribers, and really makes me wish I had been subscribing for long enough to collect them all!
They include a card every month detailing (nearly) all the items.
The Dead Weather - Live at the Mayan Los Angeles is the first item this month. It’s an absolutely gorgeous package, with a matte-like finish on the jacket and bright yellow vinyl to match the artwork. Included is an insert with an image of a skeleton bride, and it’s printed with some metallic ink on heavy green cardstock. It’s a really beautiful piece and reminds me of the Teddy Roosevelt print from Vault #30.
The album itself starts out with no fade-in, you’re immediately in the crowd at the Mayan in 2009. Jack White’s voice implores you to “Put down your Blackberrys for five f****** minutes…” and then it all starts. The energy of the band at this time in their career is huge, and really comes across in this recording. The set was very well recorded - you can even hear the snare wires rattle in Jack’s kit when he steps out to lead the band in an amazing cover of Them’s “You Just Cant Win”. I did have to adjust the low end on my stereo a bit - there’s a ton of bass in here - but that was just for personal preference.
Next up is the companion DVD featuring the entire live performance in a concert film directed and shot by Vern Moen. After last vault’s live LP/DVD combo I was a little surprised to see the same sort of thing again, but I’m definitely not complaining. The DVD fully captures the event, and of course it looks and sounds fantastic. It’s so cool to see everyone moving around and switching between instruments throughout the set. While I’m sure it’s not as awesome as it would have been to actually be there, I feel like it’s a pretty great alternative.
Up next we have this final piece of the Dodge and Burn 7” series featuring the songs Three Dollar Hat and Lose The Right! TMR has been releasing all the songs from Dodge and Burn as a 7” series since Vault 18 in late 2013 (if my research is correct), a full 2 years before the album itself was released! For long time subscribers, this must be a really satisfying collection to complete. There’s no better way to store them than with the included 7” box which features reworked artwork from the album! Since I’ve only got the final piece of the puzzle for now, I’m planning to use this box to store all my TMR-related 7”s.
The final item this month is this mysterious little key that looks a bit like a 45 adapter and has some snakes woven together on the head. According to some subscribers, Jack’s response in the TMR chat when questioned about the key was “hmmm”.. I guess we will get more info in the future. Or not! Either way, it’s a pretty cool little item that will probably hang out with my growing TMR memorabilia collection. Long-time subscribers, does this look familiar or useful to you in any way?
Verdict: This quarter’s Third Man Records Vault was awesome. I’ve been a casual fan of The Dead Weather for a long time but have never gotten to see them perform, so it was a real treat to sit back and listen to this gorgeous live set. And the DVD was just icing on the cake, really. Hopefully, I can track down some more of those Dodge and Burn singles, though I feel like it might be a long time before I can acquire them all. Check out all the past Vault releases to get a sense of what you could expect for future releases!
What did you think of the 32nd Third Man Records Vault?
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