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Two New Albums

I thought I’d pop in to mention two new albums that folks might be interested in both of which I like a great deal.

The first is the Teskey Brother’s second album, just released a few days ago, Run Home Slow. I discovered the Teskey Brothers here at Audiogon when it was mentioned by another member....I forget who. But they are out of Australia. Their music is very much retro R&B. The lead singer sounds a great deal like Otis Redding and the songs on the first album were generally good, classy and soulful R&B. It is one fantastic album. The second album does not disappoint. They have stuck close to their R&B style but several of the songs are a little more funky and one has an almost 1920’s blues/rag feel. I’ve only listened to the album twice and I think it is excellent although I don’t hear one or two really stand out songs with strong hooks the way the first album did. SQ is okay but clearly compressed DR as is everything released these days.

The second album is the Black Keys ’Let’s Rock’. I only recently discovered the Black Keys so I’m coming very late to the game with them, so this album might not be news to anyone but me. I think it came out a few months ago. Not sure how I missed the Black Keys all these years because I’m very much into blues and blues based rock. I understand that this is their first release in 5 years and that their previous album was a bit of a departure from hard edged blues. This recent album is not. It is not a straight blues album by any means but it is full on blues rock for sure. Lots of catchy tunes with hard driving guitar. I really like this album. Sound quality on Amazon Music is poor to say the least. Way over the top with loudness and DR compression. I have not seen actual DR numbers but the band is notorious for releasing CDs and hi-res files with abysmal DR. We’re talking 4-5 range. However, most of their vinyl has reasonably good DR. It will be interesting to see with this one.

For those of you who like blues, give a listen to the Black Keys older stuff like Thickfreakness and the Chulahoma EP. Chulahoma is a collection of Junior Kimbrough’s songs played in Junior’s style. Extremely well done.
n80

Showing 7 responses by n80

n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
@slaw I just ordered Run Home Slow on LP. I have Half Mile Harvest on CD and SQ is okay, not great. A while back I went to order it and it was on back order and never did. I'll need to do that soon.
I have the Black Keys 'Let's Rock' CD. SQ is really bad in terms of DR. (However, I will say that given the relative simplicity of the music, usually just raw guitar, very simple drum riffs and maybe some bass, the compressed DR doesn't grate on my ears the way it does with some other stuff. In the truck it is fine.) Chulahoma on CD is decent. I'll wait and see what the DR database says about 'Let's Rock' vinyl and if it is any good I'll order it.
Probably need to quit wasting my money on new release CDs. Makes me sad.....no, mad.
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
tuberist, I saw Kingfish play in an old bank building in Clarksdale, Mississippi several years ago. He was mesmerizing.
I listened to his new album a while back and thought it was worth another listen then got distracted and forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me, I need to go back and give it another good listen. I might buy it just to support him.

boxer12, I think the Black Keys get the Jack White comparison because they are a guitar/drum duo like the White Stripes were. I like White's Lazareto but nothing since then. White seems to have a broader range than the Black Keys. Sometimes to his detriment I think. But I do think he is an extraordinary talent.


n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
tooblue, I have Junior Kimbrough's God Knows I Tried on vinyl from Fat Possum records which also released the Black Keys first two albums. It is a great album.


And if you like Junior you'll probably like RL Burnside too. Both from the same area.

I'm working my way up through the Black Keys stuff. So far I really like Thickfreakness, Rubber Factory and Chulahoma.

Sometimes coming late to the game has advantages. ;-)
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
Here is a video of Cedric Burnside doing "Down In The Delta". He is RL Burnside’s grandson and played drums for RL since he was a child. Played with Junior some too I believe.

https://youtu.be/FaoMVzsW1cg

I saw him play in an dark dingy old (now condemned) movie theater in Clarksdale a couple of years ago. (I had gone to movies there as a child). At first there weren’t many people in there but after a few songs a bunch of college students came in and when Cedric and his guitarist started rocking they all got up and danced. I was kind of glad to see younger people appreciating his stuff.

He is a good drummer and a good singer. There are some good songs on his albums but they tend to be spotty with a lot of stuff sounding a little derivative and sometimes a little forced. But, he was fun to see live!
Also, blues historian Robert Palmer did a documentary (in addition to his well known book) called Deep Blue with good footage of RL and Junior.
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
I got the Teskey's Run Home Slow vinyl album delivered today. SQ seems really good. DR compression seems minimal to me. Not noticeable at all and I'm pretty sensitive to it. Nice heavy vinyl too. At least compared to those nearly floppy disks I have from the 1980s.
Thanks for the other recommendations guys. Will check them out.
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
I just checked and it does not do it on side 2. Strange.
n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
I noticed an odd thing about this album. On the A side the run off track spirals down to a closed circle so the needle never gets to the far edge of the runoff track and so the automatic tone arm never lifts. It just keeps spinning in that groove.
Is this a flaw? Never seen it before.
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