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Third Man Records Vault #35 Boarding House Reach

Andy
ByAndyApr 30, 2018 | 5 comments

closed Third Man Record Vault box

Third Man Records Vault
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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.

open Third Man Record Vault box

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out our review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Third Man Record Vault Spring 2018 review

About Third Man Records Vault

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!

Third Man Records Vault #35 Review

Vault package #35 is all about Jack White’s wild new album Boarding House Reach! The vault edition of the album includes an exclusive, special edition vinyl with a special edition cover, distinguishing it completely from every other edition of the album. The 7” comes packaged in the LP jacket, and the bonus goodies were packaged in a padded envelope to keep everything safe in shipping. Let’s get into it!

They include a card every month detailing all the items.

The Vault edition of Boarding House Reach is absolutely gorgeous and is the only variant version being made available. The jacket has holographic foil all over the front and back, and the insert with the lyrics is only available in this version of the LP. The vinyl itself is a heavyweight 180-gram and is pressed by the Third Man plant in Detroit. That covers the physical, but what about the music? In my opinion, this is White’s most ambitious project to date. It’s weird but good, and it’s very interesting. It doesn’t contain the hooks and radio-friendly jams of his past two solo albums, but I think long-time Jack White fans will still enjoy it. All of Jack’s eccentricities and talent are swirled up in these 13 tracks, featuring 24 session musicians throughout.

Included within the LP jacket is this 7” featuring 2 demos, also an exclusive item only available in this vault. The 7” is the standard Third Man jukebox style with the wide center hole, and comes in a standard Third Man style sleeve. The vinyl itself is a translucent blue and black swirl. It’s always awesome to hear the early versions of songs. You can really hear what the artist wanted out of the song when you can compare the demo to the final track.

One of the bonus items this month is a set of three photos from the recording sessions for Boarding House Reach.  The photos were taken by David Swanson, whose work has been featured in past vaults, and shows Jack and some of the other session musicians inside and outside the two studios where the album was recorded: Sear Sound in New York and Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.

The next bonus item is this set of foil-stamped broadsides featuring lyrics from three songs on the album. Broadsides was a new term to me but seem fitting for a bit of Jack White ephemera:

From Wikipedia:

Historically, broadsides were used as posters, announcing events or proclamations, commentary in the form of ballads, or simply advertisements.

The prints are perfect for framing, and the papers have a bright sheen to them in the right light.

Finally this month, we get the 2018 Third Man Challenge Coin! There was no description of the challenge coin in last year’s vault, so it’s cool to learn that it grants the holder a 10% discount at the physical Third Man stores in Nashville and Detroit. It also doubles as a 45 adapter, perfect for the 7” in this vault.

Verdict: The 35th Third Man Records Vault was excellent. As someone who was anxiously awaiting Jack White’s new album, I had a feeling the vault would contain Boarding House Reach and I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how exclusive every part of the LP was.  Check out all the past Vault releases to get a sense of what you could expect for future releases!

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, but order by today, 4/30 to receive Vault 36.

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.

What did you think of the 35th Third Man Records Vault?

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The Vault is a quarterly subscription that sends out an exclusive 12" and 7" records plus one bonus item. Each vinyl record is made for The Vault package and are not re-sold.
Andy
Andy
Andy is a professional photographer and a vinyl record collector. He loves coffee, gin, craft beer, and playing disc golf. Getting mail is one of his favorite things and he buys a new record every week but tells his wife it's much less often.

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5 comments

Julie Burgin

Hi there, I became a huge fan of this album after seeing him in concert. I’m not a vault member but was curious to see the album cover of the vault album cover of BHR and had found some images of it. Why does it seem to leave me questioning what he’s really all about behind his music that he portrays. I love his music and lyrics too much lately. But when I opened the record album for BHR it seemed like he’s trying to say something without saying anything just with his cover art. He seems to be the type of person who does everything for a reason nothing by mistake in regards to his album cover art. Is it him behind it all? It scared me a bit with the face of jack white being held by a scary looking image that is supposed to be jack white. Like the scary person behind jacks face… I’m looking too into it and I honestly think that’s probably why he does anything, to grab your attention or maybe it’s that; to scare you or make you think and I am thinking too much into it. Just wish i knew if he’s promoting good/love or bad/evil in some way. It seems like there’s a fine line being painted to blend the two. I don’t think in dealing with love there shouldn’t be any question or confusion.

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jenaralee

I had no idea the coin gave you a discount! I assumed it was just a 45 adapter. My husband and I went to the Nashville store last fall- oops. Would have been good to know because I think we spent $200 there!
Great review! I’m obsessed with that blue/black vinyl. It’s so pretty.

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Andy

Yeah it was a nice surprise that they included some info about the coin/adapter this year! I haven’t been to Nashville in years but now I know I’ll have to carry this if I do. Thanks for reading!

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Missy

Hey Andy I really enjoyed your review it was very thorough! But I’m left with some questions, like with this sub what TYPE of music do u receive? Is it rock, blues edm? And who is jack white? What’s his music genre and is he the type of typical artist you can expect from this sub? To me those are some pretty pertinent questions! I really did enjoy all the other. Information but I’m left wondering to myself like what type of music is this sub all about u know I mean that is the point right, the music? lol and actually I’m always left kindof wondering about genres when I. Read these types of reviews (ones that send LP’s) would u consider this a music discovery sub or are they just trying to promote bands/artists on their label?

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Andy

Hey Missy!
This subscription was created by Third Man Records, a record label that was started and is owned by Jack White. Jack is most well known for being part of The White Stripes, but has several side projects and solo records under his belt as well. Third Man releases a wide array of genres of music, so it’s tough to say they focus on one specific one. I would say a majority fall under the Rock umbrella though. You can read more about Third Man here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Man_Records
As for this subscription, it’s definitely geared towards fans of Jack White and his many styles of music, though they do often feature other acts – often from the Third Man label but also from other parts of the music world. Past commenters have said this sub is only for dedicated Jack White/Third Man fans, and while I do enjoy pretty much everything Jack White has made, I’ve also enjoyed all the new acts I’ve discovered through The Vault!
Thanks for calling it out, I’ll be sure to add a little more detail to the description of this sub going forward

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