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Album Details

• Artist: The Black Keys
• Album: Magic Potion
• Label: Nonesuch
• Year of Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2007-01-22

Ah, the beloved Black Keys are back with a brand new set of white blues called Magic Potion. Many thought the band could not outdo Thickfreakness but then they came out with the uber-amazing Rubber Factory. Then they took on the unthinkable, they released an EP of Junior Kimbrough covers. How does this duo do it because Magic Potion keeps them on this path of bettering themselves. They are probably one of the strongest white blues duos in history.

One of my favorite things about The Black Keys is the minimal production work that is done to their albums. This one feature manages to give their music a totally gritty and "Live" feel even though they are studio tracks. All of the songs here vibrate with intensity.

The boys kick off the set with the funk-ladened "Just Got To Be". Then move into an almost White Stripes-ish "Your Touch". Then a nice sate-way into "You're The One" is cleverly done, a much gentler track than the rest of the set. I found it very interesting, on "Give Your Heart Away" I had a huge Rage Against The Machine vibe, indicating that RATM had a lot more blues influence than they showed on the surface. This is one of the best tracks on Magic Potion. If you aren't up shaking your booty after this song then the rest of this album will just be wasted on you.

Magic Potion doesn't give up any of that Black Keys quality you've come to expect. Instead we are presented with another 10 tracks of great modern blues with credit given to the Fat Possum sound. Also, kudos to Nonesuch for scooping such a talent.

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