The Black Keys: "El Camino"

Garage rock for the people who love the garage rock sound, but not much for everyone else. 

Hey, wait a minute...

I had heard much about these guys before coming around to giving them a listen. Unfortunately, my bias was against them due to the fact that they had somehow created a music video that defeated Coldplay’s “Strawberry Swing” music video in the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards (I’m still not sure how that happened… Coldplay’s video is genius). But after watching them quickly rise in popularity to staggering heights, I decided that I had to give one of their albums a review to see what all the hype was really about. After listening to this album, I have to say: they do have a pretty groovy sound. But at the same time, I do not feel that they deserve all the hype that they have received.

What style of music is this? Overall, The Black Keys have a jazzy, garage rock sound to them, very much dipping into the pool of vintage rock. They have “that classic sound” that all the public enjoys, which is definitely the right sound to have if you want to make a popular album. I can understand why they have been so critically acclaimed: everyone loves this sort of music. It’s simple, it’s gritty, and it sounds like rock should sound, according to most folks. There’s nothing wrong with that, and maybe I should look at it from the standpoint that it seems like they are trying to achieve that groovy vintage sound. They do it well, after all.

You may have noticed that I have mentioned the general public many times already in this review, and that is because I cannot help but factor in the whole popularity thing. The reason I’m doing this is because it’s alarming, yet highly predictable, that such simple music is so damn popular. My statement probably stems from the fact that, not only do I prefer music that makes one think while listening to it, but I also have concluded that the majority of people out there want the exact opposite. I have heard from many different people that their favorite music is something they can “just zone out to and not think about”. This bothers me. If you’re going to listen to music, why in the world would you want to not think about it? Now, not all simplicity is bad; and as my friend Caleb Z. pointed out to me one day, it’s better to have reasonably good rock bands get famous with their simple rock songs than to have the media flooded with the really empty crap like Lady Gaga and Kesha. But still—why would the desired effect be a sort of outside-noise-blocker instead of a whole world to dive into and enjoy?

What's a vintage sound without a vintage cafe in your
vintage photo shoot?

Maybe I’m just a different breed. Hell, I know I’m a different breed. Anyways, back to the album.

As I mentioned before, these guys do the vintage rock sound really well. It’s actually a bit refreshing, in an odd way, to hear such raw rock again. It’s been a while since a band has done this well, and I feel that The Black Keys do indeed capture the essence of what rock used to be. As a whole, the entire album has that dirty jazz rock feel to it, and it’s nice. The recording quality is very good; I can hear a lot of crispness in all of the instruments and everything is heard well. Whoever engineered the album did an excellent job of capturing the garage band sound that these guys are aiming for. I would complain about the simplicity of the songs, but I’m going to keep my big mouth shut this time and just accept it for what it is. I’m grumbling on the inside, but it is personal bias that causes me to dislike simplicity, and I feel that most other people are either not going to care or will really enjoy it.

However, there is one blatant complaint that I have that I’m sure you readers are sick of by now, and that is the fact that all of the songs sound the same. I know, I know—I probably sound like an insatiable miser when it comes to that specific issue, but it really bothers me that there isn’t any variety. There are a couple exceptions with opening riffs (in particular, the song “Little Black Submarines” has an interesting two-part structure to it), but at its core the entire album is the same song. Granted, this factor is not near as bad as it was in the Citizen Cope album I reviewed, but it’s very noticeable all the same. The argument that this repetitive sound is actually part of the vintage sound that they achieve so well is a valid one, and I really have nothing to say against it since it is a reasonable conjecture. Maybe I’m asking too much of bands when I complain about this, but when I hear it done in so many other places, I can’t help but wonder why it couldn’t happen here.

"Is he saying what I think he's saying?"
"Yeah, we may as well accept it: we're pretty much average."

I must point out something interesting in this album that I feel any band that is going for a classic rock sound should do. This, of course, is the effects on the lead vocals. They have a very nice fuzzy sound to them, and I really believe that this significantly aids in getting that classic sound. With regards to effects, I wish that they had varies the distortion effects more in this album. Yes, the effect they use throughout the album is good for what they’re doing, but I also think that a change in effect would have added some colorful variation to the album. Metaphorically speaking, it’s very much like eating a lot of one particular food at once (even more so if you were to imagine a food-eating contest). Eventually, your mouth gets tired of the same flavor; oftentimes, we add some sort of sauce or drink a beverage to alter the flavor and make it something new all over again to our taste buds. The same principle can be applied to music: the more effects that are used, the more colorful the sonic palette for our ears to experience. It makes a very noticeable difference. I was very happy to hear a talk-box effect used on the solo in the song "Money Maker"; it was a good addition to the song's layout.

 

At this point, I’m not sure what else I have to say about The Black Keys. The album does what it does well, but it also doesn’t really excite me in any way. I can foresee this kind of album becoming something that randomly pops up on “Shuffle”, and it’s enjoyable for that few minutes, but then the artist changes and I don’t mind. What I’m trying to say is that this album is somewhat forgettable. It sounds good, it's reasonably catchy, and if you love this sort of rock then you’ll be excited; but it’s also pretty bland. I want to like this more, I really do—but I just can’t get over the generic feel and repetitive nature of this album. Kudos to these guys for getting to where they are now, but I’m sorry to say that they won’t find themselves being one of my favorite bands anytime soon. The Black Keys’ “El Camino” gets a:

4 average points out of 7.

Rush: "Moving Pictures"

 *Hi there readers. My apologies for taking so long between posts; school and other stuff really keeps me busy. I would like to note that from here on out, I'll be sure to include the album cover right at the beginning of each post so that you can recognize the album better if you do indeed decide to go out and pick it up. Thanks for reading.* --G.H.

