The very issue of reviewing the latest record from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings becomes subjectively thorny by virtue of the fact that Jones' well-known and well-publicized cancer battle and subsequent recovery means there is a niggling temptation to rate the project higher than it might have gotten had it been released back in mid-2013 when it was supposed to. But there we are in January of 2014, and sixth album Give the People What They Want doesn't need anyone to do that. Calling the group "soul revivalists" is perhaps a bit disingenuous; calling them wholly reverent to the "American Music" blues-soul sound that Jones is versed in is more accurate.
Guided by the hand of bandleader and producer Bosco Mann (Gabriel Roth), the Daptone crew have the genuinely warm and smooth soul by way of Motown and Stax sound down pat. No huge musical surprises here: tracks like "Stranger to My Happiness," "Get Up and Get Out" and "Now I See" are indicative of the brisk, snappy pace of the project, horns-a-blaring, bass-a-bumping, while the themes of love and heartbreak resonate loud and clear. The album lives up to the title on the cover, backstory or no backstory.
Read an interview with Sharon Jones here.
(Daptone)Guided by the hand of bandleader and producer Bosco Mann (Gabriel Roth), the Daptone crew have the genuinely warm and smooth soul by way of Motown and Stax sound down pat. No huge musical surprises here: tracks like "Stranger to My Happiness," "Get Up and Get Out" and "Now I See" are indicative of the brisk, snappy pace of the project, horns-a-blaring, bass-a-bumping, while the themes of love and heartbreak resonate loud and clear. The album lives up to the title on the cover, backstory or no backstory.
Read an interview with Sharon Jones here.
