Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Naturally (2005)

Naturally is the second studio album by soul-revival combo Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, a band whose style is a nod to classic 60s and 70s soul, funk and R&B. The band formed in 1996 and are spearheads of a revivalist movement which aims to bring the classic soul sound of that period to a more modern audience, and my word do they succeed at this mission.

I discovered Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings quite by accident when I was listening to student radio here in Auckland and one of their tracks came on. My immediate reaction to put it simply was wow! Who is this amazing singer, what is this sound?  This prompted me to do some research, leading me to dive into their back catalogue, a move that ultimately led me to this album Naturally. There’s swing, there’s swagger, there’s plenty of soul, while R&B and funk make their presence felt in many of the arrangements, arrangements that often include a full horn section just like it was at the likes of Stax records and FAME studios. The Dap Kings rock as a band and are clearly pros at what they do, with their sound and obviously their name taking influence from the classic soul bands of the period whose music they play, think the Booker T & the MGs, think the Funk Brothers, think the Mar-Keys. And then there’s the women herself, Sharon Jones, the face of the band, the leader of the group and the amazing singer and front woman that steers the ship and holds everything together. Her voice is quite simply stunning on all of the tracks on here and my word she does justice to a style that is fifty years old. Aside from the great playing by the Dap Kings, Jones is the reason anyone into soul music, or even just good singing should pick up this album and take a listen. It is also briefly worth noting how the band in recording this album decided to shun modern day digital recording technology and instead decided to use more traditional analog recording equipment. The result is a real earthy, lo-fi sounding record, something which I feel is highly appropriate for the music they are playing and it really comes across nicely on the record.

Which brings me to the songs themselves. The album kicks off with a killer track “How do I let a Good Man Down?”, a song that is very Motown-esque sounding with a stellar vocal from Jones, some sizzling guitar and some popping horns. A standout track straight off the bat and a great way to kick things off. Things follow on nicely with “Natural Born Lover”, a song that has more of a contemporary R&B flavour and is quite laid back, while “Stranded in Your Love” is a slower track that has an Otis Redding feel to it and includes a little spoken word section with Jones and guest vocalist Lee Fields to start it off. Things get back in the groove with “My Man Is a Mean Man”, a track which showcases some pretty groovy bass playing in the James Jamerson style, while “You’re Gonna Get It” is a slow ballad, which although contains some nice singing tends to labour a bit. “How Long Do I Have to Wait for You” is a breezy soul number which on first listen drew comparisons with some of New Zealand’s very own modern soul songstresses namely Aradhna and Ladi6. I feel now having listened to the album a couple of times that it is on these more up-tempo soul numbers where Jones is at her best vocally and really shines. As we get into the back end of the album, Jones attempts the one and only cover on the record, a version of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”, all be it a soul take on this folk classic. Her version is completely unalike the original and you wouldn’t even know it was a cover, which is a good thing as it clearly shows she has made it her own and is not simply imitating what is a very recognisable song in its own right. The album finally wind down with the funky Stax-sounding “Your Thing is a Drag”, the bizarrely titled blues number “Fish in the Dish”, and album closer “All Over Again” which is a soothing soulful way to go out on.

Overall, this is a fine record with the only real gripe I have being in some of the song-writing which can go astray at times. Sharon and the band do a fantastic job in paying homage to what is one of the greatest styles of music in history from one of the greatest periods in music, and are uncompromising in applying their own contemporary but retro take on soul, funk and R&B. Having listened to a couple of their other records now, I feel you could pick any one of them and enjoy it, no one album really stands out from the rest.  At times some of the material does come across as a bit repetitive or laborious, but this does not by any stretch take away from the amazing music of this group, a group who I definitely recommend you check out. 

B+

- Sam 

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - CSNY 1974 (2014)

CSNY 1974 is the newly-released, retrospective live album of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s infamous 1974 stadium tour, a tour which many rock historians consider to be the first major stadium rock tour. This live retrospective is being released in several formats, something which is pretty standard these days for nostalgia releases like this one. I managed to get my hands on the cheaper single disc release, although you can upgrade to the more expensive deluxe and super deluxe editions which contain multiple discs of the entire set-list, as well as god knows what else. What’s the point I say unless you are a collector, or like to look at photocopies of old tickets. For me anyway a standard one disc version does the trick just nicely.

