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
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