Revisiting The Roots Of The Blues With The Black Keys

The Black Keys have had some major success in the past couple of years for a blues rock duo with some additional influences from rap and hip hop. To say it best, The Black Keys are anything but conventional, but there sound is a great recipe for success. Fans, including myself, have found the duo a refreshing surprise in a music industry cluttered with over-produced pop groups, caring more about the fame and fortune than the music. But here I go getting carried away. I wanted to spend a little more time looking into the Black Keys and while their more popular albums sound great, I was intrigued by their album “Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough.” These young guys dedicated an entire album to an early blues rock pioneer that seems to have been a major influence on the duo. So I thought I would share some of the things I came across when I dug a little deeper into the Black Keys. I hope you enjoy them all as much as I did!

One of the Black Keys major hit songs is called “Howlin’ For You.” Check out this live version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrmy_Yjc4Ik&feature=related.

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The article that turned me onto the Chulahoma album was produced by Gibson. You can read the full article about the band at http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/black-keys-blues-with-a-twist-1119-2012.aspx.

Dan Auerbach’s voice is almost like an instrument in itself, and plays a major part in providing a genuine rootsy feel to the band’s music. It is so strong and unique, but its character has changed considerably in during the band’s ten-year recording career. On the first few albums, Auerbach’s voice actually sounded older and more mature than it does today. However, this may be the result of the band using very primitive recording equipment in their early career.

If you’ve just come to like The Black Keys by way of Brothers, or El Camino, I strongly recommend exploring the band’s first three albums The Big Come Up, Thickfreakness, Rubber Factory, along with Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough, which is an EP with only covers of late blues master Junior Kimbrough. This is blues rock at its best, and proof that the blues is still very much alive; a comforting thought these days as the old Chicago blues giants are almost all gone. As stated before, the band recorded their first few albums in Carney’s basement. In fact, Thickfreakness was recorded in one massive 14-hour session, which is refreshing these days when many bands take up to a year or more to complete an album, while wasting tons of money on expensive studio time along the way. Although The Black Keys have moved on to recording in studios, they seem to have held on to some of the tricks learnt early on, as Auerbach tells Total Guitar: “On every track of El Camino there’s the sound from the guitar amps bleeding into the drum mics, which kind of gives it a little bit of raw flavor.”

Lastly, I found a live performance from Austin City Limits featuring the duo and a song from their album, “Chulahoma: The Songs Of Junior Kimbrough.” This performance highlights more of the band’s bluesy sound. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07V1qgYiS2A.

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I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about the Black Keys. The blues rock duo is still rockin’ and keeping it as raw as the fans like. Stay tuned for more coming your way at Blues Guitar Unleashed.

Thanks,

Griff