El Camino

The Black Keys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 6, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B005URRCUY
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (146 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #2 in Music > Alternative Rock
  • #3 in Music > Pop > Adult Alternative
  • #17 in Music > Rock

Editorial Reviews

Reviewing The Black Keys 2010 Top Ten breakthrough album Brothers, Rolling Stone called the duo a two-man combo with a big-band mind. That description seems downright prophetic now. With the hard-rocking El Camino, The Black Keys fourth Nonesuch disc, guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney conjure up an exhilarating, stadium-sized sound in collaboration with producer and friend Danger Mouse. El Camino boasts a no-nonsense brilliance: The pace is fast, the mood is upbeat, the choruses unfailingly addictive made for shouting along, preferably in a large, sweaty crowd.
A band already at the top of its game has gotten even better. And The Black Keys have done pretty damn well so far this year, with three 2011 Grammy awards for Brothers under their belt, an MTV Video Music Award for Tighten Up, more than 850,000 copies of Brothers sold in the U.S., and upwards of a million units worldwide, plus innumerable licensing placements in film, TV, and commercials. El Camino features one stand-out track after another, such as first single Lonely Boy, Gold on the Ceiling, and the surprising, acoustic-guitar-driven, tempo-shifting Little Black Submarines. .

This record is more straight ahead rock and roll raw, driving, and back to basics, says Auerbach. As Carney has put it, The Black Keys respect the past while being in the present, and that formula has made them sound like nothing less than the future of rock and roll. While the largely self-produced Brothers, recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals Studio in Alabama, had a more soul and blues-oriented sound, El Camino often recalls the blitzkrieg-paced British-style rock of the 1960s and 70s, post-Beatles and pre-punk: artists like T-Rex, The Sweet, and Gary Glitter, along with the heavier swing of such bands as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
The references are there, but the sound is very much contemporary and utterly their own, equally informed by The Black Keys passion for hip hop and R&B and bolstered by the atmospheric production approach of Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton), who was behind the boards for 2008 s Attack & Release and collaborated with them on the funky Tighten Up for Brothers. As Auerbach notes, "Brian understands all the different kinds of music we're into. He's got really great ideas about melody and song structure. For him it's all about the song." Also rejoining them is consistently innovative mixing engineer Tchad Blake, who Auerbach calls a genius with audio, a complete wizard.
El Camino arrives just in time to serve as the ideal holiday gift for The Black Keys rapidly growing fan base. It came together quickly in an unfettered burst of creativity by the hard-charging pair. They recorded these 11 tracks between tour dates for Brothers at Auerbach s new Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, where he and Carney have now relocated after years of working in their native Akron, Ohio. The duo plans to embark on a six week European Tour at the start of the New Year, with U.S. dates to follow shortly thereafter including several arenas.
In a time of global austerity, The Black Keys work simply and efficiently, with a minimum of tools and a wealth of ideas, to produce the richest, fattest, coolest music around. Upon the release of Brothers last year, Britain s Uncut magazine called them one of the best rock n roll bands on the planet, and El Camino, confirms that.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A crossroads for the keys, December 10, 2011

By 

classic rock fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: El Camino (Audio CD)

Their are quickly turning into two types of keys fans,Pre and post danger mouse fans, are you a thickfreakness/rubberfactory or attack and release/brothers fan. This new album El camino cements danger mouses influence with high production and backup singers etc. This is not in any way a bad record,it has great energy,power and the keys have never sounded tighter as far as playing and vocals.

You just have to ask yourself, how light do you want your black keys ?

If you came in with the danger mouse records you'll have no problems,if your a fan of the original sound of the black keys i suggest you do some pre listening before you buy this album. Once again I state this is in no way a bad album,its fantastic,but how you like your keys is gonna determine how much you dig this record.

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old sound, New sound, meh., December 26, 2011

By 

DanDevNull - See all my reviews

This review is from: El Camino (Audio CD)

I must be a freak of nature because I've been following the Keys for years and I've enjoyed every album without exception. People who call themselves purists and are missing the "old" sound are just confused about what makes these guys so great. Ever developing and stretching what's possible. Each album is it's own life, don't judge one album by another. That's like a parent judging one kid by another; just wrong. If you want a bunch of "thickfreakness" or "rubber factory" then you shouldn't have ever bought another keys album after those ones. Plain and simple. This album is as solid as any other, take it for what it is; not for what it isn't.

92 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sure to be a hit, just not for me., December 7, 2011

By 

Johnny Trouble - See all my reviews

This review is from: El Camino (Audio CD)

Just to preface, I've been a big supporter of The Black Keys for nearly 10 years. I religiously buy all their albums and have seen them play on every tour since 'Thickfreakness'. My favorites are their older albums but, with that said, I know every artist has to grow and evolve their sound somewhat lest it become stale. I have no problem with that. In fact, I really liked the direction that their last disc, 'Brothers', appeared to be headed in: in addition to their stalwart blues, they were incorporating soul and R&B. I was very excited to get this album and have given it several listens and a few days to really sink in. In lieu of the soul and gritty blues, they've replaced it with pop and overproduction. It just seems very repetitive and would probably be good as background music at a party. It's not bad and acts as a good, safe offering to people who aren't familiar with The Black Keys, but it sounds like they're playing it safe here. In light of the garbage that the music industry is trying to pawn off on us, this disc has most everything else beat nowadays. But compared with the rest of their catalog, I think this is the Keys weakest offering and will likely get the least airplay on my stereo.