Marcus King – Young Blood: The $19 Nashville Soul Lab Record

What You Need to Know First

Is Young Blood Marcus King's Best Solo Record?

Not quite-but it's the one where he stopped trying to be anything other than himself. Recorded at Easy Eye Sound Studios in Nashville under Dan Auerbach's production eye, Young Blood (2022) is Marcus King shedding the Southern rock amphitheater moves and leaning into intimate, smoked-out soul. It's moody, vocal-forward, and sounds like a record made by someone who'd rather play the Ryman than Red Rocks. At $19 on MilesWaxey.com, this Easy Eye Sound pressing is a low-risk entry point into a young catalog that's still figuring itself out-but doing so with real musicians in real rooms, which already puts it ahead of 90% of what's on wax in 2022.

Why Does This Record Sound Like It Was Made in 1973?

Because Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound is a time machine, and Marcus King walked into it willingly. The Nashville studio uses analog tape, vintage mics, and the kind of room reverb that makes everything sound like a late-night Stax outtake. King's guitar is cleaner here than on his earlier work-less distortion, more melodic phrasing-and his voice does the heavy lifting. It's Wurlitzer-anchored soul with Muscle Shoals muscle memory. Auerbach doesn't overproduce; he lets the songs breathe. The result is a record that feels warm, lived-in, and weirdly out of time. It won't change your life, but it might quietly rearrange your Sunday morning.

Quick Stats

Tracklist

Side A:
1. Curtains Up (0:46)
2. Evil Deeds (4:19)
3. Never Enough (2:39)
4. Yellow Brick Road (5:46)
5. Like Toy Soldiers (4:56)

Side B:
1. Mosh (5:17)
2. Puke (4:07)
3. My 1st Single (5:02)
4. Paul (Skit) (0:31)
5. Rain Man (5:13)

Side C:
1. Big Weenie (4:26)
2. Em Calls Paul (Skit) (1:11)
3. Just Lose It (4:08)
4. Ass Like That (4:25)
5. Spend Some Time (5:10)

Side D:
1. Mockingbird (4:10)
2. Crazy In Love (4:02)
3. One Shot 2 Shot (4:26)
4. Final Thought (Skit) (0:30)
5. Encore (Curtains) (5:48)

Start the stream. Let the atmosphere settle before we look at the wax.

Listening Notes

This record feels like a slow Tuesday night in a dim bar where nobody's checking their phone. It's driven by patience-songs that unfold rather than announce themselves. Marcus King's voice sits front and center, cracked honey with just enough grit to remind you he's been singing since he was a kid. The guitar work is restrained, almost delicate in places. No shredding. Just melodic lines that wrap around the vocal like smoke around a porch light.

The production is all wood and warmth. Analog tape hiss, room ambience, the faint squeak of a piano bench. It's the sonic opposite of a digital click track. Everything breathes. The rhythm section locks into grooves that feel lived-in, not programmed. There's a Wurlitzer on half the tracks doing that soft, glassy shimmer that makes soul music sound like memory. The drums are close-mic'd but not punchy-more of a supportive shuffle than a driving force.

Standout moments: the slow-burn build on "Yellow Brick Road," where King's falsetto cracks in exactly the right spot. The way the guitar solo on "Never Enough" feels like a conversation instead of a showcase. The album doesn't hit you over the head. It invites you in, asks you to sit still, and rewards attention.

Best use case: Sunday morning coffee rituals. Reading on the couch. Cooking something slow. Anytime you want music that feels human and unhurried.

Pair it with black coffee and a rainy-window sit-it amplifies the record's quiet intimacy.

The Nerd Sheet: Why This Record Holds Its Value

On Discogs, Young Blood shows a healthy 2,625 Wants against 3,437 Haves-a ratio that suggests steady interest without desperation. It's not a grail, but it's not bargain-bin fodder either. The median price hovers around $29, which makes the $19 Miles Waxey sticker a legitimate deal for a contemporary pressing that was mastered by Brian Gardner, a legend who's touched everything from Dr. Dre to OutKast.

Easy Eye Sound pressings have a reputation. Dan Auerbach's label doesn't cut corners-these are full analog chain productions with attention to weight, cut quality, and lacquer sourcing. The vinyl itself is typically 180-gram, quiet, and properly centered. No warps, no surface noise out of the gate. For a 2022 release, that's not a given.

The listening lineage here is interesting. King's guitar phrasing on tracks like "Never Enough" echoes the melodic economy of Robben Ford and the textural restraint of Derek Trucks-players who understood that space is a note. His vocal delivery pulls from the same Otis Redding/Al Green well that drove the Tedeschi Trucks Band's soul excursions, but with a smokier, more fragile edge. You can hear traces of this aesthetic in later Southern soul-rock hybrids-artists like Nathaniel Rateliff or even early Hozier, who similarly lean on vocal vulnerability over guitar fireworks.

