We’re proud to announce the long-overdue reissues of the first three LP’s by The White Stripes. Out-of-print in North America since 2005, the utmost care was taken in presenting these records in the best way possible. We started by mastering each LP from the original analog master tapes, the first time this process had been used for any of these titles. While extremely labor-intensive, this method ensured that the material was never converted into a digital signal. The result is an audio quality that stiffens the hairs on the back of your neck. We pressed each record on 180-gram vinyl, again, the first time any of these three albums have been afforded this superior vinyl weight. For artwork, we started from scratch and went back and tracked down all the source material, working from the original photographic prints to provide the crispest versions possible of these album covers. From there, we printed the artwork on the deluxe old-style, tip-on sleeves from the wonderful folks at Stoughton Printing in California. This process involves printing the artwork on on sheet of paper (a slick) which is then folded over and hand-glued to a heavy board blank jacket. The difference in the final product of a tip-on sleeve as opposed to a regular, direct-to-board sleeve is akin to the difference between hardcover and paperback books. Also, for the first time ever, each record comes with a coupon for MP3 downloads of the entire album. All these factors together makes these versions of The White Stripes, De Stijl and White Blood Cells the DEFINITIVE editions of these albums. These are the versions The White Stripes want people to have for posterity. In 1999, Jack and Meg White released their self-titled debut album, introducing an explosive new mix of punk, blues, and garage rock. Jack has described the album as ''really angry ... the most raw, the most powerful, and the most Detroit sounding record we've made.'' The White Stripes, songwriter Jack White (vocals, guitar, piano, and once bass) and Meg White (drums and occasional vocals) formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit independent music underground, The White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their use of analog and low-fidelity equipment in the recording process partnered with a do-it-yourself approach created a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance that sets them apart from their contemporaries.