Dan Auerbach Announces New ‘Waiting on a Song’ Album
On June 2, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys will release his second solo album, Waiting on a Song. The record serves as the launch for his new label, Easy Eye Sound, and you can listen to its first single, "Shine on Me," above.
Auerbach tracked the songs in his adopted hometown of Nashville, where the Akron, Ohio, native has called home since 2010. The blues-based rocker took advantage of the local talent, bringing in veteran session pros like Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin, Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman. “Living in Nashville has definitely changed the way I think about music and the way that I record it," he said in a press release. "I didn’t have all of these resources before. I am working with some of the greatest musicians that ever lived.”
However, he looked well beyond Nashville -- to England, in fact -- for help on "Shine on Me." Mark Knopfler, formerly of Dire Straits, contributed the main electric rhythm guitar part. Auerbach told NPR, where the song premiered this morning, that he "could hear Mark Knopfler in my mind. I'd never met him before, but I decided to call him anyway to see if he would add a guitar part to it. I gave him no instructions — just told him to do whatever he felt. He sent it back two days later with that rhythm guitar part on it and it was perfect! And that guitar sound couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. I'm so grateful for his contribution."
News of Waiting on a Song, the follow-up to 2009's Keep It Hid, surfaced in December, where we learned that, in addition to Knopfler, early rock legend Duane Eddy and songwriter John Prine were involved. Eddy played guitar on “Livin’ in Sin” and “King of a One Horse Town,” while Prine co-wrote seven of its 10 songs, including the title track.
Easy Eye Sound is named after Auerbach's Nashville studio, and will be distributed by Nonesuch Records. The label will be announcing releases from other artists in the near future, but for now Auerbach is simply taking pride in what he's creating.
“Sometimes I feel I created my own Field of Dreams," he gushed. "I built the studio because I knew something was going to happen. I built it to accommodate live musicians playing, and then all of a sudden the best musicians in Nashville show up, and it’s happening.”
Dan Auerbach, 'Waiting on a Song' Track Listing
"Waiting on a Song"
"Malibu Man"
"Livin' in Sin"
"Shine on Me"
"King of a One Horse Town"
"Never in My Wildest Dreams"
"Cherrybomb"
"Stand by My Girl"
"Undertow"
"Show Me"
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