JennJoy's Full Review: The Big Come Up by The Black Keys
I had to check out "The Big Come Up" - the debut album by Ohio duo the Black Keys - after hearing their recent release "Thickfreakness" and absolutely falling in love with what I heard. The drum n' guitar outfit completely floored me with their powerful blend of hard rock and dirty Delta blues and I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of them when "The Big Come Up" was released on Alive Records in 2002. In the case of this album, late is indeed better than never.
What you'll find on "The Big Come Up" is very similar to that of "Thickfreakness." Both albums are straightforward hard rocking blues. Dan Auerbach provides some simply mean guitar work as well as some of the most soul drenched vocals to ever come out of man still in his early twenties. His voice is one of the best aspects of this album and it truly belies his years. Rounding out the duo is Patrick Carney, who provides some of the fattest drum beats this side of the Mississippi - regardless of which side you’re coming from. The Black Keys attack their music with the kind of total abandon that only comes from living and breathing music and the result is clearly phenomenal.
All of the songs here are rough gems, which is exactly the way I like it. Auerbach and Carney recorded "The Big Come Up" themselves and therefore managed to maintain a beautifully unpolished sound. It's all raw and devoid of studio tinkering that "makes" so many bands these days. Highlights include the all out chunky boogie of the reworked Junior Kimbrough track Do the Rump and the thundering Heavy Soul, which easily is one of the album’s defining songs as it just oozes emotion. Leavin’ Trunk and Run Me Down slow things down a little bit and take away just enough of the distortion to let you really focus on just how astounding it is that all this sound can come out of just two people. The Black Keys also do a cover of the Beatles' She Said, She Said which is easily one of the best covers I’ve heard in a long time. Auerbach and Carney have a lot of guts tackling a group of the Beatles’ status on their debut album, but they do it so well it's hard to imagine it ever sounded any different.
Ultimately, "The Big Come Up" is a must have album for anyone who considers themselves a fan of rock music in general and the blues, both old school and modern. Forget the White Stripes or even the John Spencer Blues Explosion. The Black Keys are the real deal and it would be a great loss to miss out on the explosion of their career. I'd highly recommend picking up both "The Big Come Up" and Thickfreakness at the same time. The two albums are similar enough that you could easily play them back to back and not lose interest the entire time.
Track Listing:
Busted
Do The Rump
I'll Be Your Man
Countdown
The Breaks
Run Me Down
Leavin' Trunk
Heavy Soul
She Said, She Said
Them Eyes
Yearnin'
Brooklyn Bound
240 Years Before Your Time
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