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"The groove that frames opener "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire"-a crate-digger acoustic oddity that got such a boost from a 2019 reissue that Paul Weller covered it last year-is so hypnotic that Auerbach sings like he's half-asleep. In 1975, Dr. Feelgood's "She Does It Right" was all amphetamine jitters; it was a door propped open that young punks would soon tear down. It sounds both sexless and devoid of danger here."
"Big Boy Crudup's elemental "Who's Been Foolin' You" should be a blank slate for the Black Keys, its perfect hook an invitation to go wild. But, again, they sound like they're on autopilot, Auerbach's voice smeared into near-inscrutability and his solos aiming for the splenetic until they crash into a safety net."
"The kind of blues the Black Keys love is about pushing the stories of life's most difficult and joyous experiences so hard the sound crackles in the red; they get the sound but not the feeling here. It's a studio effect, as rote as rolling tape."
The Black Keys' cover album Peaches! presents a paradox: despite its exclamatory title suggesting excitement, the recordings sound complacent and subdued. Opening track "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire" features a hypnotic groove that renders Auerbach's vocals nearly inaudible, while covers of Dr. Feelgood's "She Does It Right" and Big Boy Crudup's "Who's Been Foolin' You" lack danger and vitality. Guest musician Jimbo Mathus attempts to inject energy through organ work, but the band retreats into safety. The recordings capture technical proficiency and studio effects but miss the emotional intensity and raw feeling that defines authentic blues. Occasional moments hint at the band's potential excitement, though these instances remain fleeting.
#black-keys-album-review #blues-covers #musical-restraint-and-autopilot-performance #lack-of-emotional-intensity
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