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| SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS |
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| On April 6th, 2010, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings marked history with the release of their fourth album, I Learned The Hard Way. After selling a mere 100,000 copies of their previous album, 100 Days, 100 Nights, since its release in 2007, the band went on to move 23,000 copies of I Learned The Hard Way in the first week, putting the album at #15 on the Billboard 200. And, the album continues to climb the Billboard charts hitting at #2 for Independent albums and #6 for R&B/Hip-Hop albums. Produced by Bosco Mann and recorded in its entirety on an old Ampex eight-track tape machine at Daptone Records’ “House of Soul Studios,” the record drips with warmth and spontaneity rarely found since the golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax Records. Ms. Jones’s voice, never stronger, evokes at once the 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 top of the album with “The Game Gets Old,” to the stripped down Sam Cooke style that closes it with “Mama Don’t Like My Man,” the band dances seamlessly through both the most simple, crafted arrangements with subtlety and discipline. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are the “Daptone Sound” at its finest. They are a celebration of, and a testament to, the soulful and beautiful possibilities of music. |
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