Customer Reviews
Another Winner 
2008-07-19
The Black Keys continue to amaze me, the only way they could be any better (for me) is if I were in the band :) This one has a few more softer tracks than their previous albums.
good beat , easy to exercise to 
2008-03-31
Listen to the Black Keys to energize yourself for exercise. I come from Youngstown, OH and this is the kind of music that reflects the Rock and Roll soul of Northeastern Ohio.GO BUCKS
The Black Keys do it again 2008-01-11
This is absolutely one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life. If you enjoy blues or rock you owe it to yourself to get this album. The first time I heard The Black Keys my musical world was changed forever and I don't know how I listened to music before them. In my opinion this is their best album and definitely worth the purchase. My favorite song on the CD is 10 AM Automatic - a fantastic rocker that really emphasizes what these guys are all about. When the Lights Go Out, Just Couldn't Tie Me Down, and All Hands Against His Own are fantastic tracks. Girl Is On My Mind and Stack Shot Billy are two really funky tracks that just make you want to groove. In conclusion, The Black Keys deserve much more recognition for making such great music and everyone should own this album.
ROUND ON THE EDGES - HI IN THE MIDDLE 2007-10-05
Since they're from Ohio, you know they've got to be cool. And if you're young, these guys sound like the BOMB. But, if you are my age and experienced late sixties/ early 70's rock, you would've heard the super rock band FREE, and their radio friendly anthem, All Right Now. The Black Keys sound just like FREE to me, the singer's vocal phrasing, his tone, the drumming, and the guitar playing. But FREE had a great bass player, Andy Fraser, the Black Keys don't even have a bass player. Check out FREE.
Once you check out FREE, you'll see where the Black Keys are coming from.
nice blues set 2007-03-19
Recordings on this album doesn't sound as well as Chulahoma, but the set is very good overall.
A beautiful album 2007-01-16
The third low-tech, high-impact recording from the Akron, Ohio, duo is once again a loud and lively confirmation that passion, not precision, is what the blues is all about. With Dan Auerbach's insistent, abrasive guitar tone and drummer Patrick Carney's violent percussion workouts, the Black Keys' sound thrashes about with industrial-strength garage-band energy, but it also connects directly to the core sensibilities of the original blues creators with its primal expressions of pain and pride. With Auerbach shouting out the vocals the duo rocks hard in its stripped-down, ragged glory mode on Hendrix-influenced shredders like "10 A.M. Automatic" and "The Desperate Man," the fuzzed-out "Till I Get My Way," and the surprisingly swinging "Just Couldn't Tie Me Down." But it also delivers the same emotional intensity in a less frantic form on the moody mini-masterpiece "The Lengths." And, for all the justifiable fascination with the out-of-control excitement of the duo's punkish instrumental approach, the group continues to excel at songcraft, a talent expressed both in its own material and in its ability to recognize and expand the disguised merits of lesser-known cover songs. It follows a previous Beatles rarity recording with a nod to the Kinks this time via a personalized cover of "Act Nice and Gentle," probably the last thing the Black Keys would ever be accused of being.
--Michael Point
Bluesy garage rock with a punch 2006-12-15
Imagine the Rolling Stones up to and including Let It Bleed mixed with the White Stripes but with a soulfull lead singer that channels late sixties, early seventies rock vocal stylings. Now add some fuzzed out bluesy guitar and slide and you'd have an approximation of the Black Keys' sound. They have just the right amount of "slop" to their sound, ie any more and they would stink, any less and they wouldn't be as charming. But really the best thing about these guys is the songwriting which is emotional and melodic with a good amount of bluesy grit and feel. This is rock before it was called "classic". The only thing that mars the cd is the crappy, er, "lo-fi" recording, but what do you want from two guys from Ohio who recorded in a rubber factory? This is the first recording I've heard by these guys and I'm convinced, good stuff.
Wow, hard to believe! 2006-12-09
Hello World,
I seen the cover and the images in the CD case and thought this should be a total dump!!! These two guys look like they design pocket protectors! Man, was I wrong. Totally wrong! Singer/guitarist sounds like a real down an out 40 year old delta bluesman and the drummer redifines high hat work. All from Ohio for Gods sake, I never would have believed it myself. Very blues but very fresh blues, yes? Sooooo smooth. The only good thing from the movie Rest Stop was the discovery of this band. "Keep me clean, keep me warm, keep my soul away from harm." Rock on world!!!
Rock Out 2006-08-14
This is the only Black Keys CD I have listened to, though it will not be the last. It was great on my latest road trip. It rocks with a fresh, raw sound from start to finish. 70's blues rock meets White Stripes ~ Rolling Stones from the 70's. There are so many "alternative" sounding bands, it is nice to hear some unbridled bluesy emotion in music. Create some space in your living room and get out your air guitar for this one.
good stuff 
2006-08-01
while the music isn't exactly groundbreaking, it makes you want to nod your head and has a real bluesy feel that is refreshing today. Wait, i better take that back because some people think that because this band has been called a blues band when they're not that it means they are terrible. Review the music instead of criticising them just because you don't think it's blues music. I love the fuzzed out punky guitar on this album and "the lengths" is a nice change up. Overall i think it's a good album, except i found that the sound got a bit grating after a while.
