| Thickfreakness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 8, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | December 2002 | |||
| Studio | Studio 45 (Akron, OH) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:01 | |||
| Label | Fat Possum | |||
| Producer | Patrick Carney | |||
| The Black Keys chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Thickfreakness | ||||
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Thickfreakness is the second studio album by American rock duo The Black Keys, released in 2003. It is their debut release for the Fat Possum record label, although in the UK and Europe it was co-released by Epitaph Records.
The band's debut album The Big Come Up had been tremendously successful for an independent rock band and Thickfreakness further increased their profile. It continues The Black Keys' tradition of raw, heavy blues-influenced garage rock.
Songs such as "Set You Free" won the pair some mainstream success as being featured in the soundtrack of the 2003 film School of Rock . Heavy comparisons to another American blues-influenced garage rock duo, The White Stripes, were often made by the music media. [1]
Most of the album was recorded in December 2002 during a single 14-hour session in Patrick Carney's basement using an early 1980s Tascam 388 8-track recorder. This approach was necessary because the group spent its small advance payment from Fat Possum Records on rent. [2] [3] [4] [5] The liner notes claim this is Carney's "patented recording technique called 'medium fidelity'". The result is a more vintage sound. [6] The song "Midnight in Her Eyes" is one of the few Black Keys songs that used a bass guitar; Dan Auerbach dubbed a bassline by playing a Guild SG-style bass through a guitar amp into the song. Part of "Set You Free" was recorded by Jeff Saltzman.
The album included two covers: "Have Love, Will Travel" by Richard Berry and "Everywhere I Go" by north Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough.
The cover art was made by Carney's brother Michael, who was responsible for the whole graphical process after the layout of The Big Come Up ended up done by Patrick Boissel of Alive Records. As the Carneys drove around Akron trying to think of an idea, they ended up in a Super K-Mart and eventually found a concept upon finding a can of pomade. Then they moved all of the lamps in his house into one room to light up the picture, where Patrick handled the pomade. [7]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100 [8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| The Baltimore Sun |  [10] |
| The Boston Phoenix | [11] |
| Houston Chronicle | 4/5 [12] |
| Mojo | [13] |
| Now | 3/5 [14] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10 [1] |
| Q | [15] |
| Rolling Stone | [16] |
| Spin | C+ [17] |
Thickfreakness was The Black Keys' first breakthrough album, as it established them as an indie-rock blues band. [18] Their recognition from Thickfreakness led them on a rigorous tour schedule including opening for singer/songwriter Beck (on his Sea Change summer tour) in the summer of 2003. [19] According to The Boston Globe , "Thickfreakness is an album that's meant to be felt as much as heard, rigged with plunging riffs, Auerbach's charcoal-smoke singing voice, and rhythmic pockets as deep as quicksand". [20] It was during this time that Auerbach began writing material for their next album. When the two returned from touring, Auerbach's landlord had sold his house where the duo wrote Thickfreakness in the basement. [21]
All tracks are written by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thickfreakness" | 3:48 | |
| 2. | "Hard Row" | Dan and Chuck Auerbach (lyrics) | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Set You Free" | 2:46 | |
| 4. | "Midnight in Her Eyes" | 4:02 | |
| 5. | "Have Love Will Travel" | Richard Berry | 3:04 |
| 6. | "Hurt Like Mine" | 3:27 | |
| 7. | "Everywhere I Go" | Junior Kimbrough | 5:40 |
| 8. | "No Trust" | 3:37 | |
| 9. | "If You See Me" | 2:52 | |
| 10. | "Hold Me in Your Arms" | 3:19 | |
| 11. | "I Cry Alone" | 2:47 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Evil" | 2:27 |
| Chart (2003-2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [22] | 90 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) [23] | 21 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [24] | 50 |
The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their records, before they eventually emerged as one of the most popular garage rock artists during a second wave of the genre's revival in the 2000s. The band's raw blues rock sound draws heavily from Auerbach's blues influences, including Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson.
Daniel Quine Auerbach is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has recorded and co-produced eleven studio albums with his bandmate Patrick Carney. Auerbach has also released two solo albums, Keep It Hid (2009) and Waiting on a Song (2017), and formed a side project, the Arcs, which released the albums Yours, Dreamily, (2015) and Electrophonic Chronic (2023).
The Big Come Up is the debut studio album by the American rock duo the Black Keys, released on May 14, 2002, on Alive Records.
Patrick James Carney is an American musician and producer best known as the drummer of the Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio.
Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists. Recently, Fat Possum has signed younger rock acts to its roster. The label has been featured in The New York Times, New Yorker, The Observer, a Sundance Channel production, features on NPR, and a 2004 documentary, You See Me Laughin. Fat Possum also distributes the Hi Records catalog.
Rubber Factory is the third studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was self-produced by the band and was released on September 7, 2004, on Fat Possum Records. The album was recorded in an abandoned tire-manufacturing factory in the group's hometown of Akron, Ohio. Rubber Factory received positive reviews and was the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200 in the United States, reaching number 143.
