Young Blood

by Marcus King

Overview

Marcus King broke from his own Marcus King Band for El Dorado, a 2020 album that found him digging deep into his soul roots. His navigator on that departure was Dan Auerbach, the chief Black Key who established a roots-rock enterprise as the proprietor and producer at Easy Eye Sound. The pair reunite on Young Blood, the 2022 record that suggests King is now a lone wolf, as it returns the hotshot guitarist to the music that made his bones: big, thick blues-rock, saturated in volume and fuzz. Where the Marcus King Band used to roam and ramble, patterning their loose-limbed gait on the Allman Brothers Band, Auerbach keeps King on the straight and narrow. Of the 11 tracks on Young Blood, only one inches over the five-minute mark, while most of the cuts hover somewhere between three and four minutes -- the ideal length for a pop song. These tunes are definitely not pop songs -- they're rooted in the blues, heavy on guitar and testifying vocals -- yet the succinct structure means the hooks and melodies sink their hooks; they're not lost in a maze of winding improvisations. Credit also goes to Auerbach, who keeps things lively and colorful, making sure the sonics shift just enough from track to track to give the record momentum. He also plays up King's allusions to classic rock, letting nods to Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Rescue Me") and Grand Funk Railroad ("Dark Cloud") linger in the air, acting as a common language to reveal what King brings to these familiar sounds. King may be letting his feelings spill onto the page here -- his originals were written in the wake of a bad 2021 breakup -- but his signature stamp isn't emotionality so much as it's enthusiasm. He gets a thrill out of cranking up his amp and trying to sing as loud as his guitar, and that's the energy that truly fuels Young Blood. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	08/26/2022
Label:	American Recordings
UPC:	0602445620432

Tracks

1. It¿¿¿s Too Late
2. Lie Lie Lie
3. Rescue Me
4. Pain
5. Good And Gone
6. Blood On The Tracks
7. Hard Working Man
8. Aim High
9. Dark Cloud
10. Whisper
11. Blues Worse Than I Ever Had

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Marcus King   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Dan Auerbach   Mellotron,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Nick Movshon   Bass
Andy Gabbard   Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Chris St. Hillaire   Drums,Percussion
Chris St. Hilaire   Drums,Percussion

Technical Credits

Greg Cartwright   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Dan Auerbach   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Desmond Child   Composer
Danny Clinch   Photography
Angelo Petraglia   Composer
Steve Fallone   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Allen Parker   Mixing,Engineer
Andy Gabbard   Composer
McKinley James   Assistant Engineer
Perry Shall   Design
M. Allen Parker   Mixing,Engineer
Caleb VanBuskirk   Engineer
Marcus King   Composer
Tyler Zwiep   Assistant Engineer
Jonny Ulman   Assistant Engineer