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The Black Keys-El Camino


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Yeah, it's great. A more concise version of Brothers, which was already terrific. Gold On The Ceiling is the best, but the whole thing is great to play loud.

 

Also I'm very happy these guys are blowing up. Weird as it is to think they're an arena band now, they've more than earned it. The fact that they put out the followup to Brothers so quickly instead of doing another victory lap of tour dates is refreshing. There aren't enough huge bands these days doing new albums so quickly.

 

And it's just nice to know that a talented rock band can still work their way to the top with consistently great records.

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Yeah. I was thinking of taking the best songs off of Brothers and the best songs off of El Camino and making one hell of a powerful cd until I realized that El Camino really doesn't need any help. Beginning to end it pretty much f'ing rocks.

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Brothers grabbed me immediately, El Camino seems like more of a grower.

I think I feel that way because El Camino seems to be more of a one trick pony whereas Brothers showcased a lot of different styles.

I also like the raw, rough-around-the-edges sound of their earlier albums. Danger Mouse's production is just a bit too polished and, while El Camino rocks, the songs just feel emotionless, for lack of a better word.

I'd give the new one a solid C: I do not see myself returning to it repeatedly like I have with Brothers.

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Brothers grabbed me immediately, El Camino seems like more of a grower.

I think I feel that way because El Camino seems to be more of a one trick pony whereas Brothers showcased a lot of different styles.

I also like the raw, rough-around-the-edges sound of their earlier albums. Danger Mouse's production is just a bit too polished and, while El Camino rocks, the songs just feel emotionless, for lack of a better word.

I'd give the new one a solid C: I do not see myself returning to it repeatedly like I have with Brothers.

I love brothers but I always seem to lose interest in the last third of the album. I think El Camino is the distilled essence of brothers. Like a crack rock.

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After two times through, I'm liking it. I'm guessing my wife and daughters will really like it, which will in turn make me enjoy it even more. Brothers was about 3-4 songs too long, but I still like it better overall than El Camino. There is nothing on the new one as stunning as "Too Afraid To Love You", but there are also no tracks I want to automatically skip either.

 

I actually enjoy their albums much more than the live show. I saw them about five years ago at the Vic. I thought it was a good show, but it was only 75 minutes. The thing is, I was ready for it to be over, it was just about the right length. I can't imagine paying $60 to go see that in an arena on this tour.

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Just about halfway through my first listen. "Little Black Submarines" (the quieter song following "Gold on the Ceiling") stands out as the best so far. I plan to give it the proper "rounds" -- the car, the home stereo, etc. Right now I'm just listening on the computer at work. Can't get the full experience of cranking it up here.

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Lets not forget their groundbreaking first release Seek and Destroy. "I Got Mine" one of the most rocking jams ever put to vinyl. Still working my way thru El Camino, but all indications are good.

? Is this a joke?

Attack and Release which features the song "I got mine" is their 5th album. Sorry maybe I'm missing something.

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I'm resolving this year to listen to less and savor more starting with album. Of course I always say that and end up buying 50 CD's a year. Going to get the headphones out and really dig into this one.

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Just about halfway through my first listen. "Little Black Submarines" (the quieter song following "Gold on the Ceiling") stands out as the best so far. I plan to give it the proper "rounds" -- the car, the home stereo, etc. Right now I'm just listening on the computer at work. Can't get the full experience of cranking it up here.

 

The only problem I have with "Little Black Submarines" is that when it kicks over to electric in that song, the riff sounds exactly like Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane" and I have a hard time getting over that in that particular song.

 

The album is growing on me though as a whole. I like it more and more with each listen but there's still no way it matches up to The Decemberists or Wilco for me this year.

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Does anyone else hear the opening of Drive-by Truckers' "Ronnie and Neil" in "Little Black Submarines"? Not as hugely popular as the Petty song of course, but that's what I hear every time.

 

Overall I'm really liking El Camino. It doesn't excite me in the way Brothers did, but it's still very solid and catchy. "Sister" is probably my favorite song so far.

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The album is growing on me though as a whole. I like it more and more with each listen but there's still no way it matches up to The Decemberists or Wilco for me this year.

 

I agree with the Wilco part, but the Decemberists are as terrible as their name. IMO!

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I agree with the Wilco part, but the Decemberists are as terrible as their name. IMO!

I agree that Wilco's new album is great. Aren't we lucky that there's more than one band out there making great albums. I think El Camino is one of the best ones this year. The melodys from this album have been running through my head ever since my first listen. Albums like this remind me of why I'm constantly spending my hard earned cash is pursuit of a musical high.

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  • 2 weeks later...

All I have to say is I LOVE THIS FUCKING ALBUM/RECORD/CD/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. I have no idea what to call collections of songs put out by performing artists now-a-days, but the Black Keys nailed it with this one. Catchy tunes that Rock!

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I really liked it on first listen, but it didn't completely blow me away like Brothers did.. Maybe it's a grower.

 

It took me a couple of listens, there is sort of a bias one picks up when an album is compared to the Kings of Leon, but after putting some time into this album I love it. It is a great old school rocker but with some catchy modern stylings that blew me away. Sometimes I am so pissed at faux grammy hype that I don't give an album a chance but this one on first listen had just enough to make me come back and work a little harder. I used to hear people say you have to devote time to an album and think that was an excuse, if it doesn't ork first time on the turntable it doesn't work. As I have gotten older, patience is a virtue, and by the second listen I was sold on this album. I have spun this thing over 10 times and truly can't find any part of it I don't like. It is nice to see the hype equal the product. You can tell these guys put a lot of work into this album and it is cool to see them rewarded for it.

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Yeah, it's great. A more concise version of Brothers, which was already terrific. Gold On The Ceiling is the best, but the whole thing is great to play loud.

 

Also I'm very happy these guys are blowing up. Weird as it is to think they're an arena band now, they've more than earned it. The fact that they put out the followup to Brothers so quickly instead of doing another victory lap of tour dates is refreshing. There aren't enough huge bands these days doing new albums so quickly.

 

And it's just nice to know that a talented rock band can still work their way to the top with consistently great records.

W

 

Went looking for a club or some bar they were playing in Chicago and saw they were playing the United Center, a venue that the Stones, Coldplay, Elton John, U2, and other top tier acts. Great for them. Heard them the first time on the Ricky Gervais Show out of London when Thickfreakness came out and they were huge in the UK according to KArl Pilkington but had little airplay here. It is great to see a band that paid their dues getting the coverage they deserve, Started listening to bak catalouge and you can see they work their asses off which should equal success. HAte the United Center but will have to make sure I am there to catch them live. Good for them.

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