The black keys keep your hands off her12/17/2022 ![]() It contains three bonus tracks, including “Black Mud II,” an alternate of their psychedelic instrumental “Chop and Change” and “Keep My Name Outta Your Mouth” The box set is available on CD and vinyl with a 60-page book with photos from the archives and liner notes written by David Fricke.Ĭarney has listened to Brothers a lot over the years. Their songs appeared in countless commercials and they started playing arenas.Ī decade later, the Keys are marking Brothers’ 10th anniversary with a remastered edition of the LP. Their whistling soul single “Tighten Up” cracked the Hot 100, and earned them a Grammy and a Video Music Award (though when the band received the statue, it was mislabeled to the Black Eyed Peas). The 2010 album - which was packed with deep grooves and “almost spookily timeless pop songs that captured the dusty vibe of the soul-sampling RZA productions they loved,” as Brian Hiatt wrote at the time - propelled them to uncharted territory for a rock band in the 2010s. And these guys just did this and sent it to us, so we hated it extra.”īrothers marked a key transition point for the Keys, where the Akron duo graduated from Rust Belt road warriors to unlikely superstars. ![]() “If we ever wanted to do a video, we had to figure out what it was going to be about. “It was the first time any of the big labels ever gave a shit about us,” he says. Today, when he’s reminded of that debate, Auerbach laughs. “It’s the first time Warner has ever spent money on us. “It’s called promotion,” drummer Patrick Carney said. “It’s not funny, and I really don’t like it … They’re fucking with our art, man.” “There’s a fucking dinosaur singing my lyrics!” guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach said after watching the video on their tour bus. To promote their single “Next Girl,” their label had commissioned a video featuring a dinosaur puppet singing the track surrounded by women in bikinis - and the band wasn’t into it. I hope that the Keys continue to innovate and evolve as they have on “Turn Blue”, yet still maintain that libidinous edge that their fans have come to know and love.When Rolling Stone joined the Black Keys on the road in 2010, the band was facing a problem. And yes, it has been softened over the years, to its creative apex on “Brothers”, where they threaded the needle perfectly between mainstream success and their trademark bluesy sound. Is this the doing of Danger Mouse? Has he carefully been smoothing out The Black Keys’ edges over the last couple of albums? One common thread in all the albums, going back to “The Big Come Up”, is the rawness of The Black Keys’ sound. It simply doesn’t pulse with the same energy as the stronger tracks. ![]() The last track, “Gotta Get Away”, is so forgettable. The not-so-great half of the album are throwaways, and make me wonder if this is really the best that Patrick and Dan had to offer. The song “Turn Blue”, with its whisper of “I really don’t think you know/There could be hell/Below”, is a standout for me. But to hear Dan Auerbach wail “My heart’s on fire/With a strange desire”, on “Strange Desire” conveys sexual desire better than most. I have little patience for nasty rap songs that describe the mechanics in detail. One of the things I love the most about The Black Keys is the sexuality of their music. So the title track “Turn Blue” is a highlight for me, with its lilting surf rock grooves, and those plaintive lyrics. The Black Keys have always done slow tunes quite well: one of my all-time favorites is “Keep your hands off her” from Chulahoma, the album of Junior Kimbrough covers. I’ve listened to it a few times already, and I would say half of the songs are inspired, either solid rock ballads or lovely slower songs. “El Camino” for me was mostly a disappointment, anchored by that bland nothing of a single, “Lonely Boy”. Black Keys fans tend to like the band because they reassure us that rock and roll is not dead, that with each driving guitar riff and pounding drumbeat the anarchic spirit of rock and roll lives on. The predominant sound on the song is the keyboard, rather than the guitar or the drums. The first single from “Turn Blue”, a song called “Fever”, was dissappointing the first time I heard it. Nervousness because their previous album, “El Camino”, had fewer good songs than bad songs. Excitement to finally hear the new material by a band that I love. ![]() As each song was downloaded I felt a sense of both excitement and nervousness. On Wednesday, the day after “Turn Blue” came out, I downloaded the new album by The Black Keys, my favorite band. ![]()
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