Press 'Play' On Instant Classic
Matthew Winters
Moby, an international DJ and Eminem's favorite target of mockery released an album in 1999 called "Play." You may not know this album but I guarantee that you have heard at least a portion of it, as he licensed the entire album for commercial use. The music on that album fused together the worlds of house and electronic music with the folk and blues recordings of the early part of the last century. What came of it was an album that unabashedly combined characteristics of old with the punch of the new.
Dan Auerbach, better known as the singer and guitarist for the Black Keys, tore a page out of Moby's playbook for his first solo album "Keep It Hid." "Heartbroken, In Disrepair" and "Mean Monsoon" roll along like remixed blues classics, but the vocals growl like they were recorded a hundred years ago. "Disrepair" in particular is the perfect example of the melding of the old with new, a full-bodied guitar jiving over vocals that wouldn't sound out of order in the Deep South circa 1933. "I've got to live my sin till I die" are perfect examples of the blues cookbook, but played over the delayed guitar it sounds so modern a listener could almost confuse them with My Morning Jacket or Colour Revolt.
Where "Keep It Hid" really shows its strength is when it is mostly just Auerbach and an acoustic guitar. Opener "Trouble Weighs a Ton" shows Auerbach at his most emotionally distraught but at his most hopeful as he paints portraits of men and women in their darkest hours. With subtle strings and a very subdued guitar, Auerbach croons with fellow folkie Jessica Lea Mayfield on "When the Night Comes" that leaves the listener wondering if this is an old standard or a new one on the cusp.
"Keep It Hid" is the type of album that haunts the listener for long after it has finished. That is what a true classic does to a listener, it not only is enjoyable while listening but it leaves you humming for days after.
Originally Published in The WSU Signpost 2/13/09
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