Vinyl of the Week - 30 August 2020

Thickfreakness, The Black Keys

Today I felt like listening to a good, solid rock/blues album. I came across this week’s VOTW in my collection and have spent the last couple of hours re-connecting with it. “Thickfreakness” is the second studio album from The Black Keys. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney had great success with their debut “The Big Come Up” but this album really cemented them in the indie rock scene. I covered their backstory when I reviewed their most recent album “Let’s Rock” so I won’t go over the same ground again. Instead we’ll go straight to the album art which was the creation of Patrick’s brother, Michael. Apparently, they drove around together trying to come up with an idea and ended up at their local Kmart where they saw the can of pomade (hair wax) which somehow spoke to them. When they got home, they moved all the lamps in the house to the basement and created a makeshift studio, the resulting photo shoot producing the iconic image we know today. In fact, they took a strong do-it-yourself attitude to every aspect of this album’s creation (all the tracks were recorded in Patrick’s basement as well). The music on this album is deceptively simple. When you listen a second and third time, you start to appreciate how tight these guys are musically. There is a deep understanding of each other that comes from playing together at many live gigs and it takes the music to a whole other level. There is a distinct blues feel but each song is different enough that you can play it repeatedly and still find it as enjoyable as the first time. There are two covers on this album, “Have Love Will Travel” by Richard Berry and “Everywhere I Go” by Junior Kimbrough. Both tracks are outstanding. So if you feel like some down-to-earth, feel-good tunes, then stick this on. You might find it stays on your turntable for a good while - DS