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- Date Released: September 12, 2006
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: V2 Records International / V2 Records
The fourth full-length from Akron, Ohio’s darker, grimier response to the White Stripes.
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We Say...
Emerging in 2002 as Akron’s darker, grimier response to the White Stripes, the Black Keys — guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney — undoubtedly share the Stripes’ raw, lo-fi appeal. But where the Detroit duo’s default position is invariably mid-’60s garage rock, the Black Keys’ sound is significantly more hairy-arsed, rooted as it is in late ’60s blues-rock. There are moments on this, the pair’s fourth full-length album, where you might think you’re listening to Blind Faith (“Elevator”), Led Zeppelin (the “Heartbreaker”-like riff that propels “Just a Little Heat”) or Free, particularly evident in Auerbach’s Paul Rodgers-like hoary growl. There is little room here for that era’s characteristic flabbiness, though — the basement sound and taut riffs owe much to grunge-style economy, duly fulfilling the duo’s stated intent: “getting their signature sound down to a science.” The arrangements are deceptively sparse, classic cock-rock in microcosm, full of twisted, fuzzed-up riffs and a behind-the-beat rhythmic swagger worthy of late-Beatles Ringo. “Modern Times” is the signature song here: grainy feedback intro, simple skull-pummeling riff, and call-and-response verses that evoke Fleetwood Mac’s 1969 power-blooz classic "Oh Well."
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They Say...
Akron's the Black Keys have jumped labels again with Magic Potion. Beginning on their own Alive label, the band established itself internationally with Thickfreakness and Rubber Factory. They appear now with their Nonesuch debut -- they share a label with everyone from Pat Metheny and Sam Phillips to Toumani Diabaté and Stephin Merritt. Fans needn't worry that the Black Keys being on a label distributed by Warner has done anything to their sound. Magic Potion is gritty, raw, immediate and sludgy. It was recorded at the band's studios in Akron, and the only real difference is that they've become even better at what they do. Here are 11 tunes rooted in blues and riff-heavy rock, with only guitar and drums ripping through them like a loose power cable in a thunderstorm. Check out the wildly rockist riff that is at the heart of the album's opener "Just Got to Be," or the wily shambolic blues in "Your Touch." If anything, Magic Potion reminds the listener of the late great Red Devils King King except they have a deeper country, south-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line feel to them, even on a ballad such as "You're the One," which feels like it's barely being held together by Dan Auerbach's voice, which unifies the guitar and Patrick Carney's drums. "Strange Desire" is an electric-acid-blues moan disguised as a ballad, whereas "Just a Little Heat" inverts the riff from Led Zeppelin's "Little Loving Maid " to offer a wide-open howl of distorted guitar and a slippery snare and cymbals crash. For those who feel that the blues have nothing to offer in the 21st century -- especially electric blues, which has spawned countless cookie-cutter, slick deceptions disguised as the real thing -- Magic Potion should satisfy deeply. Here is a future blues that comes right from the groin of history, reinterpreted through garage rock, alcohol, and rage: just check out "Modern Times." In the slow drawling burn, one can hear Junior Kimbrough's ghost possessing Auerbach. "Elevator" closes the set on a feedback-drenched, minimal Delta blues that has more to do with the cagey antics of Charley Patton and Lightnin' Hopkins -- and R.L. Burnside, too -- than with either the White Stripes or Ronnie Earl. This is vulgar music, completely unsentimental or nostalgic but with a deep, wild, and tenacious heart; it's spooky, un-caged, and frighteningly descriptive of our time and place. It's been a long time since the majors put out a record this savage. This is the door to the blues in 2006; hold on to your hips because they will begin to twitch.
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| 01. |  |
Just Got To Be |
3:00 |
|
| 02. | |
Your Touch |
2:44 |
|
| 03. | |
You're The One |
3:28 |
|
| 04. | |
Just A Little Heat |
3:42 |
|
| 05. | |
Give Your Heart Away |
3:26 |
|
| 06. | |
Strange Desire |
4:21 |
|
| 07. | |
Modern Times |
4:21 |
|
| 08. | |
The Flame |
4:36 |
|
| 09. | |
Goodbye Babylon |
5:55 |
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| 10. | |
Black Door |
3:30 |
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| 11. | |
Elevator |
3:43 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 42:46 Total Length
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Credits
- Michael Carney - Artwork // Michael Carney - Design // The Black Keys - Producer // The Black Keys - Engineer // Patrick Carney - Group Member // Dan Auerbach - Group Member // Chris Keffer - Mastering // John Peets - Management
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