Kenny Brown is an American blues slide guitarist skilled in the North Mississippi Hill Country blues style.
Live In Austin, TX is the first live album by American rock duo The Black Keys. It was published as an electronic for podcast by Austin, Texas based Jumper Productions. This is derived from the 10,000 piece limited Thickfreakness In Austin music DVD-video released by the same company on September 7, 2004. Unlike the edited version available on the DVD, this audio version is full-length. The concert was recorded on October 24, 2003 at Austin's Emo's as part of the Thickfreakness U.S. tour. Near the end of "Them Eyes" a young woman from the audience suddenly climbed on stage and started to dance near the performers. Quickly after the song's ending, guitarist Dan Auerbach switched roles from guitarist to lighthearted bouncer; he asked her off the stage with a quip "Hey girl, you play bass? What's up?".
Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough is an EP by American rock duo The Black Keys. Essentially a tribute album, it is a collection of the band's cover versions of songs by Fat Possum Records bluesman Junior Kimbrough, who died in 1998. The title is a Choctaw word for red fox and is a reference to Chulahoma, Mississippi, location of "Junior's Place", a juke joint bought by Kimbrough around 1992 and operated after his death by his sons until it burned down on April 6, 2000.
"The Moan" is a single by the American blues-rock duo The Black Keys, first released on 7" vinyl in 2002 (ALIVE0047-1), and on CD in 2004 (ALIVE0047-2). The CD is their last release for Alive Records, as the band switched to Fat Possum Records to publish their LP Thickfreakness the previous year.
Magic Potion is the fourth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was released in 2006 and was their first record released on Nonesuch Records, the band's current label. This album marks the first time they wrote and composed entirely original material, unlike on previous albums and EPs.
"Hard Row" is a single by American blues-rock duo the Black Keys from their second album Thickfreakness. The song, along with the rest of Thickfreakness, was recorded in drummer Patrick Carney's basement on a 1980 8-track recorder. The lyrics were written by Chuck Auerbach and bandmember Dan Auerbach, and the music composed by both members of the band.
Brothers is the sixth studio album by American rock duo The Black Keys. Co-produced by the group, Mark Neill, and Danger Mouse, it was released on May 18, 2010, on Nonesuch Records. Brothers was the band's commercial breakthrough, as it sold over 73,000 copies in the United States in its first week and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, their best performance on the chart to that point.
"Set You Free" is a single by American blues rock duo The Black Keys from their second album, Thickfreakness. It was recorded in Patrick Carney's basement at his old house in Akron, Ohio. The song appears in the film School of Rock (2003) and the soundtrack album, as well as in the film I Love You, Man.
Live at the Crystal Ballroom is a concert video by American rock band The Black Keys. It was released on November 18, 2008 and was produced and directed by Lance Bangs. The concert was filmed on April 4, 2008 at their show in Portland, Oregon at the Crystal Ballroom.
El Camino is the seventh studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was co-produced by Danger Mouse and the group, and was released on Nonesuch Records on December 6, 2011. The record was the band's follow-up to their commercial breakthrough, Brothers (2010), and was their third collaboration with Danger Mouse. El Camino draws from popular genres of the 1950s to 1970s, such as rock and roll, glam rock, rockabilly, surf rock and soul. Danger Mouse contributed as a co-writer on each of the 11 songs alongside guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney.
"Lonely Boy" is a song by American rock band the Black Keys. It is the opening track from their 2011 studio album El Camino and was released as the record's lead single on October 26, 2011. The song is also the A-side of a promotional 12-inch single that was released in commemoration of Record Store Day's "Back to Black" Friday event. The single was accompanied by a popular one-shot music video of a man dancing and lip-synching the lyrics.
Turn Blue is the eighth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was released through Nonesuch Records on May 12, 2014, and co-produced by Danger Mouse and the duo. The record was their fourth collaboration with Danger Mouse, following their previous studio album, El Camino (2011), which was their biggest commercial and critical success to that point. For Turn Blue, Danger Mouse reprised his role from El Camino as an equal songwriting partner alongside guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney.
Let's Rock is the ninth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was released on June 28, 2019, through Easy Eye Sound/Nonesuch Records. It was their first release since Turn Blue (2014), marking the longest gap between studio albums in their career. After collaborating with producer Danger Mouse for their previous four records, the duo decided to self-produce Let's Rock and to eschew keyboards in favor of a basic recording approach of guitar, drums, and vocals. Drummer Patrick Carney called the album "an homage to electric guitar".
Delta Kream is the tenth album by American rock duo the Black Keys, released through Easy Eye Sound and Nonesuch Records on May 14, 2021. It is a cover album of hill country blues songs. It was preceded by the April 15 release of a cover of "Crawling Kingsnake", based on Junior Kimbrough's rendition.
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