After the Ohio State marching band, The Black Keys (Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney) are the music pride of Ohio. I would have ranked them number one, but two guys can’t complete the script Ohio by themselves.
And before I had a chance to talk about Chulahoma, their Junior Kimbrough tribute album, the Keys dropped Magic Potion on me. In my opinion, these two Akron boys can do no wrong. The Big Come Up, followed by Thickfreakness, followed by Rubber Factory, followed by Chulahoma, followed by Magic Potion – I have not one, single complaint.
Magic Potion isn’t my favorite. It falls at the end of the line, but just ahead of Chulahoma, on my list of Black Keys albums but that means nothing. Unlike many bands today, they never have one standout song or album that defines them. They just put out steady, consistent tracks laid down with a big guitar riffs, hard-hitting drums, and bluesy vocals that have no business coming out of a 28 year old white boy from Ohio. They are my favorite band today.
So the album itself? It starts off really strong with “Just Got to Be Me” and “Your Touch,” but I got a little bored during the next three songs. They aren’t horrible. You won’t find a bad song on Magic Potion, but I did yawn once. Then “Strange Desire” bangs out its start with Dan howling, “I don’t want to go to hell, cause if I do, it’ll be cause of you,” and you take notice. The one standout song for me is “Modern Times” with its signature lyric “Put on your workboots Mama.” Listening to that song is like watching an episode of The Contender. You know you were sitting on your ass the whole time, but for some reason you’re still exhausted when it’s over.
If you’re just starting to listen to the Keys for the first time, start with another album (Thickfreakness or Rubber Factory). And if you don’t like this album after your first listen, keep listening. It gets better each time.
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If they are in your area, you have to see The Black Keys. They rock their asses off!
I agree with Tacy and most of what Scott said. Dan is one of the most accomplished guitarists today. His skill is not truly understood until you see him live. He pours every ounce of his being into his performance. I was exhausted just watching him.
And Patrick just beats the shit out of those drums like they said something about his mama.
The beauty of them is in their simplicity and the near-perfect execution of their music.
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