When The Black Keys released their ‘Magic Potion’ album in 2006, it was met with respect but not the adoration that was heaped on earlier releases. Even now fans are often ambivalent about it, placing it invariably as their least favourite album.
Until recently I was one of them.
Then I re-listened to the album from start to finish.
Now, I’m not sure if it was either my prejudices or reading the so-so reviews at the time that led me to not admire the album as I did the others.
Magic Potion was The Black Keys’ fourth album and first for new label Nonesuch (owned by Warner Brothers Records), a so-called ‘major’ record company and by all accounts a far cry from Fat Possum records.
For some, The Black Keys were somehow seen as selling out Fat Possum and going mainstream on a major label, albeit one that gave the band their independence. A classic case of the ‘tall poppy’ syndrome – some were clearly waiting for the band to not excel their previous efforts.
Criticism at the time seemed to centre on the repetitive, riff heavy focus of the album. The hooks were good, but there were just too many of them – too much shade and not enough light (as well as other standard cliches). It seems a strange criticism now after the earlier albums were praised for their emphasis on a back to basics garage thump approach.
Typical of the criticism was this 6/10 album review on Pitchfork.com, which reads in part:
Magic Potion is a record where overwhelming competence meets measured restraint, but for me, sacrilege trumps sincerity, and I’d rather hear tuneful blasphemy than a tasteful snoozer of an album.
Magic Potion seems to have become a turning point for the band. Consciously or otherwise, Dan and Pat realised they had to and wanted to evolve their sound to remain relevant to a music market. Attack & Release which followed Magic Potion was a marked departure from what had come before. The trend looks to be continuing with Brothers.
A more fruitful line of enquiry might focus on the albums sound. The riffs might have been strong but Dan’s guitar sound wasn’t as warm as earlier efforts. The reliance on the Ibanez Lawsuit SG (as seen in the Your Touch video below) gave a more abrasive edge that wearied some. But if you listen again the big crunching chords are fantastic within their genre.
The video was a significant production for the band and a reflection of their new labels investment. Just Got To Be got the same treatment. But a few singles seem not to have captured the imagination of all.
Check out this 2007 NPR interview (21 mins of interview and live radio studio tracks) recorded at the time of the Magic Potion album release. The heavier nature of this album reflects what Dan was apparently listening to at the time, including “Japanese psych-rock music”. The live recording here of Strange Desire is particularly intense.
Those who saw the Magic Potion tour will recall the intense live sound. The album was clearly made to be played live and unlike subsequent releases, its lack of complexity was enhanced by the live environment.
The vocals on the album do sound dampened down in the mix and its arguably the weakest album lyrically. The Flame and You’re The One though are tremendous slower songs and, inretrospect, an indication of the depth that was to be found on Attack and Release and solo releases in Dan’s singing and lyrics.
If album sales are any guide, Magic Potion was the band’s least successful album. The fact that earlier album sales had been on the rise for Thickfreakness and Rubber Factory, compounds the fact that fans didn’t like it enough to talk with their dollars.
The stats: Attack & Release 192,000, Magic Potion 116,000, Rubber Factory 147,000
Source: Nielsen Soundscan
Go back and listen to Magic Potion again, from start to finish. What do you think now? I think you might be pleasantly surprised.
Finally, If you want to get technical and believe Metacritic, which aggregates reviews from critics and publications and derives a Metascore showing “critical consensus at a glance by taking a weighted average of critic grades”, Magic Potion scores the lowest (see below). Ahh well, at the end of the day you can’t fight the averages. But it’s no way to rate music.
Metacritic ratings in green:
Your Touch video
Just Got To Be video
Related posts:
- What Is The Black Keys’ Best Selling Album?
- Vote To Return The Strange Desire/The Flame Medley To The Black Keys’ Setlist
- How The Black Keys Promoted The El Camino Album
- Attack & Release
- Where Was The Black Keys’ Album Brothers Recorded?
Want to discuss The Black Keys with other fans? Check out The Black Keys Fan Lounge Forum here
Nice article. I’ve always wondered why people hate on MP so much. I can still remember my first time listening to that album when it came out. I immediately noticed the vocal effects that were used, and Dan’s (now signature) slapback echo on his guitar. They had never used those things before and I thought it was very cool.
Ah man i was just listenin to that album on the way home and my god, i wa sjust about to post in the forum how i think its been unfairly judged, its epic, flame is such a brilliant song. the MP tour was the first time i saw them live and your right it was a lot heavier n was jst awesome… the 3rd time i saw them was probably the best so far though which was the 2nd attack an release leg of the UK tour and we where all out n staying in sheffield n that was an epic gig probably had summin to do with our state of mind at the time tho
nice post and agreed ive renewed my love of that album!
Yep i agree except i always loved Magic Potion when i put it on and got to modern times it was tearing my head apart! absolutely killer album in my mind. And i would put it at the top of the pile.
For me Magic Potion was the first album that finally fit the sound in my head that I had always wanted to hear from a band. When I first heard the Black Keys I knew they were gonna deliver on this one day. With Magic Potion they totally blew me away and it has always confused me why this album received such mixed reviews. It tells such a story. So many of the songs just sound and feel like they mean so much to the band in that particular moment. You can really tell where the bands mind set was at in many of the songs. Absolutely love Magic Potion. It’s my favorite TBK album.
I couldn’t agree more. MP is my favorite Black Keys album. Glad to see others give it the respect it deserves. Metacritic scores aren’t exactly the most trustworthy, neither are reviewers when it comes to music. Everyone has their own opinions/taste and Pitchfork reviews are not one that I respect. 6/10 is blasphemy.
Magic Potion did not grab me the way that rubber factory did, in the beginning; but as i have continued to listen, it has haunted me. Strange Desire speaks to me so deep that i can’t shake it. The darkness and depth of Magic Potion is a place that is harder to confront. It is a flawless album and i only wish i had seen them when they were touring it.
[...] (June 2011), The Black Keys’ drummer Patrick Carney described the band’s 2006 album Magic Potion as their worst. This may have just as much to do with the music as it did the grueling world tour [...]
I’ve been rediscovering the Keys after losing track of them somehow after Rubber Factory. I far prefer Magic Potion over all the others for its pure, deep riffing and the consistent tone, as if they recorded the album in one sitting. It is a masterpiece of riff-based music.