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On last year's AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night, siblings Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National gathered the brightest and best of North America's burgeoning indie/folk/alternative scene to fantastic results. Amid the predominantly acoustic, melancholy landscape it offered, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' remarkable Shuggie Otis cover suggested a group not so much in thrall to the funk and soul sounds of the 60s and 70s as completely at one with them. Coming off the back of 2007's superb 100 Days, 100 Nights and after nearly ten years in the game, I Learned the Hard Way cements their reputation not only as leading revivalist types, but one of the most exciting acts of the moment.
In many ways, it's not a whole lot different from their last outing, which itself was no great departure from previous works. Over the course of its 12 songs, however, it becomes apparent that Jones is in the form of her life: whether rueing perpetually wandering lovers or impoverishment, contemplating lost innocence or pledging devotion, her spirited delivery resonates with all the power and heartache these compositions demand. In Money she veers from a playful spoken-word introduction to full-blooded howls of desperation, while her performance on the closing Mama Don't Like My Man bleeds tenderness and raw, throaty strength.
But what pushes I Learned the Hard Way towards being something truly brilliant as opposed to just very, very good is how well it works as a cohesive, well-rounded whole. As good as they've been in the past, the group's albums have sometimes come off more like a selection of excellent cuts than something designed to be listened to start to finish. From the sunny strings on which the record opens to its sparse, unaffected finale, it makes for a diverse, engrossing piece in a manner they've never quite pulled off before.
First track The Game Gets Old, funk workout Better Things and the breezy Window Shopping make a case for being some of the best in the band's discography; as has been noted across the board, they stand tall amongst classics of the genre. Likewise, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings can hold their heads high and proud with icons of the scene, for here they match bold exuberance with sensitivity and affection that elevates them far beyond pastiche. --James Skinner
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
For over a decade now, Brooklyn songwriter, producer, musician, and label owner Gabriel Roth and a solid family of like-minded musicians have spearheaded the return of true funk and soul music as it was in it's heyday in the late sixties and early seventies. The label Roth set up with Neal Sugarman, Daptone Records, from the ashes of Desco Records, has become the most influential and highly regarded on the soul and funk scene today. Its family has outgrown the label's ability to get the work done, creating a scene of associated labels and acts that slowly feed the hunger of its expectant fans.
Ultimately what the group strive for is to produce soul music with genuine passion, authenticity and warmth and I'm glad to say "I Learned The Hard Way" is all of these things. Daptone's "House Of Soul" studio has become somewhat of a legendary place amongst those wishing to achieve a genuine sound (the already classic album photo shows the band in the building's back yard). Like Motown's Hitsville U.S.A., Stax's McLemore Avenue Studio, Willie Mitchell"s Royal Sound, or the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio before it, what is evident in the recordings in all of these places is a tangible atmosphere as important a player as the musicians. With its vintage equipment, floating recording room and living areas to relax and create in, the House Of Soul seems to have taken on a mantle worthy of legend and its character is evident in the sound of the recording.
There is plenty of detail here as each track is lushly layered with strings, backing vocals, hand-claps or chimes. Characteristic horn arrangements sit on solid bass, neatly plucked guitar, syncopated drums and the orchestration touches lift the music behind Sharon Jones' commanding vocals, now sitting comfortably in her distinctive style, with her "hmmms" between words, her "ooh yeahs" and her sheer range, ability and power. Displaying its edges perhaps most in the track "Money" there is some wild roughness to Jones' singing that many of today's producers would mistakenly smooth out. Other stand-outs, "Better Things", "The Reason" and "She Ain't A Child No More" show the benefits of execution from a band that know when to show restraint and control, rather than to push their skill under your nose, each member seeming to understand they are a piece of the puzzle.
Much like the great soul records many of us used to thumb through as children in our parents' record collections, this is the real deal, classic sound of great soul music the way it should be done. Whilst many wish to attach a "retro" label, this to me is very much the sound of "now" - if only more people could take note and strive to produce records of this standard. I Learned The Hard Way will be very much at home sitting in the prized collection of any music lover.
Ultimately what the group strive for is to produce soul music with genuine passion, authenticity and warmth and I'm glad to say "I Learned The Hard Way" is all of these things. Daptone's "House Of Soul" studio has become somewhat of a legendary place amongst those wishing to achieve a genuine sound (the already classic album photo shows the band in the building's back yard). Like Motown's Hitsville U.S.A., Stax's McLemore Avenue Studio, Willie Mitchell"s Royal Sound, or the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio before it, what is evident in the recordings in all of these places is a tangible atmosphere as important a player as the musicians. With its vintage equipment, floating recording room and living areas to relax and create in, the House Of Soul seems to have taken on a mantle worthy of legend and its character is evident in the sound of the recording.
There is plenty of detail here as each track is lushly layered with strings, backing vocals, hand-claps or chimes. Characteristic horn arrangements sit on solid bass, neatly plucked guitar, syncopated drums and the orchestration touches lift the music behind Sharon Jones' commanding vocals, now sitting comfortably in her distinctive style, with her "hmmms" between words, her "ooh yeahs" and her sheer range, ability and power. Displaying its edges perhaps most in the track "Money" there is some wild roughness to Jones' singing that many of today's producers would mistakenly smooth out. Other stand-outs, "Better Things", "The Reason" and "She Ain't A Child No More" show the benefits of execution from a band that know when to show restraint and control, rather than to push their skill under your nose, each member seeming to understand they are a piece of the puzzle.
