Marcus King – El Dorado

I liked Marcus King’s album Carolina Confessions, but El Dorado is at the next level of excellence. Produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, this could be the album that makes King a star.

Marcus King is a purveyor of what we used to call southern rock (Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.). Hard rocking blues rock with a pinch of country.

Great blues-rock guitar players are a dime a dozen and so Auerbach has focused El Dorado on King’s other great gift: his vocals. There is still plenty of King’s guitar shredding, but there is a particular emphasis on King’s vocals. King purrs and roars and everything in between. At times he sounds like a sweeter Faces’ era Rod Stewart and sometimes like Greg Allman. You can hear the influences, yet King has his own voice.

Carolina Confessions was a by the book Allman Brothers devotional. El Dorado is a more diverse affair: acoustic blues, Black Keys styled garage rock, Ray Charles inspired ballads, country, Muscle Shoals’ soul, a little swamp rock and of course a touch of the Allmans. On paper, this sounds disjointed – a messy smorgasbord plate, but on the album, it works as a perfectly executed full course meal. I have a feeling this album is going to be in my rotation for a long time to come.