158. RUBBER FACTORY by The Black Keys

This 2004 record, the third for Ohio's garage-rock-blues outfit The Black Keys, seems to crystallize what they had been working towards on their debut and sophomore efforts. And, in this case, the third time's definitely a charm. The entire album is recorded by two guys in an abandoned tire factory on an eBay-bought mixing console and, boy, can you tell! The sound has a low down, dirty grunginess to it and I love all 42 minutes of it. With fuzzy guitar riffs and solos galore, it's difficult to recommend just a few tracks off this cohesive collection. This is truly a record that deserves a start to finish listening. But, recommend I must, so here goes:  the single '10 A.M. Automatic' is a great place to start and will probably be familiar to many of you. The guitar solo that starts around 2:30 and closes out the track is something to behold. The album opener, 'When the Lights Go Out,' with its dirge-like rhythm will surely bring back memories of The Velvet Underground's 'Venus in Furs.' Then, move on to 'The Desperate Man' and the country-slide guitar of 'The Lengths.' Finally, finish off the way the record does, with 'Till I Get My Way' in all its fuzz/buzz/scuzz glory.