Magic Potion (album)

Magic Potion
Studio album by The Black Keys
Released September 12, 2006
Recorded 2006
The Audio Eagle Nest, Akron, Ohio
Genre Garage rock, blues rock
Length 40:55
Label Nonesuch
Producer The Black Keys
The Black Keys chronology

Live in Austin, TX
(2006)		 Magic Potion
(2006)		 Attack & Release
(2008)
Singles from Magic Potion
  1. "Your Touch"
    Released: October 2, 2006
  2. "You're the One"
    Released: February 26, 2007
  3. "Just Got To Be"
    Released: August 6, 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
The A.V. Club B[2]
Entertainment Weekly A−[3]
musicOMH [4]
Pitchfork Media (6.0/10)[5]
Popmatters [6]
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine [7]
Spin 6/10[8]
Stylus Magazine C+[9]

Magic Potion is the fourth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was released in 2006 and was their first record released on Nonesuch Records, the band's current label. This album marks the first time they wrote and composed entirely original material, unlike on previous albums and EPs.

Like the group's first two albums, Magic Potion was recorded in the basement of drummer Patrick Carney;[10] in his estimation, the record was made using "$5,000 worth of crappy equipment".[11] The group's guitarist Dan Auerbach explained the decision behind the recording location:[10]

We like the sound of odd rooms. It's got concrete floors and walls. The upstairs floor is the ceiling. The mixing desk and computer are on top of the tool desk built by the old guy who used to live there. You can hear all of that. Lots of new records have no individuality to the sound. I wanted it to sound like a band in the basement of a house in the Midwest.

Carney expressed disappointment in the quality of the finished record:[11]

We paid $350 to get it mastered, took it home and there was, like, no bass on it. And we just dropped it in a FedEx envelope, mailed it to Warner Brothers and were done with it. Of all things that we've ever done, that's my biggest regret — is that we just kind of were like, "Oh, OK."

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. 

No. Title Length
1. "Just Got to Be"   3:01
2. "Your Touch"   2:45
3. "You're the One"   3:29
4. "Just a Little Heat"   3:42
5. "Give Your Heart Away"   3:27
6. "Strange Desire"   4:22
7. "Modern Times"   4:22
8. "The Flame"   4:36
9. "Goodbye Babylon"   5:56
10. "Black Door"   3:31
11. "Elevator"   3:44

Cover art

The cover art depicts a Fabergé egg. Inside the album is a picture of a fried egg. The back cover depicts a falcon.

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Magic Potion - The Black Keys". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  2. ↑ Phipps, Keith (September 19, 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ Collis, Clark (September 15, 2006). "Magic Potion (2006): The Black Keys". Entertainment Weekly (897). Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  4. ↑ Burling, Adam (September 11, 2006). "The Black Keys – Magic Potion". musicOMH. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ Crock, Jason (September 11, 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion – Nonesuch; 2006". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ Breton, Cape (September 14, 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". Popmatters. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ Jones, Preston (September 11, 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ Eddy, Chuck (October 7, 2006). "The Black Keys, 'Magic Potion' (Nonesuch)". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ Gaerig, Andrew (September 21, 2006). "The Black Keys – Magic Potion". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Anderman, Joan (October 31, 2006). "Black Keys retexture the blues". The Boston Globe. p. E3.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 NPR Staff (May 13, 2014). "'Bound To Sound Different': The Black Keys On Going Big". NPR Music. NPR. Retrieved May 14, 2014.