Much like the great soul records many of us used to thumb through as children in our parents' record collections, this is the real deal, classic sound of great soul music the way it should be done. Whilst many wish to attach a "retro" label, this to me is very much the sound of "now" - if only more people could take note and strive to produce records of this standard. I Learned The Hard Way will be very much at home sitting in the prized collection of any music lover.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If only one word could be used to capture the aura of this album is would be "sassy". Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings came to attention of many through her utterly brilliant James Brown orientated cover of Prince's "Take me with u" which served to throw into sharp relief the fact that the rather turgid funk work outs of albums recorded by Mr Rodgers Nelson over the past decade were firing wide of the mark. The Independent has called The Dap Kings "the best retro-soul band in the world" and on the evidence of this vivid and outrageously contagious album who are we to disagree?
Similarly while the use of the word retro can indicate a plundering of the heritage of Muscle shoals, Stax and "the hardest working man in show business" James Brown, it is clear that Sharon Jones and co add enough spice of their own to concoct some new recipes within the confines of what can be a tightly drawn format. As it stands this is a classic soul album which mixes heartache with joy unabated and lays down a challenge to all other runners like Amy Winehouse (the band backed AW on Back to Black and Mark Ronson on "Version"), Joss Stone, Adele et al that authenticity is the key virtue and there is no substitute for the inner essence of biscuits and gravy funk 'n' soul done properly and sung by a black women in her 40s with a voice that could wake up residents at Heathrow Airport. Indeed in one sense you could stop the clock in 1969 and Sharon Jones would make sense both within a Motown setting but also in that same way that Sly and the Family Stone blew away most other bands at Woodstock by their sheer musicianship and emotive power.
Highlights include "Money" a tale of inner city hardship so funky it hurts with Sharon Jones exclaiming "Money where are you hiding" and the band so together that they could be related. The title track "I Learned The Hard Way" is a masterly 3 minutes 47 seconds of effortless Aretha style soul which will be stunning live in concert with its stirring backing vocals. "She Ain't A Child No More" has a classic bass intro that Donald "Duck" Dunn from Booker T and the MGs would have been proud of, while "The Game gets hold" is a brilliant southern soul revivalism with echoes of Candi Staton. "Give it back" has a beautiful wall of Spectorish harmonies and the last track "Mama Don't Like My Man", is a classic retro Ruth Brown-styled number that you must download. As it stands I have yet to find a weak track.
The word "timeless" is over used but in this case is the appropriate label to employ. The Dap Kings have found their queen and Sharon Jones has a backing set of musicians to rival any great soul outfit past or present. These musicians have indeed "Learned the hard Way" and they are masters and magicians.
Similarly while the use of the word retro can indicate a plundering of the heritage of Muscle shoals, Stax and "the hardest working man in show business" James Brown, it is clear that Sharon Jones and co add enough spice of their own to concoct some new recipes within the confines of what can be a tightly drawn format. As it stands this is a classic soul album which mixes heartache with joy unabated and lays down a challenge to all other runners like Amy Winehouse (the band backed AW on Back to Black and Mark Ronson on "Version"), Joss Stone, Adele et al that authenticity is the key virtue and there is no substitute for the inner essence of biscuits and gravy funk 'n' soul done properly and sung by a black women in her 40s with a voice that could wake up residents at Heathrow Airport. Indeed in one sense you could stop the clock in 1969 and Sharon Jones would make sense both within a Motown setting but also in that same way that Sly and the Family Stone blew away most other bands at Woodstock by their sheer musicianship and emotive power.
Highlights include "Money" a tale of inner city hardship so funky it hurts with Sharon Jones exclaiming "Money where are you hiding" and the band so together that they could be related. The title track "I Learned The Hard Way" is a masterly 3 minutes 47 seconds of effortless Aretha style soul which will be stunning live in concert with its stirring backing vocals. "She Ain't A Child No More" has a classic bass intro that Donald "Duck" Dunn from Booker T and the MGs would have been proud of, while "The Game gets hold" is a brilliant southern soul revivalism with echoes of Candi Staton. "Give it back" has a beautiful wall of Spectorish harmonies and the last track "Mama Don't Like My Man", is a classic retro Ruth Brown-styled number that you must download. As it stands I have yet to find a weak track.
The word "timeless" is over used but in this case is the appropriate label to employ. The Dap Kings have found their queen and Sharon Jones has a backing set of musicians to rival any great soul outfit past or present. These musicians have indeed "Learned the hard Way" and they are masters and magicians.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Previous reviewers have detailed the content and doubtless some people will always question the validity of the Daptone worldview, where it's forever 1969, so I'll simply note that this is Sharon Jones' best album yet; she's eased back on the funk workouts and concentrated more on her peerless soul balladeering, and tracks like 'If You Call' equal anything which came out on Hi, Stax, TK, Goldwax or other legendary labels during the golden age of Southern soul.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fabulous music, fab voice.
When i saw Sharon J and the Dabs on the Monique show i had to go out and buy their music. Abfab. Highly recommend 100 days and the hard way.
Published 19 months ago by Dorrett
Don't believe the hype
Not bad but nothing new really.Couple of good tunes. Needed some more funk and spark for me to enjoy more. Perhaps they are good live.
Published 23 months ago by Is! It! In?
Soul queen not diva
It is not necessary for me to analyse this album further than the previous reviewers - they have covered every aspect. Read more
Published on 10 May 2010 by John R. Woolmore
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