Known for their high energy live shows and their consistent output of gritty studio recordings, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings have successfully brought back soul music and reared it back to its more traditional 50’s sound in recent years. And in celebration of Jones’ birthday, the band has announced that they will be releasing their fourth full-length record entitled I Learned the Hard Way on the same day, May 4th, via Daptone Records.
Recorded on an outdated Ampex eight-track tape machine, I Learned the Hard Way oozes with warmth and signals an aesthetic feel rarely found since the ‘ol days when Muscle Shoals and Stax reigned supreme. As expected Jones’ vocals boom aloud, drenched in raw, rhythmic swagger, allowing Jones’s unique ability to capture the same morose soulfulness that artists such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Tina Turner originally invented. From start to finish, I Learned the Hard Way is the “Daptone Sound” at its finest; packed with Jones’s fiery yell and the Dap-Kings ability to fly through both the most crafted and simple arrangements with grace, subtlety and ease.
I Learned The Hard Way Tracklist:
01. The Game Gets Old
02. I Learned The Hard Way
03. Better Things
04. Give It Back
05. Money
06. The Reason
07. Window Shopping
08. She Ain’t A Child No More
09. I’ll Still Be True
10. Without A Heart
11. If You Call
12. Mama Don’t Like My Man
