The White Stripes have announced the coming release of The White Stripes Greatest Hits, the first-ever official anthology of recordings from the iconic rock duo comprised of Jack White and Meg White. The collection will be available on December 4th as the first release as part of a new agreement between Sony Entertainment, Jack White, and White’s Third Man Records, which marks the first time White’s extensive catalog will be available through one label group.
The album is available for pre-order on CD, 2xLP 150-gram black vinyl and on digital platforms here. A deluxe limited edition and only colored vinyl variant of The White Stripes Greatest Hits is also available as part of Third Man Records’ Vault Package #46. In keeping with a crucial component to the story of The White Stripes and Third Man Records, information about added value items for release week album purchases at independent record stores will be announced at a later date.
It wouldn’t be The White Stripes without some intrigue. Though Jack and Meg have not performed under the moniker for nearly a decade, they’re sticking to their guns with regard to their backstory. An official press release announcing The White Stripes Greatest Hits maintains the long-held position that Jack and Meg are, in fact, brother and sister, when it’s now been widely noted that the two are not blood relatives—and, in fact, may have even been married for a time. The Greatest Hits album cover, which features a photo of the duo by Pieter M. van Hattem, even features the classic White sign-off, “my sister thanks you and I thank you.” Who can say for sure? That’s just the way The White Stripes like it.
In true White Stripes fashion, the band has revealed only one of the twenty-six songs on the track list today, “Ball and Biscuit”, keeping the rest a mystery to be unveiled at a later date. Ensuring that this special celebration is started in full face-melting force, the band also dug into the archives to share a never-before-seen live performance video of “Ball and Biscuit” from their October 22nd, 2003 Shibuya-AX show in Tokyo, Japan. Shot on four camcorders, this was the band’s third trip to Japan and the second of a six date Japan run on this tour. Watch the video below:
The White Stripes – “Ball and Biscuit” (Live at Shibuya-AX) – Tokyo, Japan – 10/22/03
[Video: The White Stripes]
With the Greatest Hits announcement, The White Stripes are also stepping into the Internet age with a new Instagram account. Furthermore, all of The White Stripes’ groundbreaking official music videos will be upgraded and released in High Definition as part of the Greatest Hits release in December; be sure to subscribe to The White Stripes YouTube channel for more from the archives and to watch the HD music videos when they debut.