The tracks on this album were recorded at various concerts across the tour and according to Graham Nash who supervised and helped produce this release, some cutting and pasting of songs took place, although you wouldn’t know from listening as the production and sound quality is pretty good I must say. This comes as a relief as there is nothing worse than a live album with poor sound quality, something which is often the case with live albums, especially from decades gone by where the technology was not as good.

So what is the music like? I for one was quite intrigued when I heard this album was coming out as I have always thought about how CSNY would sound live, given how good they sound on record. Thankfully there is plenty on here to satisfy and interest the listener and there are little moments which do make the listener take notice. For example, one thing I did like was hearing Young’s backing vocals on tracks he did not originally appear on. So obviously I am talking CSN tracks here and some of the solo material from the other three. Likewise, it was great hearing Crosby, Stills & Nash sing in harmony together on Young’s solo stuff, “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and “Old Man” were two particular standouts. The ending to “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” provided one of the high points of the album when the four of them sang the final verse a cappella in what can only be described as a spine tingling moment. The version on here of “Teach Your Children” was also another great moment, with the voices moulding so well together, something which in itself amazes me considering the noise that would come from playing in front of fifty-plus thousand people. Album closer “Ohio” was the icing on the cake. A stellar version which included some amazing guitar dulling between Stills and Young, two six-string maestros going at full tilt in what really was a moment of 70s rock ecstasy and the perfect way to end on.

All in all a very interesting retrospective look into CSNY live as they were in 1974, and as they could have continued to be if they actually liked each other. As a live recording it’s not going to blow any of the great live albums out of the water, but there were some nice moments amidst some lesser ones as well, something which maybe comes down to song quality and the difference between Stills and Young, who are frankly better song-writers, and the other two. In the end definitely worthwhile as an historical exercise and worth a release, all be it forty years later. 

B 

- Sam 

The Moons - Mindwaves (2014)

Mindwaves is the third studio album by relatively unknown British band The Moons, a band I stumbled upon quite by accident when I heard one of my favourite British musicians Paul Weller sing on a track off their last album Fables of History. After releasing two very, very good albums, where they have explored everything from baroque pop to mod pop, the band have decided to go down a more experimental psychedelic rock route with Mindwaves, all be it, with mixed results.

The overall sound of Mindwaves is high on psychedelic’s and the band experiment with tone, layers of sound, as well as what are often quite complex rhythms at times. There is an explosion of sonic guitars, ferocious drums, and synths coming at the listener from all directions as if like Rick Wakeman had infiltrated proceedings. While the seed that sows the sound all together is the now trademark Moons sound of double-tracked pop vocals. So, this all sounds very intriguing to potential listeners like myself, but how does the music actually stack up on the record?

Well the album does not start well in its quest to impress me, with a pointless instrumental called “Luna Intro” arghhhhhhhh!!! I hate one minute instrumentals. Luckily though next track “Society” is a psychedelic rocker with a harder edge to it than has been seen on previous Moon albums, while “Body Snatchers” is an experimental Kasabian-like neo-psychedelic number, which pushes things along nicely. “Fever” is next, and apart from the songs intro sounding like the intro to the Black Keys “Howling For You”, this song really takes the album up a gear with its Sgt Pepper synths, psychedelic guitar and interesting chord changes. One of the album highlights for sure. “Vertigo” I would describe as being a kind of psychedelic dance track, with its sick drum pattern and buzzy psych sounds. Songs like this show how much more the band are experimenting on this record and their willingness I guess to try new things without feeling the need to settle on any particular formula for recording. “All in My Mind” does not set the world alight, but “Heart and Soul” definitely does and for my mind is the best track on the album. It kicks off with a glam rock guitar riff, think Slade, think T Rex and pounds its way to an epic finale. This is glam pop at its best, and it is literally music to my ears. “You Can’t Slow Me Down” is basic filler, while “Sometimes” is a bore, but thankfully the energy and attitude comes back with “Time’s Not Forever”, and “Rage and Romance”, the latter which contains a wonderfully surprising violin solo and a moment which I would describe as being the albums Frank Zappa moment. Finally, the album comes to an end with the six minute ballad “On the Moon”. Here the band were setting themselves up for that big anthemic finale, you know, the moment at festivals where everyone puts their ciggie lighters in the air. However, in actual fact, this song is a massive disappointment and plods along as if the band are simply trying to use up the last bit of space on the record.

