Jack White
“Over and Over and Over”
limited edition one-sided tri-color, 200 something copies pressed, complete with custom picture sleeve that will be slightly different from the standard released version
Do you guys know how pumped I am?
For the record, I first heard this monster riff in 2005 at Jack’s house while he and Meg were recording “Get Behind Me Satan.”
I am pretty sure that the “Blue Orchid” riff pre-dates this one by a few days, but in my mind, they exist hand-in-hand. While “Blue Orchid” smashed that recording process wide open and gave Jack the inspiration to make that album as bad ass as possible, THIS riff, inarguably, is ten times stronger. I feel like Jack was originally calling it “Thermonuclear Counter-Thrust” but maybe I’m just imagining that. I can find no contemporaneous documentation of that name.
There are two takes of demo recordings of this song from 2005 (with the riff played solely on fuzz bass). There are demo recordings from 2007 with the White Stripes trying it in rehearsal leading up to the tracking of the “Icky Thump” album. Imagine the guitar profile more in line with the octave-pedaled presence of the song “Icky Thump” and that’s a good start for understanding the 2007 version. I guess the Raconteurs tried it but I never heard any evidence, same with the Dead Weather. It was apparently the main track that Jack and Jay-Z worked on together in 2009, under the title “Ray Bans” or “Behind My Ray Bans” and although I’ve never heard that working, I’m told to imagine the phrase “Behind my Ray Bans” to coincide with the last five notes of the riff.
As Jack has already said, this had been his white whale. We sincerely considered including the ’07 demo as part of the “Icky Thump X” Vault package last year. I have no recollection of Jack ever previously giving me such an impassioned plea…”I just really think we shouldn’t put this on the Vault” he said. My response was pretty matter-of-factly, “Well, it’s your label, so please don’t feel like you have to convince me.” Maybe he was trying to convince himself?
Regardless, at the end of 2017 when Jack finally had played me this version you hear now, upon the end of the song, I looked at him and said “I’ve been waiting twelve years to hear this song with lyrics.”
The final version of this song is everything I’d ever dreamed it would be. It is my favorite moment on the album, with the coda to “Humoresque” being a close second. I cannot wait to see this monster unleashed unto a sell-out crowd at Little Caesar’s Arena, a stone’s throw away from the Gold Dollar where this whole mess got started.
I’ve got an extra copy of this limited tri-color to give away here. AUTOGRAPHED by Jack White, today, explicitly for this purpose. Don’t use my give-away here as an excuse to miss going to any number of the listening parties we’re throwing at record stores worldwide though. Even though we’re giving away tri-colors at the listening parties, none of those will be autographed. Man we spoil you kids.
As for the giveaway, post a comment, can be about whatever, but maybe talk about a significant wait you’ve endured in life. Can be funny, pithy, in iambic pentameter, whatever. The “best” comment will be solely determined by me. Please chime in by noon central time on Tuesday, March 13th.
***WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED***
A haiku on waiting
Anticipation.
Time dragging like a tortoise.
Is it worth the wait?
I wanted to be a consumer of this album differently to any others of Jack’s albums, Everytime jack would release a single in the past or album I would overlisten to the singles online as they came out and I felt like it was prioritising songs for me so this time I swore to myself I would wait for only physical copies of the songs and avoid all other media in which to hear the songs which was difficult and even involved me turning off the store speakers where I work during a night full because someone thought i’de already heard them.
So when the listening parties came along I jumped at the opportunity to listen in full without any preferences or biases and I think this is the way I will enjoy jacks music from now on.
It really has been an experience, thank you for taking the time to read these,
Kind Regards,
Daniel Seaton
I have endured two significant waits in my life. Both involved carrying what could be likened to ‘the weight of the world’. Both resulted in a beautiful baby girl. And arguably no future wait(s) shall ever be as fruitful. That said, I hope my comment, although pithy and most arguably lacking in iambic pentameter, is deemed worthy enough to be fruitful.
Ben, I am writing to simply say thank you.
Thank you to you, for sharing these back stories. It is not only makes listening to the music deeper and more exciting but the history of this is super inspiring. I personally am working on a side project and find great inspiration in knowing that some ideas just need time and they will find there way to the world.
Thank you to you, Jack, and all at TMR for the listening party. This is now my 3rd TMR listening party and it has enabled me to find 3 new record shops in my area I didn’t know of before. On Friday my 13 year old son and I had and adventure even getting to the shop and had a great night meeting new people. My son also found inspiration in playing his guitar again… that hadn’t been touched in weeks. The shop we went to had a tiny guitar store inside and my son purchased a new tuner. He has been playing every-night! Thanks for all who make these events come to life and support our local communities.
Julie
I go to SCAD. Unfortunate but true. Nah its pretty cool, pretty alright. A lot of the time if im hankerin for some decent grub, my friends and I have to wait for this bus on the Yellow line to get to this place for some chicken katsu. Its pretty good, pretty alright. Theres been too many instances where we will be waiting in the cold, in the dark, for like 30 minutes and when the bus finally reaches us it says in its bright yellow digital sign “DROP OFF ONLY.” I know it sounds like we wouldnt be able to recover, and thats right, we dont.
My wife and I waited four long years for pregnancy to finally happen, and now we anxiously wait a few more weeks until our new baby girl joins our family. Patience, in this case, was very very rewarding.
I’ve heard waiting in line at the Bomb Factory will be a true test of ones ability to wait!
What is wait?
There once was a fan from Kuwait
All he ever did was wait,
Then Meg came back, met up with Jack
And they all resigned to their fate.
Waiting in the freezing rain all night to get the liquid filled single from Jacks 1st album. The hardest earned album in my collection