The Black Keys - Delta Kream

Black Keys return with Delta Kream, honoring Mississippi hill country blues

The Black Keys' 10th studio album, Delta Kream, due May 14, 2021 celebrates the band's roots, featuring 11 Mississippi hill country blues standards they've loved since they were teenagers, before they were a band, including songs by R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others.

Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney recorded Delta Kream at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville; they were joined by musicians Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton, long-time members of the bands of blues legends including Burnside and Kimbrough. The album takes its name from William Eggleston's iconic Mississippi photograph on its cover.

Auerbach says of the album, "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 concurs, "The session was planned only days in advance and nothing was rehearsed. We recorded the entire album in about ten hours, over two afternoons, at the end of the ‘Let's Rock' tour."

Delta Kream's first single is "Crawling Kingsnake." Auerbach says of the song: "I first heard (John Lee) Hooker's version in high school. 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!" Carney adds, "We fell into this drum intro; it's kind of accidental. The ultimate goal was to highlight the interplay between the guitars. My role with Eric was to create a deeper groove."

Side A

1. Crawling Kingsnake

2. Louise

3. Poor Boy a Long Way From Home

Side B

1. Stay All Night

2. Going Down South

3. Coal Black Mattie

Side C

1. Do the Romp

2. Sad Days, Lonely Nights

Side D

1. Walk with Me

2. Mellow Peaches

3. Come on and Go with Me

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it