Magic Potion (album)

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.

Magic Potion
Studio album by The Black Keys
Released	September 12, 2006
Recorded	The Audio Eagle Nest (Akron, OH)
Genre	Blues rock garage 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
"Your Touch" Released: October 2, 2006 "You're the One" Released: February 26, 2007 "Just Got to Be" Released: August 6, 2007

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
Mojo	[5]
NME	6/10[6]
Pitchfork	6.0/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
Spin	[11]

Like the group's first two albums, Magic Potion was recorded in the basement of drummer Patrick Carney;[12] in his estimation, the record was made using "$5,000 worth of crappy equipment".[13] The group's guitarist Dan Auerbach explained the decision behind the recording location:[12]

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:[13]

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 tracks are written 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

• Dan Auerbach – guitar, 12 string guitar, slide guitar, lap steel, vocals
• Patrick Carney – drums, percussion

References

1. "Reviews for Magic Potion by The Black Keys". Metacritic. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
2. Jurek, Thom. "Magic Potion – The Black Keys". AllMusic. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
3. Phipps, Keith (September 19, 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
4. Collis, Clark (September 15, 2006). "Magic Potion". Entertainment Weekly (897). Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
5. "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". Mojo (155): 96. October 2006.
6. "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". NME: 21. September 2, 2006.
7. Crock, Jason (September 11, 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
8. "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". Q (243): 118. October 2006.
9. Greene, Andy (September 7, 2006). "Black Keys: Magic Potion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
10. Jones, Preston (September 11, 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
11. Eddy, Chuck (October 2006). "The Black Keys: Magic Potion". Spin. 22 (10): 94. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
12. Anderman, Joan (October 31, 2006). "Black Keys retexture the blues". The Boston Globe. p. E3.
13. NPR Staff (May 13, 2014). "'Bound To Sound Different': The Black Keys On Going Big". NPR Music. NPR. Retrieved May 14, 2014.