2 weeks out from his first “solo” album so I thought I would start a thread just for his work. I am excited for this to drop, and have been warming up with a run of Allman Brothers Band albums before I do a quick Marcus King Band catalogue journey (3 albums and an EP - all great). Missed them at the Beacon last month (they wanted $50-100 when I had just spent $20 and $22 respectively to see them last spring).

Let the build up begin!

Do you know what made him decide to do a solo album? The show I am seeing next month is with his band.

I think he made it a solo album because he worked with Easy Eye Sound on it. My understanding is that Dan Auerbach produces and played on it as well. I am not sure of the extent to which his band plays from the sessions but the band is touring it with him.

Fantastic guitarist. Saw him last year. Looking forward to the next album.

For those unfamiliar, they currently have 3 albums and one digital only EP. Soul Insight was the first and sounds not too dissimilar to Gov’t Mule. The second is self-titled, added the horn section, and very well mashed souther rock and soul. The third is Carolina Confessions, which reaches back to a more American roots rock vibe straight out of the south is very well written. The EP is 3 really good otherwise unreleased songs with a fourth live track that is really amazing.

Looks like it is coming this Friday - I thought it was next Friday. So...

Soul Insight - this debut finds Marcus King basically on fire the whole album in terms of his guitar playing. You can also tell that the band is quite solid throughout, and their skills are stressed in the instrumental tracks Fraudulent Waffle, Booty Stank, and Dave’s Apparition. The clear weak point on this album is songwriting, which was not particularly good on many of the tracks here - many are very cliche southern blues rock without too much variation, like a mishmash of the Allman Brothers Band and Govt Mule. The fact that Marcus Kong’s voice sounds like a cross between Warren Haynes and what I would imagine Sam Kinnison’s voice would be (dude looks just like Sam Kinnison) doesn’t help in that regard. Nonetheless, there are some essential tracks here. Check out Honey (that riff comes off nasty and the vocal delivery with it just works), Opie, Keep Moving, and Dyin’. In my opinion, the albums drastically improve from this release, in part because the horns start to drive the music with the second album, and in part because much of this album feels like templates for King to solo off in a live setting rather than original song ideas.

Marcus King Band - for their second album, they really nailed it. Rather than focus in solely on being a southern blues rock band, they do much more to explore their limits as a band and the results are phenomenal. The music travels everywhere from funk rock fusion (Plant Your Corn Early) to jazz fusion (Thespian Espionage) to southern rock (Virginia) to country (Guitar In My Hands) and beyond. However, at its heart this is a soul album with accents of all these influences and it’s great. Rita Is Gone is stunning, and sorrowful, and proof positive that Marcus King can engage in song craft without resorting to a blazing guitar solo to save a song. This is the Marcus King Band that you really want to see live.

Looking forward to your review of Carolina Confessions. Love the shit out of that album.

So glad you mentioned Thespian Espionage as a highlight track ion The Marcus King Band album.

Oh I actually rediscovered Thespian Espionage on this listen. It’s miles ahead of the instrumentals on Soul Insight.

I too am looking forward to my relisten of Carolina Confessions. It’s my favorite of the three, and you may already see where I am probably going with it based on my review of the first two.

Due North (EP) - I am not sure whether this is some leftover material from their self-titled record or a quick visit to record a few songs, but these songs could have easily fit on the self-titled. What’s Right is right down the center of Marcus King’s wheelhouse at the time, a soulful rocker with plenty of horns to move things along. This Ol’ Cowboy slows things down a bit, but evolves into a jam band dream, with the main riff off the chorus sounding every bit as much a Trey Anastasio signature as much as his - though Marcus takes it somewhere on his solo that Trey probably wouldn’t. Slip Away is a wonderful soul/blues track that I think ranks among his best. It’s got such a great groove and both he and the band play off that groove expertly. The EP closes out with a 14 minute live jam out medley of cover songs that is pure fire. In particular, the splicing in of 25 or 6 to 4 is pretty bad ass, with Marcus’s guitar work taking what would have been the lead vocal parts. This is a Marcus guitar clinic that is proof positive that he’s got one of the best live acts going right now.

