rubber soul

SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS
100 DAYS AND 1OO NIGHTS


Okay, so you may be wondering why I chose this retro R&B album. Well, as you may know I’m into sixties garage rock as well as retro garage so, naturally I was curious if there was any retro R&B out there, and that’s how I stumbled onto this gem.

Sharon Jones has an interesting history as her career didn’t even start until she was forty. When it did take off and even though she didn’t receive a lot in terms of airplay, it didn’t stop her from nabbing a Grammy nomination for Give the People What They Want in 2014. By then, she had been tragically diagnosed with bile duct cancer, a condition which would end her life two years later.

As far as this 2007 release goes, all I can say is wow. It starts off with the title track which alone is enough to recommend this album. But then it gets into an early seventies funk mood with Nobody’s Baby and then goes into a bit of a Motown/Stax feel on Tell Me. Indeed, this album is very influenced by Stax in particular with also some nods to the house bands at Atlantic that backed up classic singers such as Aretha Franklin.

Other tracks that I especially like are When the Other Foot Drops, Uncle (think a female Otis Redding here), and Something’s Changed, but really, there isn’t a weak song on this entire album. Like Trollheart, I love the vocals, but I’m also very impressed with the use of the guitars, particularly on Other Foot Drops.

So, while I won’t give this a ten (I only save that for the absolute classics; Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions for example). It is an easy nine.

And if you like this album, give I Learned the Hard Way a shot too. They’re quite consistent as a band.


Rating: 9/10 (the word has spoken )

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