The Big Come Up

The Big Come Up is the debut studio album by the American rock duo The Black Keys, released on May 14, 2002 on Alive Records.

The Big Come Up
Studio album by The Black Keys
Released	May 14, 2002
Recorded	January and February 2002
Studio	Synth Etiquette Analog Sound (Akron, OH)
Genre	Blues rock[1] punk blues[1]
Length	54:15 (CD) 33:49 (LP)
Label	Alive
Producer	Patrick Carney
The Black Keys chronology
The Big Come Up (2002) Thickfreakness (2003)
Singles from The Big Come Up
"Leavin' Trunk" Released: 2003 "She Said, She Said" Released: 2003

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
Regina Leader-Post	[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Spin	8/10[6]

Background and recording

The album was created in Akron, Ohio, also known as the Rubber City.[7] As the two began to grow up, they realized that rubber companies, such as Goodyear, were a dying industry.[8] They knew they were not guaranteed an automatic job by achieving a college degree, so the two dropped out of college to pursue their musical career. They began producing "The Big Come Up" in their basement.[9] Carney and Auerbach recorded the album in Carney's basement, using two microphones bought off of eBay. They recorded their album on an 8-track tape recorder. The record contains thirteen songs. Eight of them are original tracks, with five cover songs. "240 Years Before Your Time", the closing track, becomes silent at about 1:39 into the track on the CD version. This silence lasts until 21:41.

Release

The Big Come Up was released through Alive Records on May 14, 2002. Alive re-presses this album regularly, often several times a year on different colored vinyl or with altered sleeve artwork. These are usually marketed as limited editions.[10] They have released the album on vinyl on at least 14 separate occasions,[11] opening themselves up to criticism, particularly in regard to the marketing term "limited edition".[12]

The band also released an EP that included covers of the blues song "Leaving' Trunk" and the Beatles' song "She Said, She Said". The song "I'll Be Your Man" was used as the theme song for the HBO series Hung. "I'll Be Your Man" also appeared on the FX series Rescue Me.

Reception

According to Nielsen Soundscan, the album sold around 139,000 copies.[13] The two did not make much money off of the album, so they had trouble paying for a tour. Therefore, they raised money by mowing lawns for their landlord. Although the album sold poorly, it gained a cult following and attracted critics. In 2005 music critic Chuck Klosterman singled out The Big Come Up as one of 21 "high-quality albums" from the previous three years.[14] As the two blues-rock singers began to gain attention, they caught the eye of American Independent record label, Fat Possum Records. Fat Possum Records quietly released blues music that drew inspiration from the gritty country blues guitar rhythms and from artists like Junior Kimbrough, one of Carney and Auerbach's leading inspirations.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney except where noted.

CD Version

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Busted" (originally titled "Skinny Woman") (R.L. Burnside)	2:34
2.	"Do the Rump" (Junior Kimbrough)	2:38
3.	"I'll Be Your Man"	2:21
4.	"Countdown"	2:39
5.	"The Breaks"	3:01
6.	"Run Me Down" (Muddy Waters)	2:27
7.	"Leavin' Trunk" (Traditional)	3:00
8.	"Heavy Soul"	2:09
9.	"She Said, She Said" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)	2:32
10.	"Them Eyes"	2:23
11.	"Yearnin'"	1:59
12.	"Brooklyn Bound"	3:11
13.	"240 Years Before Your Time"	23:20

Vinyl Version: Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Busted" (originally titled "Skinny Woman") (R.L. Burnside)	2:33
2.	"Do the Rump" (Junior Kimbrough)	2:37
3.	"I'll Be Your Man"	2:20
4.	"Countdown"	2:38
5.	"The Breaks"	3:02
6.	"Run Me Down"	2:27
7.	"She Said, She Said" (Alternative Version) (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)	2:32

Vinyl Version: Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Heavy Soul" (Alternate Version)	2:08
2.	"Yearnin'" (Alternate Version)	1:58
3.	"No Fun" (Vinyl Exclusive) (The Stooges)	2:33
4.	"Them Eyes"	2:23
5.	"Leavin' Trunk" (Traditional)	3:00
6.	"Brooklyn Bound"	3:11
7.	"240 Years Before Your Time"	2:27

Personnel

• Dan Auerbach – electric guitar, vocals, bass, 12 string guitar, slide guitar
• Patrick Carney – drums, tambourine, maracas, beats, sampler, production
• Gabe Fulvimar – Moog bass on "She Said, She Said", "Heavy Soul", "The Breaks", and "Countdown"

Production

• Patrick Boissel – album cover design
• Michael Carney – album cover design, photography
• Dave Schultz – mastering

References

1. Unterberger, Richie. "The Black Keys - The Big Come Up". AllMusic. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
2. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
3. Krochak, Gerry; Block, Sheri; Tessmer, Chris; Matheson, Emmet (May 25, 2002). "Eminem offers monster beats". Regina Leader-Post.
4. Christgau, Robert (n.d.). "CG: The Black Keys". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
5. Relic, Peter (October 17, 2002). "The Black Keys : The Big Come Up". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 9, 1998. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
6. Klosterman, Chuck (January 2003). "The Black Keys: The Big Come Up (Alive)/Mr. Airplane Man: Moanin' (Sympathy for the Record Industry)/The Raveonettes: Whip It On (Crunchy Frog)". Spin. 19 (1): 101. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
7. Johnson, Susan Allyn (1 January 1990). "How the "Rubber City" Became the "Capital of West Virginia": A Case Study of Early Appalachian Migration". Journal of Appalachian Studies. 6 (1/2): 109–120. JSTOR 41446454.
8. "Akron Bolsters Police For Rubber Strike Vote By the Associated Press.. The Washington Post (1923-1954) [Washington, D.C] 30 Mar 1935: 4". ProQuest 150634295. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
9. "How The BLACK KEYS Rose Without Trace .Thomson, Graeme. The Word (Mar 2002): 54-57". ProQuest 993048532. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. "Bomp Records".
11. "The Black Keys - The Big Come Up".
12. "Re: Different "The Big Come Up" vinyl editions… - The Black Keys Fan Lounge".
13. Mapes, Jillian (1992-01-06). "Tightened Up: Inside the Black Keys' Rise to Arena-Sized Fame". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media.
14. "21st century rock: Chuck Klosterman celebrates twenty-one high-quality albums from the past three years (in no particular order)". Stereogum. Buzz Media. 1995-05-02.