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The Black Keys are Dan Auerbach (guitar and vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). They are from Akron, Ohio. They will rock your face off.
In 2001, Dan met Patrick at a Patrick's recording studio while waiting for the rest of his band to arrive and lay down some tracks. Thankfully for us, his band never showed up. Patrick sat in on drums with Dan and they quickly realized that they might just make a good duo. They played together for a few hours and became fast friends. They released their first album together in 2002 and have been constantly touring and recording ever since.
The Black Keys have a very distinctive sound. Their raw formula takes classic blues, rock, funk, and soul riffs, grinds them up, then channels them through highly-distorted and overdriven amps. Their sound is often compared to that of ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the White Stripes, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Dan's voice was made for the blues, sounding something like the devil spawn of Paul Rodgers and Eddie Vedder. His guitar style is all over the map. He usually plays guitar with his fingers (with a fingerpick on his index finger), allowing him to play his dirty bass grooves and signature blues riffs by himself without the need for a second (or third) guitarist. On vinyl (which is the proper way to listen to The Black Keys), Dan will occasionally lay down additional guitar tracks to thicken up their sound or add a sweet solo. On stage it is just Dan and Patrick playing live. Patrick never received proper drum instruction, for which we are all appreciative. His drumming cuts right through the reverb produced by Dan's guitar with gunshot clarity. Their live performances are stripped-down raucous affairs, producing more noise than a band twice their size.
The band have developed many fans within the recording industry, having been asked to tour with and open for diverse and iconic artists including Beck, Radiohead, Sleater-Kinney, and Devo. The Black Keys have continued to diversify their style overtime, recently collaborating with producer Danger Mouse on their album "Attack and Release", and an array of hip-hop artists including Mos Def, Jim Jones, and RZA on their side-project "Blakroc".
Major Discography:
The Big Come Up (2002)
The Black Keys' debut album "The Big Come Up" featured 13 tracks and quickly established the foundation for their distinctive sound. This album defined The Black Keys' formula for their next five albums. Distorted blues riffs, muddy vocals, and driving beats are standard fare throughout the album. Highlights from this album include the driving opening track "Busted", the laid-back grooves of "I'll Be Your Man", and the scorcher "Heavy Soul". The boys also show their love for the blues of Junior Kimbrough on the album with a cover of his song "Do The Rump". Most surprisingly, their cover of The Beatles' "She Said, She Said" is immediately identifiable underneath the layers of distortion. We expected big things from these two garage rockers!
Thickfreakness (2003)
Thickfreakness was performed, recorded, and produced in one day (14 hours to be exact)! Although that is pretty cool by itself, the final product makes it even more impressive. Dan's distorted guitar and sweat-soaked vocals grab your spine from the first track and never let go. The opening track "Thickfreakness" roars to life with vintage tone, letting us know they really mean business this time. "Hard Now" quickly follows with a nasty descending blues riff, then resolves the opening tri-fecta with the straight-forward rocker "Set You Free". To mix things up later in the album, the boys slow things down with the unforgettable, tribal, Delta-blues feel of "Everywhere I Go". This album showed us that they were not a flash-in-the-pan and raised our collective expectations for the albums to follow.
Rubber Factory (2004)
When released in 2004, Rubber Factory was critically praised and dubbed an instant blues classic. We can hear from the first few licks on "When The Lights Go Out" that The Black Keys continue to perfect their unique and distinctive style. Rubber Factory still feels as raw and loose as their few albums, even though the recording quality on this album is clearly better than their previous outings. What follows is one of my "most listened to" albums of all time. It is hard to pick out the highlights of this album because it is just so damn good. One interesting track to point out is a cover of the Kinks' classic "Act Nice and Gentle". Like their cover of the Beatles on their first album, the Black Keys give it some personal love and extract the underlying blues groove with the skills of a trained surgeon. Enjoy it, then go back to the original and re-appreciate the brilliance of The Kinks.
Chulahoma EP (2006)
What can I say about Chulahoma? First of all, it is technically an EP and not required to be in the Band-a-day discography. But that would do such a disservice to this heartfelt tribute to their departed hero, bluesman Junior Kimbrough. It is a six song sampler of classic Kimbrough tracks, and it is so apparent the influence that Junior Kimbrough had on The Black Keys' music throughout the years. Just try to hold back a tear on the final track, a simple copy of an answering machine message left for the Black Keys from Junior's widow. This record is possibly the finest tribute album ever conceived. Thanks Dan and Patrick.
Possibly the heaviest Black Keys record, Magic Potion continues their trajectory upwards and into new musical territory, yet still remains grounded in the classic blues that we love so much. One listen to the opening riffs in "Modern Times" and we easily believe that Dan is channeling raw Zeppelin II-era Jimmy Page. This is another consistently-good Black Keys record that delivers on every song. From the straightforward rocker "Your Touch" to the sleepy steamroller of "Goodbye Babylon", the Black Keys have reached the pinnacle of their blues/rock skills.