According to Wikipedia, Young Blood marked King's second solo outing and his deepest dive into the Easy Eye Sound aesthetic. It's a pivot record-the moment he stepped away from the Marcus King Band's blues-rock thunder and embraced the intimacy of a solo singer-songwriter. That shift is why this record resonates beyond its initial release: it's a document of an artist finding a new lane.

The Technical Scrutiny: What's Actually on the Wax

Let's talk deadwax. Easy Eye Sound pressings are typically mastered with care, and Brian Gardner's stamp is your first reassurance. Gardner, who mastered this at Bernie Grundman Mastering, is known for preserving dynamics while still giving records enough weight to sound full on mid-tier turntables. No brickwalling. No digital harshness. Just clean, warm, and wide.

The label itself is straightforward-Easy Eye Sound with co-release credits to American Recordings. No rare variants to chase here. This is a single US pressing from 2022, stereo, LP format. The runout etchings will confirm the Gardner mastering, and if you're lucky, you'll see the plant code indicating where it was pressed (likely United or MPO, both solid).

Sound-wise: the soundstage is wide but not exaggerated. Vocals sit slightly left of center, with guitar and keys spreading across the stereo field. The bass is present without being boomy-properly controlled low-end that doesn't overpower smaller speakers. Transient snap on the snare is crisp without being brittle. Floor noise is minimal. This is a quiet pressing, which matters when the music itself is this hushed.

Frequency response leans warm. The top end is rolled off just slightly, giving the whole record a vintage patina without sacrificing clarity. It's not a hi-fi showcase, but it's honest. The kind of pressing that rewards a good cartridge but won't embarrass a budget setup.

Mood: Late-night contemplation. Bourbon or mezcal. The hour when you're not trying to impress anyone, just trying to feel something real. This is a record for slow mornings, for cooking risotto, for reading fiction that doesn't need a plot twist every chapter.

Best pairing: Pour a neat whiskey, light a candle, and let the record play through without lifting the needle. It's meant to be lived with, not skipped through.

Context & Afterlife

Marcus King was born in 1996 in Greenville, South Carolina, into a musical family. His father, Marvin King, was a blues guitarist, and Marcus was playing professionally by his teens. He fronted the Marcus King Band for years, building a reputation as a fiery live guitarist and a soulful vocalist. But by 2020, he was ready for something quieter, more introspective. Enter Dan Auerbach.

Auerbach, of The Black Keys fame, had built Easy Eye Sound into a haven for analog purists and soul revivalists. He signed King, brought him to Nashville, and essentially said: "Stop trying to be Clapton. Be yourself." Young Blood is the result-a record that strips away the stadium moves and gets uncomfortably close. It's Marcus King at his most vulnerable, and for some listeners, his most compelling.

The cultural afterlife of this album is still being written. It's not a sample goldmine, and it's not going to show up in hip-hop breaks. But it's becoming a reference point for a new generation of soul-rock hybrids who want to sound analog in a digital world. It's the record young musicians cite when they talk about "organic production" or "letting the song breathe."

And for collectors, it's a clean, affordable entry into the Easy Eye Sound catalog-a label that's quickly becoming the Stax of the 2020s. Grab this one now at $19, because in five years, when King's catalog deepens and the original pressings start drying up, you'll be glad you did.

Collector's Corner: The Final Audit

Here's the deal: Young Blood isn't rare. It's not going to command four-figure auction prices. But it's a smart buy for three reasons.

First: The pressing quality is excellent. Brian Gardner mastering, Easy Eye Sound oversight, and a clean US plant job mean this is a record you can actually play without wincing. No pops, no warps, no digital harshness.

Second: It's a pivot record in an emerging catalog. Marcus King is still young. If he continues down this path-stripping away the blues-rock bombast and leaning into soul intimacy-this will be the record people point to as the turning point. And early pressings of turning-point records have a way of appreciating quietly.

Third: At $19, it's a no-brainer. The median Discogs price is already $29, and original Easy Eye Sound pressings tend to hold value as the label's reputation grows. This isn't a flip-for-profit situation, but it's a solid hedge for a collector who wants to build a contemporary soul-rock section without breaking the bank.

Skip the reissue anxiety-there's only one pressing. Skip the variant hunt-there are no color variants or limited editions. Just grab a clean copy, play it, and let it sit on your shelf next to your Tedeschi Trucks and your vintage Stax sides. It belongs there.

Grab one of our curated copies of Young Blood by Marcus King right here: Marcus King - Young Blood at Miles Waxey.

One Last Question

What's the best track on Young Blood to introduce someone who's never heard Marcus King before-and why does it matter which one you choose?

Drop your answer in the comments. I'm genuinely curious if the slow-burn crowd goes for "Yellow Brick Road" or if the melody junkies lean toward "Never Enough." Let's argue about it like adults.