The Big Come Up
Year: 2002
Format: Digital
Grade: B
That The Black Keys have graduated from clubs to arenas in the decade since The Big Come Up remains a surprise to me, mostly because the idea of anyone becoming successful playing the blues in 2012 calls to mind the atrocity of Blueshammer from "Ghost World."
The defining difference between the fictitious Blueshammer and The Black Keys is that the Keys don't claim to be anyone other than who they are.
It all started with The Big Come Up, a bundle of dirty blues clocking in at just more than 30 minutes once the 20-minute gap for the secret song is excised.
There are some Keys classics in the bunch, too, with "I'll Be Your Man," "The Breaks" and an R.L. Burnside cover retitled "Busted" remaining as part of the band's modern live act.
There are other covers here, including Junior Kimbrough's "Do the Rump," McKinley Morganfield's "Run Me Down" and, perhaps most surprisingly, The Beatles' "She Said, She Said." The Keys treat them all as their own, with a tone that maintains throughout the record.
It doesn't match Brothers or Rubber Factory, but Big Come Up stands as one of the best selections in The Black Keys' catalog.
Tomorrow's entry: Nas, Illmatic
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