The savior of neo-vintage blues/rock, independent rock pioneer and one half of the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach has been touring in support of his debut solo album, “Keep It Hid.”
In between producing other roots groups, like Hacienda, and touring with his big time project, the Black Keys, Auerbach has spent his time writing songs for “Keep It Hid.”
The Black Keys being a blues rock duo, Auerbach has been forced to write songs that could be played with just himself and powerhouse drummer Patrick Carney.
With “Keep It Hid,” Auerbach used his studio in Akron, Ohio to record an intimate yet cutthroat album.
With all of his albums, especially “Keep It Hid,” Auerbach, not under the economic pressure and creative suppression of a major label, was able to dig deeper into the tradition of blues, folk, psychedelics and rock ’n’ roll to find the lost heart of pre-’70s pop music.
The album opens with the folkie “Trouble Weighs a Ton,” where Auerbach and his acoustic guitar sound similar to Woody Guthrie, but with a better, grittier voice.
“Trouble Weighs a Ton,” may come as a sonic shock to most Auerbach fans, but the electric quicksand sound of “I Want Some More,” is sure to bring it all back home.
The wah-wah of the lead guitar and fuzzed-out bass melt the loose drums and Auerbach seduces while stretching his vocal aggressiveness across the track.
“I’m just a kid in your walk-in candy store/more, more, more, I want some more,” Auerbach cries, before ripping into a rock solo that screams and whines while panning between the left and right speakers.
Not only did Auerbach sing, produce and record “Keep It Hid,” he performed 90 percent of the instrumentation on the album, which proves the genius and undeniable artistry of Auerbach.
“Keep it Hid,” for instance, is a sweetly-toned ’50s pop-rock track that sounds as if it came straight out of Sun Studios, when actually it was written by Auerbach’s father.
Also, James Quine, Auerbach’s uncle, provided rhythm guitar and vocal harmonies on four of the album’s tracks.
Most of today’s blues songs bear a slim resemblance to greats like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Skipp James. Somewhere between the controlling, pop-conscious major labels, the multi-million-dollar studios and over production, the blues has lost its luster. Blues fans have continued to see blues godfathers like B.B. King tarnished and molded to fit today’s recording standards.
“Keep It Hid” is reinvention of blues/rock with a strong understanding of its history and what has made it infectious since Robert Johnson cruised down to the crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in order to play the meanest guitar across the country.
By HUNTER EMBRY
Staff Writer
ahembry@ius.edu
