TAG: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Apr19

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings – I Learned the Hard Way (Review)

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

I Learned the Hard Way

Released by Daptone


Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are back with their fourth album I Learned the Hard Way. It’s another authentic, heart-felt album filled with heartache and daily struggles. It was produced by their own bandleader and bassist Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth and recorded in its entirety on an old Ampex eight-track tape. It wraps the record with a warmth and genuineness rarely found since the golden analog days of Stax Records. Sharon’s massive voice keeps getting stronger in her '50s, echoing the raw power of Tina Turner, the moaning soulfulness of Mavis Staples and the rhythmic swagger of James Brown. And with her background she speaks the truth. They’ve moved from the gritty funk to more mid-tempo and psychedelic soul.

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Nov17

Various Artists – Daptone Gold (Review)

Daptone Roster

Daptone Gold

Released by Daptone Records


Soul's recent revival has been in part due to the soulmen and funkstresses at Daptone Records.  For about a decade, the small yet burgeoning NY label has made stellar projects featuring Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Lee Fields, Antibalas, Menahan Street Band and many more.  Each tangent of the empire has independently made noise, adding to the interest for vintage grooves and catapulting their own careers (resulting in collaborations with everyone from Amy Winehouse to Jay-Z among others).  While the label still reissues old lost records, Daptone Gold celebrates ...

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Oct15

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights (Review)

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

100 Days, 100 Nights

Released by Daptone


If Amy Winehouse can sell 700,000 (and counting) albums stateside, our dream world has this Brooklyn-via-Auga, GA soul/funk singer doing Thriller numbers with her third album. Backed, as always, by Daptone Record's house band, The Dap-Kings, Jones leans more than ever on darker, bluesier arrangements. Horn blasts, funk guitar licks and crisp emphasis on the snare are never too far from any Daptone record'check album highlight 'Keep On Looking'but Days mostly showcases the singer's slower, more soulful side. No worries, though. If anything, Jones adds to her range in ...

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