Jack White’s hotly anticipated new album Lazaretto is just over a month away (coinciding with his Bonnaroo headlining slot), and in true musical-Wonka fashion his Third Man Records imprint has announced the release of the “Ultra LP,” a version of the album packed with the kind of stuff that makes vinyl lovers swoon. Watch below as Jack White and Third Man right-hand man Ben Blackwell describe the contents Ultra LP, which includes a reverse groove pattern guiding the needle from the center of the record outward, dual-groove technology and much more:
To recap, the Lazaretto Ultra LP contains the following:
– 180 gram vinyl
– 2 vinyl-only hidden tracks hidden beneath the center labels
– 1 hidden track plays at 78 RPM, one plays at 45 RPM, making this a 3-speed record
– Side A plays from the outside in
– Dual-groove technology: plays an electric or acoustic intro for “Just One Drink” depending on where needle is dropped. The grooves meet for the body of the song.
– Matte finish on Side B, giving the appearance of an un-played 78 RPM record
– Both sides end with locked grooves
– Vinyl pressed in seldom-used flat-edged format
– Dead wax area on Side A contains a hand-etched hologram by Tristan Duke of Infinity Light Science, the first of its kind on a vinyl record
– Absolutely zero compression used during recording, mixing and mastering
– Different running order from the CD/digital version
– LP utilizes some mixes different from those used on CD and digital version
Pre-orders can (and should immediately) be made at Third Man Records.
