Looking into Hill Country Blues with The Black Keys
The Black Keys are back with an album called Delta Kream that pays tribute to some of the great music that formed and shaped their music from the start: Mississippi Hill Country Blues.
I've been to Northern Mississippi exactly once, which I know should make me an internet expert, but I'm not. I'm much more familiar with a lot of the music and musicians who were a part of the Delta Blues style. I've used this new album to start reading up and learning about this musical style, which is a little different from the typical 12-bar blues pattern that you get from Delta Blues. There's a new musical rabbit hole that I intend to start going down. Here's the article I started with if you want to join me.
Onto the album. I don't really review music on this site. I just celebrate the stuff I like. I like this. For reviews, here are a couple that you might find interesting to read:
Since there are a lot of covers on this album, rather than do my usual "5 highlights", I though it might be interesting to compare and contrast Delta Kream with some of the earlier versions of these tunes. In comparison, I think that the Keys' versions capture the spirit of most of these tunes. I like some of the new versions better. Some, I prefer the original. Come On and Go With Me from Junior Kimbrough, for instance, is a tune that's going into my regular blues rotation. I'm sure others will too.
Check out the Spotify playlist below to listen to them alongside of the Keys' versions. Pick it up at your local record shop like I am. If you don’t have one of those, you can get it at the Amazon link.