Wait... So now Dan Auerbach likes guitar solos?

Ok, before I talk about the new album from the Black Keys I need to express some irritation I have with these guys. First off, I'm a fan. I got hooked after hearing the guitar riff for "Your Touch," off their 2006 album "Magic Potion," an album which I happen to enjoy but is regularly dissed by the band themselves. Upon exploring their back catalog I was impressed by their raw guitar and drums sound, not unlike the White Stripes; a fact Jack White loves to point out. Tunes like "I'll Be Your Man," and albums like "The Rubber Factory" and "Thickfreakness" became part of my constant listening rotation. This was a band that seemed unashamed to play bluesy riff-driven rock 'n' roll in an era of overly produced pop and sensitive overly precious indie "rock." With 2008's "Attack and Release" the Keys hooked up with the hip retro producer Danger Mouse and began distancing themselves from the sound that up to that point had made them a mildly popular underground garage act. I have no problem with bands evolving and changing their sound. I'm one of the few Metallica fans who still really likes the much fan - maligned "Load" and "Reload" albums. I didn't and still don't love "Attack and Release," but I loved the Keys two follow up records, 2010's slightly bloated hazy soul album "Brothers" and 2011's wonderfully trashy glam album "El Camino."

So I love most of the band's music, what have I got to be irritated about? I have no beef with the music. Sure it's a little derivative of rock n roll history, but it gets the job done. I have a problem with Dan Auerbach's and Patrick Carney's obsessive need to appear cool. There are plenty examples of Patrick Carney shooting his mouth about other bands but those have been extensively covered. I want to focus my attention on Dan Auerbach. Listen to fuzz riff of 2006's "Just A Little Heat." ">

Now check out how "Little Black Submarines" from "El Camino" begins as a slow acoustic tune before erupting into an electric hell storm of guitar distortion and Carney's caveman skin pounding. ">

These two songs are awesome examples of the Black Keys rock 'n' roll credentials. Now, I ask you, if you had to name what classic rock band comes to mind when you hear these tunes? Okay, maybe the Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix, but if you're like me I bet a lot of you said, Led Zeppelin. When being compared to a classic rock act you could do much worse. What does "cooler then thou," Auerbach think of the Zepp comparisons? Read for yourself: "Man, you know what? I never listen to Led Zeppelin. But, I mean, I don’t think Robert Plant or Jimmy Page listen to Led Zeppelin, either. We all prob­ably obsessed over the same old blues records growing up." (Read the entire interview here: http://www.maxim.com/music/interview-with-dan-auerbach-of-the-black-keys

Okay fine, you're not a Zeppelin fan. What bugs me isn't the fact that he doesn't dig the mighty Zeppelin, its the way he just dismisses them. Its a hard sale to deny any influence of Jimmy Page when your music is so obviously indebted to the sound he popularized. I'm probably being nit picky here but I wouldn't bring it up if it was the first time I'd been annoyed with Auerbach's comments. My current irritation is his contradictory attitude toward guitar and in particular guitar solos. I am an unapologetic fan boy of a good long guitar solo. I'm the obnoxious guy who cranks the stereo up at the moment when a guitar player rips into his strings and shreds your face off with a blade of awesomeness. (Quick aside; Top 5 guitar solos: "Machine Gun" - Jimi Hendrix. This one sounds like a war. "You Really Got Me" - The Kinks. Dave Davies sounds like he's having a seizure while playing this brief explosion. "Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd. The studio version is great but you gotta watch the Pulse DVD to see and hear David Gilmour extend this solo into the stratosphere. Very epic. "Crossroads" - Cream. With all the easy listening adult contemporary crap that Eric Clapton has made its hard to remember that he once kicked ass on guitar, okay he still does, but he really let it rip in the old days. "Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin. Go ahead and call me cliche, but seriously this solo made me a classic rock fan. My whole taste in music shifted when I heard this song at a home coming dance as a high school sophomore living in Iowa back in the fall of 1995.)

Anyway back to Auerbach. Back in 2011, Auerbach made a list for Rolling Stone of bad ass guitars. Nothing wrong with that, except for some reason he had to preface his list by saying, "Guitar bores the shit out of me 99 per cent of the time." (http://www.rollingstoneme.com/music/the-black-keys-badass-guitars-and-killer-grooves) Oooh, how hip and ironic of you Dan. You are a guitar player making a list of your favorite bad ass guitar sounds, yet you are bored by guitar 99 per cent of the time. Bullshit.

Most recently I'm annoyed with this statement from a recent interview with NPR where Auerbach talks about his guitar solos on the new album, "Turn Blue." "...I grew up listening to Derek & the Dominos and The Allman Brothers and stuff like that. I listen to the Grateful Dead a lot... I grew up listening to that kind of music, and I love long guitar solos and spacey jams." (http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2014/05/07/309346263/the-black-keys-turn-blue-the-all-songs-interview)Awesome. You love long guitar solos and spacey jams. Me too, except I'm not sure what to make of this comment to Spin magazine in 2011: ""I've never been into guitar solos. I really like when every instrument in the band is a rhythm instrument." (http://www.spin.com/articles/studio-black-keys/)Dan, which is it? You don't need to pander and flip flop. You are a great guitar player and I love your music.

Okay, now that is all off of my chest, what do I think of the new Keys record? I dig it. I think its the first great record of 2014, sorry Beck fans. Things start off in outer space with the nearly seven minute "Weight of Love." This is definitely the longest tune I'm aware of on a Black Keys album. The song has been drawing a lot of comparisons to the opening track "Breathe" from Pink Floyd's classic "Dark Side of the Moon." It's a fair comparison as both tunes have a lot of space as they float into your consciousness. Dan's guitar solo on this one sears out of the song's otherwise psychedelic fog. ">

"Fever" was the album's first single about a month ago and when I first heard it I wasn't sure if I dug it or not. I've since found myself loving its relentless groove. Side two's "Its Up to You Now," features a pounding and driving beat from Patrick Carney that sounds like a mash up of the Bo Diddley beat and Zepp's "Immigrant Song."

As surprising as "Weight of Love" is the biggest surprise for me comes in the album's closing track "Gotta Get Away." This tune emerges from the smoky atmosphere of the rest of the record with what is one of the catchiest songs the Keys have ever recorded. "Gotta Get Away," is pure summertime and bbqs classic rock. This tune is destined to become ubiquitous in car and beer commercials and a staple on future classic rock radio playlists. It is seriously just so damn good. Hear for yourself and try to not dance around and sing along with the chorus by the end of it. ">

Like last year's Arctic Monkey's "AM" album, this a rock album that you can dance too. While it's not quite as good as that album, "Turn Blue," is another great album from a great modern rock 'n' roll band. This albums gets 4 burning coals.