Carolina Confessions - so this is the moment where maturity and song writing development mesh with an already powerful talent. The results are his finest album to date. While the music as a whole takes on a more subdued tempo, there’s no doubt Marcus King poured every ounce of himself into a personal statement that is truly stunning at points. His voice lights up the place on soulful tracks like Side Door, 8 a.m., Confessions, and Goodbye Carolina, while the band brings it all together and takes it a step even further on Homesick, and Welcome ‘Round Here. The shades of southern Ghosts past rear themselves particularly on Autumn Rains, where you could swear Duane Allman is banging out that solo. The best though may be reserved for the lightest tune in the album, How Long, which provides one part reprieve from a primarily down sounding record and forces you to jump out of your seat and shake your ass! I am sure there’s plenty more to come with tomorrow’s release and into the future for a band leader at 24 years of age, but it’s fair to say here that this album is so far beyond his years that he practically had no business making this record at 22 years old. Can’t wait to see what’s to come.

I love this album. I really like that I'm seeing growth as artist with this album. You have me pumped for my show next month and his solo release tomorrow.

Thanks! That was the idea.

El Dorado - I certainly need more time with this album, but at first glance two things really stick out to me: (1) there is a huge amount of range on this album as Marcus King covers from country to rock to some serious soul and old school rhythm and blues; and (2) Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio had a huge influence on him in making this record. To Auerbach’s complete credit as a producer, he has a great knack for bringing the most out of vocal performances and this is Marcus’s best vocals on an album by far. His voice jumps out of the speakers while at the same time has a weathered feel that suits his sound perfectly. In a sense, it is very reminiscent of a top five 2010’s album (for me) that came out of the same studio - Robert Finley’s Goin’ Platinum, which is so good I feel like I am going to burst from his energy every time I hear that album.

In any event, be prepared entering this album that the tempo and pace is slower than you would expect from Marcus King, and the shredding solos very few and far between. This is again, at its core, a soul album - and you can immediately see why this album is a solo record as his band is nowhere to be found. Instead, it’s clear that he worked with a variety of musicians hand picked to cater to each song, save for Dan Auerbach who shows up throughout.

Young Man’s Dream starts this record out, and it’s a quiet number spelling out a very personal statement and story for Marcus. It reminds more of what I would expect of a closing song making the record’s final statement, but instead sets the table for the rest of the record telling you where he’s going based on where he’s been. From there, the stomp of The Well with soaring guitars brings you back into somewhat familiar territory, and Auerbach’s ability to poke that cathartic “hell yes!” button tears its head - pushing Marcus and the track in a very positive way. Wildflowers & Wine slows us back down with a soul blues track that is just great writing and composition - definitely a crash course on how to nail a soul ballad. One Day She’s Here is hot buttered soul and an early favorite for me. I was floored by this. The next few tracks, Sweet Mariona and Beautiful Stranger are a couple of slower tunes I just need more time with.

The second half of the record is somehow all in all stronger than the first. Break, Say You Will, Turn It Up, and Too Much Whiskey are all awesome songs and for totally different reasons. Say You Will does sound quite a bit like it could be a Black Keys tune that Marcus just shreds on top of. Turn It Up might be my second in favorite tracks on first listen. It’s just so damn good. Too Much Whiskey is a mash of a Bo Diddley guitar stomp with pedal steel on top of it and country blues twang - it is a fun song. The album closes out with Love Song (apt description) and No Pain, the latter of which is one of the stronger songs on first listen.

Overall, while I will be the first to admit I miss the band on this album, I think it is very strong and inspired effort from Marcus King. I could have used a few more up tempo tracks but then again I always could. As it grows on me, I am sure it will likely be on my end of the year lists. It certainly fits very well into the Easy Eye Sound repertoire and has strong shades of Robert Finley, and Dan Auerbach’s solo album, Waiting On A Song, from a couple of years ago. This is definitely worth your time and attention.

I enjoyed the first five singles released, so liking this new album was going to be an easy feat. Damn, it's good.

Really looking forward to hearing these songs in concert with his band.

I love the sound of this album. It’s got that weathered texture to it that makes it sound like it was made in the 70s.

Really love Turn It Up. It’s very different but hits the perfect spot. I cracked and listened to the five singles yesterday before giving it the full listen on the way to work this morning and posting that review. In the sequence on the record, it all sounds great...I have to get back to the middle of the album again to explore those songs some more but this will be hanging around my rotation for quite a while.

So he’s playing Madison Square Garden in the Fall. What the hell happened!? When did he become that large of a draw? I just saw him at Brooklyn Bowl in June.

Saw them last night and they were truly spectacular. Best show in at least ten years. Tight, precise and passionate. Two and a half hours of one highlight after another.

Awesome! They really are a fantastic live band. How did the new songs sound with the band?

Pretty good. Full band arrangements work really well with the songs. Just about every song from El Dorado was faster. Beautiful Stranger was done as a rocker almost and had little to no ballad left in it.
Marcus King's singing is overlooked a lot. He can sing and brings it live.