The White Stripes announce 20th anniversary White Blood Cells reissue, with rarities, unreleased tracks, live cuts

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the White Stripes’ White Blood Cells, and to celebrate, Third Man Records has announced Vault Package #48: White Blood Cells XX, an expanded edition of the seminal 2001 album.

The package includes a red vinyl LP containing 13 previously unreleased tracks, a separate white LP containing a previously unreleased live recording from Headliner's in Louisville, KY, an hour-long DVD containing behind-the-scenes footage of the White Blood Cells recording process, and a 12" x 12" full-color booklet containing rare posters and flyers, unseen photos and more, all housed in a custom slipcase cover.

As a teaser, Third Man has released an alternate take of the record’s breakout single, Fell in Love with a Girl. You can check it out above.

Included on the red-vinyl disc one of Vault Package #48: White Blood Cells XX are embryonic demos of Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground and Offend in Every Way, as well as never-previously-released tracks like a full-band studio take on That’s Where It’s At (which later evolved into I Think I Smell a Rat) and “skeletal sketches” of Oooh-Ahh and Feel Like I’m Three Feet Tall, among other rarities.

Disc two, meanwhile, is a previously unreleased live recording from Headliner’s in Louisville, captured on September 6, 2001. The performance is a straight-from-the-soundboard recording and pressed on white vinyl.

Additionally, Vault Package #48 includes an hour-long behind-the-scenes peek at the White Blood Cells sessions at Easley-McCain Recording in Memphis. You can see a clip from the video above.

For more information on Vault Package #48: White Blood Cells XX, head to Third Man Records.

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Richard Bienstock

Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.