So, all in all, in summing up the album, I would say that Mindwaves is not as good as their last release which in my mind was a super album, with there being some good songs on here sprinkled in amongst some lesser tracks. The band clearly go for a more experimental sound on this release which I applaud them for, and move away from the baroque pop and psychedelic pop of their first two albums, but, in the end, I was kind of expecting something more out of all of it as a result. In conclusion then not a great disappointment, but in no way a towering achievement either.

B 

- Sam 

Big Star - #1 Record (1972)

#1 Record was the debut album by American power pop group Big Star. Released in 1972, this album was quite a landmark record, why? Well it brought power pop, a style of rock made popular in the UK by bands such as The Kinks and The Who during the 60s into the 70s, and into the US, while simultaneously taking the style down a completely new path musically to boot.

The line-up for the recording of this album was the classic Big Star line-up, Chris Bell on guitar and vocals, Alex Chilton on guitar and vocals, Andy Hummel on bass guitar and Jody Stephens on drums. So pretty much your standard rock four piece. Musically, power pop was a style that nobody else was really doing in the States at the time and stylistically consists of a big guitar sound with lots of power chords and heavy rhythms, complemented by some big anthemic pop hooks in the melody and vocals. This was far removed from the hard rock, blues rock and psychedelic music that had dominated for five to six years stateside, and to achieve this very authentic sound for its day, the band in their recordings tended to always play for the song and not for individual virtuoso performances. The songs themselves were the main centrepieces, not the players, and it was all for the purpose of sounding distinct and different from everyone else, something they definitely achieve on this album.

As for the songs, well the album kicks off with “Feel”, a track which showcases the Big Star sound right from the get go. There are big booming drums and powerful vocals, while a horn section and some blues guitar playing adds a nice tough to proceedings. “The Ballad of El Goodo” is a ballad of the power pop kind and quite simply oozes melody. This track also has a slight Graham Parsons feel to it, especially in the choruses with their country-like harmony vocals, a definite album stand out. “In the Street” is Big Star’s most well-known song and probably the a-typical power pop track to the point that if I was to introduce someone to power pop I would probably play them this track straight off the bat. This track simply makes you want to get in a Cadillac or mustang convertible and road trip across the US, it’s got that kind of free feel to it. The band slow things down a little on “Thirteen”, an acoustic-folk track which is a step down from the in your face explosion of some of the other tracks, but things are quickly back up and running on “Don’t Lie to Me” which has a sort of CCR/rock and roll vibe to it, showing that the band could rock out when they wanted to quite easily. After the forgettable “The India Song”, the troubadour rock of “When My Baby’s Beside Me” and the retrospective “My Life Is Right” carries us on to side two of the album in style, however it is at this point that the album loses a bit of its gusto and intensity with tracks such as “Give Me Another Chance” and “Watch the Sunrise” lacking the quality of some of the earlier tracks. But thankfully the album does not end this way and ends instead with the reflective rock ballad “Try Again”, a song that could easily put many Californian singer-songwriter to shame, while emphasising the song-writing talents of Bell and Chilton as a pairing, a pairing that unfortunately would not be seen on Big Star’s future releases.

#1 Record and Big Star themselves would go on to influence many alternative rock and indie bands in the US and elsewhere, especially bands like REM and The Replacements in the US 80s college rock scene. This despite the fact that at the time of its release #1 Record suffered from very poor sales, even though it was universally praised by critics. This album certainly set the band in motion and despite Bell’s departure, would spring board them nicely into their carefully crafted and melodic follow up Radio City. Big Star was one of the 70s most underrated bands, but they did release one of the more heavily acclaimed albums of the decade. #1 Record stood out from the rest of the US rock scene in its uniqueness and was probably ahead of its time with its power pop sound, a style that became more popular in the late-70s and 80s. Seemingly America in the early-70s were still hung over from flower power and just weren’t ready for this more melodic, poppy rock sound. Still, all these years later, I am glad we get to marvel at the songs on this album and enjoy it just as much as I am sure the 10,000-odd people who bought it in 1972 must have done.

A- 

- Sam