Marcus King Young Blood LP

GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist, performer and songwriter Marcus King was downright destined to play music. Plugged into his old man's dusty amp with a '59 Les Paul in hand, Marcus set out to make a rock 'n' roll record in 2022. He didn't disguise his ambitions at all. He didn't hold back. He didn't think about anything but writing from the gut, shooting from the hip, and playing straight from the heart. Joined by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, he made the kind of rock 'n' roll record that makes arenas and asses shake, and it's called Young Blood.

Recorded at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville during the summer of 2021, the record features acclaimed musicians including Chris St. Hilaire on drums and Nick Movshon on bass with writing from King and Auerbach in collaboration with Desmond Child and Angelo Petraglia, who have collaborated with Aerosmith and Kings Of Leon.

"Music runs so deep in Marcus's blood he might not even realize how born to do this he is. He's the real deal," says Auerbach. "Marcus has Southern Soul as part of his foundation. If you're going to play rock 'n' roll with Marcus, you have to understand that element. It's just who he is. These songs are live performances. The whole damn thing is live - the solos and everything. It's so rare in this day and age."

King has toured with The Marcus King Band for over 10 years, as well as tours with Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet and Nathanial Rateliff. He released three LPs with The Marcus King Band before his GRAMMY-nominated 2021 solo debut LP, El Dorado.

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.