This progressive rock band shows that not all popular songs are the best songs with a great set of tunes.

I see what you did there.

Before coming into this album, I had heard one song by this band. Yes, you guessed it—“Tom Sawyer”. Really, who hasn’t heard that song? Unfortunately, I really dislike that song, mainly due to the vocals; for some reason, a man singing alto lines meant for a woman just really isn’t my favorite thing in the world. However, I thought to myself: “I wonder if this one song is keeping from a band that I may actually enjoy?”

Turns out I was dead on.

Diverting from my main subject here, I have the inkling feeling that this happens all too often with bands. We’ll hear one song by a certain band on the radio or somewhere else and not enjoy it, and unfortunately our brains will make the lovely assumption that the rest of their music must also be bad. Why we make such grand enveloping notions, I will never know. But I feel like the purpose of this Reverberate blog is revealing itself very loudly in this review; the whole point was to find music that I’ve never heard and give it an honest listen to expand my music tastes. And here we are: after listening to one album by these guys, I’m already reasonably hooked.

You’d think that I would know more about these guys since their bassist/lead singer is one of rock’s most renowned bass players. You’d also think that my affinity for progressive-style music would also cause me to gravitate towards this band. However, as I mentioned before, I had only heard a song that I really didn’t care for and also was caught off-guard by their (predictably) retro sound, which caused a premature dismissal. What an unfortunate action on my part; it seems that Rush rocks pretty hard, despite their 1968 founding. Who knew a band that is nearly 44 years old could still be not only relevant to modern progressive music but also something that a new-age metalhead like me would enjoy?

There are more guitar necks in this picture than there are
members in the band. Nice.

Anyways, back to the music: this album has a good sound to it as a whole. For an album that came out in 1981, the production quality is very high. Granted, it does have a bit of that older, less refined recording feel to it; but as a whole everything is quite clear and crisp. I am a large supporter of making one’s recordings sound nice and clear so that everything is heard, and Rush answered my request very nicely. Too often do older bands—especially thrash metal bands—allow the recording to get mushy with tons of thrash distortion and drums. 

As for the instruments, I will admit right now that I am not a huge fan of Geddy Lee’s distortion and setting choice; I feel that the mids are very high and that the bass has a very flat tone to it. There are parts here and there where it does somehow manage to achieve a full bass tone, but for the most part it is very dull. One could argue that he is achieving a very good vintage sound with his setup, or that he needs the extra clarity to allow his surprisingly intricate bass lines to stand out and not turn into mud. That may be very true, but that darn bass tone just sort of grates me the wrong way. Is it distracting? No. Does it detract from the music? No; in fact, it fits the music very well. This complaint is just coming from a bassist who likes more fullness in a bass tone. The rest of the band sounded very good too; I have to make special mention of the guitarist since he brilliantly uses harmonics and interesting chording throughout the album. It all sounds good.

I cannot talk about my usual complaint of repetitiveness with this band because, if I did, I would be flat-out lying to you. Rush is by definition a progressive rock band, and one of the first ones, too. No two songs sound the same; you can expect something different for each segment of music. 

That being said, there are a couple things that one must keep in mind before going out and picking up this album. The first is this: you have to enjoy progressive-style music. If you want to hear the same crunchy rock riff over and over again, or if you like the security of predictable song structure, then this album (and probably the band too) is not for you. There is nothing wrong with the afore mentioned preferences; obviously everyone has different tastes, which is totally fine. The thing is, though, that there is none of that in this album. Themes will come back again for another showing, yes, but as a whole there is not any sort of familiar song structure here. Rush dances around with their music and doesn’t care where it goes, leaving behind anyone wanting to hear “that one line” again. Be prepared for randomness and ever-shifting time/key signatures.

Even after 44 years, these guys still
know how to rock.

The second thing is that one must be ready for the one fly in the entire pot of Rush soup. It is, of course, Geddy Lee’s vocals. Unless you really enjoy them, they will grate on you after a while, and you’ll have to learn to tune them out. I know that sounds a bit weird, but I have to do that with this album. There’s just something about the way he sings that can just… well, dig under your skin. Maybe it’s his enunciation when he sings, maybe it’s the soaring vocals he achieves here and there in the album—I have no idea. The opening track, “Tom Sawyer”, is by far the worst offender; the rest of the album leaves you alone with respect to his vocals. You might be able to get used to them if you listen to the songs enough times, as I did, but still—they are… different. Just be prepared. If you loved the vocals on that opening track, then more power to you. Once again, this is just my ear and opinion; the vocals are not bad, they just rub me the wrong way.

As a whole, this album is very enjoyable, with the exception of the track “Tom Sawyer”. It surprises me that such a song is their most famous when the other ones are so much better in every aspect. My assumption is that the popularity stems from the fact that it is a less progressive song. Yes, it does switch around its time signatures a few times, but in all other regards it is a very simple song. And, as we all know, the general public loves its simple music.

What else is there to say? The album is good: it sounds good, it has good grooves, and it’s a great example of good progressive rock. “Just good?” you ask. Basically. It is good. It’s not great, it’s not bad—it’s just good. I have all good things to say about it, but it’s not the best thing that I’ve ever heard. It’s something that I could sort of zone out to—which can be both negative and positive since I like to listen to stuff that makes me think. However, I will not say that it is just “average” since it is much more than that. It is good. If you like progressive rock and/or a vintage, retro style, then you’ll probably enjoy this album. But if you’re not into that kind of stuff, then it might take a few listens before it becomes truly enjoyable. Realize this, though: this album is indeed good, and I can definitely see why this one is one of their more popular albums. Rush’s “Moving Pictures” gets a:

5 octaves above a normal man's voice out of 7.