If you're going to learn the hard way, you may as well do it with soul - Sharon Jones & The Dapkings know the ropes and do it again in superb style on their new album. 2ser Subscribers can win a copy of this album all week on Breakfast, Overdrive and Static.
Sharon Jones and t he Dap-Kings have come a long way since their humble beginnings nearly a decade ago. Steeped within the gilded and gritty sounds of gospel, soul and funk, this nine-piece Brooklyn collective has continued to electrify fans, disc jockeys, critics, record collectors, and bloggers the world-over with their authentic, heart-felt sound.
The authenticity clearly demonstrated on the band’s three critically-acclaimed albums – Dap Dippinʼ(2003), Naturally (2005) and 100 Days, 100 Nights
(2007) – captured and released by the independent Daptone Records. Their albums recall an analog era, led by iconic studios like t hose at Motown and Stax Records, and have thrust the fifty-three-year-old Augusta, GA native and crew into the multimedia limelight.
On April 2nd, 2010, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings will mark history with their fourth album I Learned the Hard Way. Produced by Bosco Mann and recorded in its entirety on an old Ampex eight-track tape machine by Gabriel Roth in Daptone Recordsʼ House of Soul studios, the record drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since t he golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax Records. Sharon’s voice, never stronger, evokes at once t he raw power of Tina Turner, the moaning soulfulness of Mavis Staples, the rhythmic swagger of James Brown, and the melodic command of Aretha Franklin.
From the lush Philly-soul fanfare that ushers in “ The Game Gets Old” at the top of the record, to the stripped down Sam Cooke style “Mama Don’t Like MyMan” at the tail, the band dances seamlessly through both the most crafted and simple arrangements with subtlety and discipline. This is t he “Daptone Sound” at its finest and is a welcome breath of fresh air. But most of all, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ “I Learned the Hard Way” is a celebration of, and a testament to the soulful and beautiful possibilities of music.
