Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings-I Learned the Hard Way
 

Released in 2010 on Daptone records this is the fourth studio album by the wonderful Sharon Jones (R.I.P.) and her band the Dap-Kings. They are a classic soul revival band who play in the tradition of Aretha Franklin (who is arguably Jones' foremost influence as a singer and performer) and the Supremes (to name not even a few). The songs are danceable and relatively lighthearted crowd-pleasing tunes that revolve around the troubles of romantic love, money, and family. Though in the style of classic aforementioned soul and funk artists, the music isn't dated or lacking in originality and sounds like it was intended to bring classic soul to a new audience. The hooks are very universal and there is appeal in the everydayness of the lyrics. There was obviously an attempt to retract any sense of this being "black" music and instead focuses on the music as a style and less with the typical political associations artists like Aretha Franklin carry with her. Regardless, great songs equals a great album.

Rating: 5/5