Black Keys rave review

MONEY MAKER: The Black Keys’ much-anticipated El Camino hits today on Nonesuch ($6.99 at Amazon MP3), and if Randall Roberts’ gushing review in the L.A. Times is any indication, this late comer has a shot at topping the critics’ polls as well as selling like hotcakes. After noting the Keys are “a pure rock band” that recalls such varied outfits as the Rolling Stones, Booker T. and the MG’s, the Ramones and White Stripes, Roberts writes, “It feels a little funny to gush so outwardly about a record, like the critical capacities are failing when enthusiasm takes over. But sometimes, a CD scratches an itch you didn't even know you had, and El Camino is that record; it stands alongside the Strange Boys' criminally underrated Live Music as evidence that a few dudes still know how to party smartly with guitars and snarl. It's a summer record released in the winter, a dance record that just happens to rock, a rock record that fans of LCD Soundsystem will dig. It's a party record, a driving down the highway, ‘I'm in love with rock and roll, and I'll be out all night’ record.” From what we’ve heard so far, the Stones comparison is valid, but we also hear Creedence in the memorable guitar riffs and compact hooks. (12/6a)