Jack White
Piano Octaves
scum stats: this is not even a song, let alone a release
So a bit of fessing up to do on my end.
When we'd announced the Vault 44 Companion to De Stijl package, some eagle-eyed fans noticed a song in the track list titled "Piano Octaves." Great title, right? And as something previously unheard, how could you go wrong? And if said eagle-eyes had the most basic form of recall, as packages are arriving on doorsteps now, it should be painfully clear there is NO song called "Piano Octaves" on the set.
Here's the scoop...
"Piano Octaves" is roughly 30 seconds of Jack White running through octaves of G, C, A sharp and D sharp on a piano. That's IT. No lyrics, barely even any form to it, calling it all a demo of a demo of a rough idea would be GENEROUS at best.
But as the little exercise was the first recording on the cassette of Jack's solo De Stijl demos, it seemed like it made sense to keep on there and share with the world. Plus, there weren't a TON of other things to include on the set. Jack's demos are only a few songs and just including the non-album tracks from the era still felt a little slim.
So right before we're about to cut the vinyl master for this Vault pack, like, the DAY before, I get a weird feeling of uncertainty and thought to myself "Lemme check the De Stijl master tapes, just in case there's something there I'm forgetting."
So, mosey on over to the Vault, open that sucker up, grab the 1/2" tape and look on the back of the box...and holy shit. Somehow, I had forgotten (or never known?) that there was an alternate take of "Your Southern Can Is Mine." And an unused acoustic outtake of "Sister, Do You Know My Name?" And TWO alternate instrumental versions of "You're Pretty Good Looking (for a Girl)."
While it doesn't happen often, these are those Indiana Jones moments that truly light me up.
These were proper recordings, from the same sessions as the released "De Stijl" album that had just been sitting on tape for the past twenty years...you know the EXACT kind of thing that the Vault was created to release.
Well, this changed everything. I needed to make some space to fit these GEMS on there. There was an internal struggle as to whether or not I should place some (any?) prominence on this little burp of "Piano Octaves" versus some songs that have been available on vinyl and even streaming for roundabout a decade.
I mean, the internal struggle wasn't THAT long, "Piano Octaves" was removed with little remorse and I kinda forgot about it until this week when I saw a comment or two online asking about it.
So here is "Piano Octaves", in all its glory, probably never to be enshrined anywhere in any physical medium in any official capacity.
If there's one thing I hope I'm getting across here...it's that I get as excited as you folks do about these things. Hell, probably even more so. I am a fan first and foremost and I try to apply that mindset to anything and everything we do at Third Man. That sentiment may not always be the primary driving factor behind every decision, but it's there. In many ways I'm still just that brace-face teenager super-stoked to be sneaking into the Gold Dollar.
caption: I took this photo of Jack while he and Meg were rehearsing at 1203 Ferdinand in either May or June of 2000 (I could find the exact date somewhere if pressed, but have been somewhat lazy about it). The Dirtbombs would record "I'm Through With White Girls" that day as part of our inclusion on the "Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit" compilation and I came by early to bring an extra drumset along for the session. This is the piano he recorded "Piano Octaves" on. The red couch behind him is currently in my wasting away in my garage...I need to get rid of that thing already.
Side note: there's ONE more recording from this era, while containing absolutely NO music, we seriously considered making space for in this Vault package. Maybe we can share that one next week. It's a doozy.
