Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: Soul Time! (Daptone)

 |   |  <1 min read

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: Without a Trace
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: Soul Time! (Daptone)

Soul singer Jones' credentials were unequivocally accepted when people learned she'd been a prison officer at Rikers and a security guard for Wells Fargo.

Tough don't get more tough than that, and allows her to sing gutsy soul, funk and rhythm and blues like Etta James-meets-James Brown.

This 12 song collection (mostly written by DK bassist/producer Bosco Mann) gathers previously unreleased tracks, live favourites and b-sides where Jones and band get into a funky stew, with a little Fela-framed Afrobeat groove on I'm Not Gonna Cry.

From the scene-setting opener Genuine Pt 1 with its shouts and good-foot rhythmic punch they introduce a three point Chicago/Detroit/Memphis soul implosion which is (mostly) persuasive. But on Genuine Pt 2 she gets left behind by the band's upward trajectory and on When I Come Home she's powerfully upfront but offering little to what the terrific band give.

However He Said I Can is raw and exceptionally earthy, and (despite the somewhat Greek question in the title) What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes is a boiling political soul-funk killer of the James Brown kind. A standout, alongside the too brief Settling In, the tough but sentimentally milking-it Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects and soul pop of Without a Trace.

A lesser Jones/Dap Kings album but one which confirms they bring funk-soul truth.

Like the sound of this? Then check out this.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Sean Rowe: The Salesman and the Shark (Anti)

Sean Rowe: The Salesman and the Shark (Anti)

New York singer-songwriter Rowe's indie release Magic of 2009 (re-released by his new label Anti 18 months ago) inevitably drew comparisons with Tom Waits for its sobering and poetic reflections... > Read more

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson: Wreck and Ruin (Liberation)

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson: Wreck and Ruin (Liberation)

One of the more extraordinary achievements of Australian husband-wife team Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson hasn't been top selling albums and awards (together or solo), it has been how they have... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

THE BARGAIN BUY: Keith Richards; Crosseyed Heart

THE BARGAIN BUY: Keith Richards; Crosseyed Heart

Here's a question for you to ponder this week. Should this long overdue Keith Richards solo album make it into the Best of Elsewhere list which will appear shortly? We had our say about it in... > Read more

Tinsley Ellis: Winning Hand (Alligator/Southbound)

Tinsley Ellis: Winning Hand (Alligator/Southbound)

The remarkable thing about Chicago's Alligator label – and singer-guitarist Ellis who started his career on it three decades ago – is just how consistent the quality of their... > Read more