I can’t recall when exactly The Black Keys started appearing on my radar, but I guess the connection with the old blues guy Junior Kimbrough probably had something to do with that.
Also appearances of their songs in soundtracks, e.g. Howlin’ For You in Limitless (2011) encouraged me to start taking them more seriously.
Enough to say that I became a kind of a fan, really enjoying their stuff.
However this post is not really about the Keys, but about one of the founding members: Dan Auerbach.
Occasionally his name was mentioned in reviews of other artists albums, either as a guitarist and/or producer, obviously the man was very active on various fronts!
But the real reason for this compilation was a blog post from one of our colleagues who wrote that he ’just makes everyone sound like Dan Auerbach, for better or worse?’
Some of the artists/groups mentioned there I was familiar with (Dr. John, Pretenders, Tony Joe White) but plenty more not (The Velveteers, Cadillac Sky, Jon Muq) and it seemed like a fun project to set up.
The result is a 22 song compilation in which Dan (& at times his record label Easy Eye Sound) was involved and I feel it holds up pretty well, but you should judge for yourself of course.
I know he has worked with others not included here and if there’s enough interest I might do a follow-up!
Link: https://mega.nz/file/GIkk1BJQ#a4rijz5xC6WXSsqfhOtIh3g4viQAFWEsb5YzzBz_VpU
ReplyDeleteQuestion: What's your favorite Dan Auerbach related track (if any!)?
Man, totally unaware of him, Great "new" band to my ears. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Richard.
DeleteNice idea ! Thanks. Difficult to chose a song, maybe one of Robert Finley, "You Got It (And I Need It)" for example but there is a lot of song I really appreciate.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that.
DeleteGreat post, Koen! Love the new banner, too. When the three of us collaborated on the series GET A LEG UP (artists who produced records for their idols), I chose "Ice Age" from Dan's album with Dr. John and "Boot Money" by Tony Joe White (as well as "Home" from Iggy's album with Don Was!)
ReplyDeleteSmoke From the Chimney is an especially interesting "collaboration" as the songs were guitar/vocal home recordings by Tony Joe White that were discovered after his death. Dan and other musicians added to the songs (with the blessing of Tony Joe White's son Jody). Dan worked on the songs for over ten years, according to the Bandcamp page. I'm sure he worked on other things as well during that decade, but imagine the ghost of Tony Joe White hanging out in your studio for that long, peering over your shoulder to make sure that you honored the spirit of his songs! https://tonyjoewhite.bandcamp.com/album/smoke-from-the-chimney
Here's a link to our JOKONKY project "Get A Leg Up", which was a lot of fun to make: https://jonderblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Get%20A%20Leg%20Up
PS - BLACKROC (Black Keys with rappers) is an interesting project, not always successful but exciting if you like hip hop and rock music collabs (like the Judgment Night soundtrack).
DeleteI knew that Tony Joe White's album was posthumous, but had no idea that it took Dan such a long time!
DeleteAnother nice one, Koen.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten that there were THREE volumes of GET A LEG UP, Jon!
There are a lot of successful producers who make every artist they produce sound essentially the same. Like a movie star (John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Clark Gable) who plays essentially the same person in different situations, the MOVIE STAR PRODUCERS' presence is as immediately obvious as John Wayne in line at Starbucks--usually because of the sheen they put on everything.
I'd put BILLY SHERRILL's "Countrypolitan" period productions in that group, the guys from 10cc, and JEFF LYNNE. Look no further than INFORMATION; the album Lynne produced for DAVE EDMUNDS. It sounds more like ELO than Rockpile--but that was the point. LYNNE's production style was selling records & Dave deserved a wider audience than he'd been able to attract producing himself.
When an artist changes their sound drastically (& it doesn't result in a #1 hit) it's usually not the artist's favorite album. And that's the sort of thing that landed on Jon & I's DENOUNCED & DERIDED series:
https://jonderblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/disowned-derided-and-deleted.html
https://jonderblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/disowned-derided-volume-2.html
BTW, check back here for a comp of DAVE EDMUNDS' productions & a comp of NICK LOWE's productions that are already "in the pipe!" Whoo-hoo!
We had fun brainstorming those Disowned & Derided comps. Get A Leg Up was fun, too! You could add Daniel Lanois to that group of "movie star" producers. In the mid 2000's his production style put more of a haze than a sheen on albums like Emmylou's "Wrecking Ball", Dylan's "Time Out Of Mind", Neil Young's "Le Noise", Robbie Robertson, U2, Peter Gabriel, Neville Brothers, etc etc. Not a fan of Jeff Lynne making Dave Edmunds, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and Del Shannon all sound like ELO -- and that sound has aged.
DeleteI'm with you on Jeff Lynne's productions, Jon. But, if Lynne wasn't in demand as a producer of Harrison, Dylan, Petty, & Orbison---The Traveling Wilburys wouldn't have existed--so it may be a 'push."
ReplyDeleteIf memory serves, Dave Edmunds would have been at the original session that The Wilburys sprung from, except he was headed out on tour. Dave brought most of them together for the first time as musical director of Carl Perkins' Blue Suede Shoes (A Rockabilly Session) Special. Which is where Edmunds introduced George Harrison to Jeff Lynne. And some say Ringo got the idea for his All-Starr Band from a tour Edmunds did with The Dave Edmunds All-Star Rock & Roll Revue (with Graham Parker, Kim Wilson; Dion, & Steve Cropper).
Two of my heroes together Carl Perkins & Dave Edmunds with an impressive guest list: Blue Suede Shoes (A Rockabilly Session):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZmzvXGvjGY
That was a great session indeed!
DeleteThis is a great listen- have to admit I hit a bit of a blind spot with Mr. Auerbach. I get a "Don Was' vibe form his musical tastes and production ear. He's a "feel" and Groove guy I think. Thanks for the eye opener to an immense talent.
ReplyDelete100% agree, ex mixer! Feel and groove are important to producers like Dan A. and Don W., unlike what Stinky refers to as "movie star producers". Glad you found something new and pleasing to your ears!
DeleteMy favorite Dan Auerbach related work (and conspicuous by absence) is Jimmy "Duck" Holmes’ album, ‘Cypress Grove’, in which Dan gives a it sympathetic yet modern take on the Bentonia School of Blues.
ReplyDeleteJimmy "Duck" Holmes is real deal. Check it out.
https://workupload.com/file/N8fcT6qwFvW
Do you think kids followed him around singing "Jimmy Duck Holmes and I don't care"? Probably not, but it's fun to imagine! Thanks for visiting and sharing, Babs!
DeleteThank you Babs for the ‘Cypress Grove’ artwork, not sure if you wanted to send that only or include the songs as well ;-)
ReplyDeleteNote that I had included 1 Jimmy "Duck" Holmes track in my compilation: Catfish Blues
Sorry, Koen. I had a rough day, and how I missed that, I do not know. Here's the link with music https://workupload.com/file/pRsyyFdxrrH
DeleteNo worries Babs, from time to time we all experience rough days. Hopefully you will recover soon!
DeleteGlad you like him ex_mixer! By now I'm confident that a follow-up on Auerbach could be appreciated.
ReplyDelete