The Black Keys Line Up May Release For Blues Covers Album 'Delta Kream'
Friday, 16 April 2021
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Joshua Black Wilkins
The Black Keys have shared details of their 10th studio album.
'Delta Kream' will arrive on May 14 via Nonesuch Records and feature 11 Mississippi hill country blues staples that inspired Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, including songs by R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others.
The pair recorded the LP at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville, where they were accompanied by Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton, longtime musicians from bands of legendary blues acts. Auerbach said:
"We made this record to honor the Mississippi hill country blues tradition that influenced us starting out. These songs are still as important to us today as they were the first day Pat and I started playing together and picked up our instruments. It was a very inspiring session with Pat and me along with Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton in a circle, playing these songs. It felt so natural."
Carney added: "The session was planned only days in advance and nothing was rehearsed. We recorded the entire album in about 10 hours, over two afternoons, at the end of the Let's Rock Tour."
As a taster, the Ohio duo have unveiled their spin on Crawling Kingsnake, which was interpreted by John Lee Hooker and producer Bernard Besman in 1949. "I first heard Hooker's version in high school," Auerbach revealed. "My uncle Tim would have given me that record. But our version is definitely Junior Kimbrough’s take on it. It's almost a disco riff!"
"We fell into this drum intro; it's kind of accidental," Carney continued. "The ultimate goal was to highlight the interplay between the guitars. My role with Eric was to create a deeper groove."
The band's last studio album of original material was 2019's 'Let's Rock'.
'Delta Kream' tracklist:
1. Crawling Kingsnake (John Lee Hooker / Bernard Besman)
2. Louise (Fred McDowell)
3. Poor Boy a Long Way From Home (Robert Lee Burnside)
4. Stay All Night (David Kimbrough, Jr.)
5. Going Down South (Robert Lee Burnside)
6. Coal Black Mattie (Ranie Burnette)
7. Do the Romp (David Kimbrough, Jr.)
8. Sad Days, Lonely Nights (David Kimbrough, Jr.)
9. Walk with Me (David Kimbrough, Jr.)
10. Mellow Peaches (Joseph Lee Williams)
11. Come on and Go with Me (David Kimbrough, Jr.)
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