Attack & Release (2008)
What do you go after 4 solid records and a fantastic tribute EP? Unafraid of taking their music in a different direction, The Black Keys hooked up with legendary producer Danger Mouse to create their most recent recording Attack & Release. Admittedly, this record put-off some diehard fans by avoiding the direct-to-the-skull rock & roll attack and adopting a more ambient feel, with way more sonic texture and layers than previous BK albums. Fortunately, their live performances knocked some of the shine off of the recorded album to reveal a much grittier foundation. "Psychotic Girl" quickly became a fan favorite, introducing banjo and a hip-hop groove to the Black Keys formula. Unlike their other albums, Attack & Release demands repeated listens before reaching a final verdict, enjoy the ride.
Brothers (To Be Released May 18 ,2010)
What can we expect from the forthcoming album "Brothers"? Hard to say right now. Will it be back to basics, or a continuation of the Attack & Release musical arc? The proposed album cover feels lo-fi, and they just finished their oh-so-different side project Blakroc, so my money is on the return to their patented raw sound. We'll just have to hold tight until May... updated review promised!
Suggested Listening
The best way to learn about any unfamiliar band is to start at the beginning of the band's discography and work your way forward. This is becoming easier (and more cost effective) with online streaming services like Grooveshark and Rhapsody. If you don't have the means or the patience, then I would recommend starting with either Rubber Factory or Magic Potion. Both albums represent the boys at the peak of their powers and have excellent audio quality. But clearly, The Black Keys have never made a bad album and you really cannot go wrong with any of them. Sample the song links in the discography section if you have time. Most importantly, don't miss their live show (currently scheduled for Friday) at Bonnaroo.
Here are some live performances to whet your appetite:
I love this next clip from the BBC's Live From Abbey Road television series. It includes three songs and really enlightens listeners originally dismayed by the Attack & Release album.
Physical Reaction/Live Show The Black Keys put most live performers to shame. Patrick's throbbing drum skills drive Dan's caustic guitar to unwavering heights. They will probably play in the heat of the day, a steamy, sweaty tribute to rock & roll. I've seen them perform on three occasions and they have never let me or the other fans down. They are the one act that I can take anyone that loves rock & roll to see live and they will become instant fans.
Post by BrokenLight on Mar 17, 2010 15:06:40 GMT -5
awesome. put together so well. have yet to see them live. bonnaroo's always the best place to see a band for the first time. i'm not good with html, so i was wondering how you got the rollover effect for the website links, and also how you created that section on the discography.
Thank you! Was a load of fun and I am a huge fan of these guys, a true labor of love. Easiest way to see how the tags work is to quote my post and see the internal tags. I use the table, tr, and td tags to create the discography, and used the url tag (along with the underline tag) to create the rollovers. Enjoy the write-up and see you at the show.
Post by nodepression on Mar 17, 2010 16:52:58 GMT -5
Great write up, very pumped for this show.
Also if what paul tells us is right (he was the kid in chat who had the friend at superfly, I know everyone around this time of year has a friend at superfly, but he was right about other things before the lineup was released) they will be late night.
I'm going to go ahead and admit that I'm not familiar with much of the music of The Black Keys. I have a few songs from Attack and Release and that's all. BUT, they are on my list of artists to check out before Roo. Thanks to your suggestions, I will check out Magic Potion or Rubber Factory!
I'm going to go ahead and admit that I'm not familiar with much of the music of The Black Keys. I have a few songs from Attack and Release and that's all. BUT, they are on my list of artists to check out before Roo. Thanks to your suggestions, I will check out Magic Potion or Rubber Factory!
DUDE, RUBBER FACTORY, or The Big Come Up. easily the two best albums IMHO by them. but def go for Rubber Factory.
When the lights go out. just couldnt tie me down. stack shot billy act nice and gentle to me.
indeed, I am very impressed with the new album... I saw these guys on New Years in Chicago, they tour the place apart. Definitely a performance you NEED to see, I know I will be there....
I started with Thickfreakness, I'd recommend everyone new to the band do the same.
So I guess it leaked already? Hafta crank up the ole' torrent machine when I get home from work. Really like the first single though...
Again Superfly, please don't put these guys on at same time as LCD Soundsystem. Right now those are my only "cannot miss" sets. I'm afraid LCD will win though if it happens, I can see the Keys anytime, but LCD seems to be harder to find.
UPDATE: Found it on Grooveshark, if you want to listen to the album you can listen here. First thoughts... the boys have grown both stylistically and with their production values. Much like Attack & Release, very soulful with a cool vibe throughout the album.
I think this my be my biggest draw this year. Probably not, but right now it is.
