At this point in their career, The Black Keys have developed a sort of signature sound. When you hear one of their hits on the radio, you recognize them immediately – their unique sound helps them stand out from their peers, and that sound is influenced heavily by blues music.
Just a few Fridays ago, The Black Keys released their tenth studio record, Delta Kream, a collection of hill country blues covers from the likes of Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Big Joe Williams, John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Ranie Burnette. Recorded over just two days in less than 10 hours, this is The Black Keys’ first long play of blues covers.
It’s a little different from the The Black Keys stuff you’re used to, especially when you compare it to their last studio album release, ‘Let’s Rock’. This record is lighter in its sound, a little more mellow. It’s well-suited for relaxed listening with headphones in its entirety, as opposed to being a record you want to jump and dance around the room to, but even still, if you listen intently and you pay attention (as you should!), you can hear those little elements from these blues tunes that inspired The Black Keys sound we all know and love. It starts off brilliantly with “Crawling Kingsnake” (Big Joe Williams/John Lee Hooker), easing you ever so gently into what’s about to be a fantastic nearly 1 hour of classic blues. The record builds and progresses deeper, with tunes like “Coal Black Mattie” (Ranie Burnette) and “Do the Romp” (Junior Kimbrough) threatening to pull you to your feet for a little bit of grooving, and then back down into the laid-back vibes of “Mellow Peaches” (Big Joe Williams) and “Come on and Go with Me” (Junior Kimbrough).
What’s so fun about this album is that it feels like we’re getting to look inside the minds of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. It’s so cool to me when artists share the genres, songs, and artists that inspired them. It’s almost like all that recommended music you get after you listen to your favorite band on Spotify or the songs that sit off to the side when you listen on YouTube – things you might like if you like this band. This record does exactly that, and takes it a step further. Not only do we get to hear some of the blues tunes that inspired the band, but we get to hear their unique take on each of them. I think that’s one of the coolest things a band can do. We as listeners get to see where exactly The Black Keys come from.
With The Black Keys, a blues cover album is the only thing that makes sense. It’s easy to hear the influence of the blues in what they do, especially after listening to this record. Yes, they have developed a unique sound that makes them easily recognizable, but that sound is rooted in old blues tunes. This isn’t the first time they’ve delved into blues covers. Their 2002 debut featured 2 blues covers and they released an EP in 2006 called Chulahoma comprised solely of covers of tunes by Junior Kimbrough, a Mississippi bluesman whose guitar style heavily influenced hill country blues. Duo Auerbach and Carney played everything on this EP themselves, and the EP was very well received by Kimbrough’s widow. Delta Kream touches on even more of Kimbrough’s work and introduces other players to the team, most notably, Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton, who have worked extensively with the likes of R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, respectively.
This record is living proof that music reaches far and wide. Hill country blues is a Mississippi music tradition. The Black Keys are from Ohio. These are two completely different musical worlds, yet these blues tunes found their way up, down, and all around this country into the ears of so many of all our favorite rockers. I didn’t grow up on the blues, but I did grow up on rock ‘n’ roll, which was born out of the blues. I’ve loved many an artist who cites the blues as a major influence on what they do – most of my favorite bands grew up on it, and if you’re a lover of rock, the same is probably true for many of your favorite bands too. This record demonstrates that remarkably.
This record feels authentic too. It isn’t just some minimal effort attempt to reinvent the blues. The Black Keys stay true to the original pieces while simultaneously incorporating some of their own sound and vision into the tunes. While the majority of the tunes are Junior Kimbrough tunes, you can tell when the songs are by a different author, and you can hear all the different elements that have influenced what The Black Keys have done so far.
I found this record to be a remarkable way to journey further into truly discovering and appreciating blues music. Like I said above, I didn’t exactly grow up on it, so I still have a lot to learn. I don’t know everything, but I do know this: without The Black Keys, modern rock wouldn’t be the same, but without the blues, we wouldn’t have The Black Keys. Throw on some headphones, pour yourself a drink, and let this record take you down south for one hell of a time.
