Third Man Records is celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Raconteurs’ debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, with the 70th installment of its long-running archival audio series, The Vault. Broken Boy Soldiers XX serves as a companion volume to the Grammy Award-nominated Rock ’n’ Roll release, and features 23 tracks, 22 of which are previously unreleased. This includes nine demos and outtakes, as well as a recording of the Raconteurs’ first-ever live performance, captured on stage at Liverpool’s Carling Academy Liverpool on March 20, 2006.
Vault Pkg. #70 is pressed across three 180-gram LPs on brilliant Metallic Copper, Grand Green, and Coke Bottle Clear vinyl, packed in two gatefold jackets and housed in a slipcase alongside one of four collectible trading cards from Third Man’s recently launched Tripppl imprint as well as a “Steady, As She Goes” video shoot film strip printed onto color positive 35mm film and highlighting individual shots of each band member pulled from the original Jim Jarmusch-directed video.
Subscriptions to order Vault #70: The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers XX are available now through October 31 at midnight (CT), exclusively at thirdmanrecords.com/vault.
More about this Vault #70:
Subtly introduced to the world as “a new band of old friends,” the Raconteurs burst onto the mid-aughts rock ‘n’ roll landscape with a pedigree and a passion. Jack White was arguably at the zenith of his pop-culture saturation through his iconoclastic work as guitarist, singer, and songsmith for the White Stripes, while Brendan Benson’s impressive resume already included a trio of acclaimed solo albums that earned him a reputation among those in the know as a songwriter nonpareil. Best known as the rhythm section for the Greenhornes, a Cincinnati-based combo equal parts blue-eyed soul and backbone-slipping garage rock, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler had recently served as drummer and bassist for Loretta Lynn’s GRAMMY® Award-winning, Jack White-produced 2004 career milestone, Van Lear Rose.
Released in May 2006, the Raconteurs’ debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, immediately proved a watershed work for all involved, earning international critical applause and spawning a string of hit singles including “Steady As She Goes,” “Hands,” and “Broken Boy Soldier.” Recorded entirely at Benson’s Le Grand Studios in the attic of his then-home at 419 East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, the sweaty, unplanned sessions left little time for anything outside the music. Broken Boy Soldiers XX showcases the talents of all band members through ample extras and nuggets like the revelatory studio demo of “Level” and early take of “Steady, As She Goes,” both of which pair solidly with the unheard, unreleased, and heretofore unknown “Mech Royal,” all Benson / White efforts pre-dating the album proper yet serving as inspiration to it. From the full-band sessions, an alternate unheard take of “Blue Veins” is beyond exceptional, raw, bare, absent in-the-mix trickery, and extending to a seven-minute runtime. Insightful iterations of “Bedridden Blues (aka The Bane Rendition)” and “Store Bought Bones” delight in their derivations, highlighting the lightning-in-a-bottle feeling of the band capturing a magical moment on tape.
A previously unreleased recording of the Raconteurs’ first-ever live performance further illuminates Third Man Records’ new 20th anniversary companion. With the trusty Hutch behind the mixing board, the band’s debut public outing is brimming with excitement and energy, highlighted by the full tracklist of Broken Boy Soldiers tracks plus two captivating covers: ”A House Is Not A Motel” (written by Arthur Lee and performed by Love in 1968) and the Flamin’ Groovies’ propulsive fan favorite, “Headin’ For The Texas Border.” Said White of the Liverpool performance at the time: “I’m not used to being able to take a sip of water in the middle of a song.”
Two decades after its initial impact, the Raconteurs’ Broken Boy Soldiers stands as a shining example of the inherent and undying power of the by-the-book band – four people, four instruments, occasional harmonies, a template solidified and popularized by the Beatles and a touchstone ever since.
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VAULT #70: THE RACONTEURS
BROKEN BOY SOLDIERS XX
3 x LP / Photo Strip / Trading Card
TRACKLIST:
LIVE IN LIVERPOOL MARCH 20TH, 2006
Level
Intimate Secretary
Hands
Steady, As She Goes
Together
A House Is Not A Motel
Store Bought Bones
Call It A Day9. Yellow Sun
Broken Boy Soldier
Five On The Five
Blue Veins
Headin’ For The Texas Border
DEMOS / OUTTAKES
Steady, As She Goes (studio demo) (previously released as TMR-198)
Mech Royal (studio demo)
Level (studio demo)
Blue Veins (alternate studio take)
Steady, As She Goes (alternate studio take, no vocals)
Yellow Sun (alternate studio take, rough guide vocals)
Store Bought Bones (alternate studio take, no vocals)
Bedridden Blues aka The Bane Rendition (alternate studio take)
Hands (partial studio fragment)
