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The burlesque strippers in Stephen Sondheim's Gypsy famously stated that "you gotta have a gimmick, if you wanna get ahead." From their slow burn 2000 debut Dap-Dippin' With...to their forthcoming I Learned The Hard Way, with their Back To The Future soul sounds Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings seem determined to prove Sondheim's bumping stage harlots true. Sporting ‘60s mini-dresses, the Big Maybelle-voiced frontwoman and her nine-piece Dap Kings band have reigned as the leaders of the retro-soul revival. The results were not immediate for the former NY prison guard and her Northern Soul-by-way-of-Brooklyn acolyte band, but following a New York Times feature article, the Dap Kings' multi-platinum backing of Amy Winehouse's US debut, and several well placed appearances and licensing deals in film and TV, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings proved "an overnight sensation," three albums deep.
The burlesque strippers in Stephen Sondheim's Gypsy famously stated that "you gotta have a gimmick, if you wanna get ahead." From their slow burn 2000 debut Dap-Dippin' With...to their forthcoming I Learned The Hard Way, with their Back To The Future soul sounds Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings seem determined to prove Sondheim's bumping stage harlots true. Sporting ‘60s mini-dresses, the Big Maybelle-voiced frontwoman and her nine-piece Dap Kings band have reigned as the leaders of the retro-soul revival. The results were not immediate for the former NY prison guard and her Northern Soul-by-way-of-Brooklyn acolyte band, but following a New York Times feature article, the Dap Kings' multi-platinum backing of Amy Winehouse's US debut, and several well placed appearances and licensing deals in film and TV, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings proved "an overnight sensation," three albums deep. Now that this retro-soul cycle is showing serious signs of fatigue, where does a group that has deftly milked every aesthetic and musical gimmick Stax, Sun and Atlantic ever conceived go from here? With I Learned The Hard Way is Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings' jig up?
Luckily, no, the jig isn't quite up just yet. The Bosco Mann produced I Learned The Hard Way is still relevant, if only barely. Though there is little growth to be heard on their fourth full-length project, there is plenty of the same raw power and emotion fans have come to love about this throwback band. To be clear there are certainly worse gimmicks than delivering buckets of unbridled backwater soul that drips grease so hot it burns straight through the dancefloor, an achievement the Dap Kings and its Amazonian leader have done from the start. Still, four albums into their career, one does begin to wonder how much longer Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings' retro-soul presentation can endure its curious effort to be unsullied by change. Thanks to the Dap Kings' relentlessly faithful musicianship and songs written and arranged as if the Brill Building still loomed tall, time defiantly stands still in a way that it never could for the golden era groups this band emulates.
The Temptations could hardly release "The Way You Do The Things You Do" or Carla Thomas "Gee Whiz" during the ‘70's psychedelic soul or disco eras and expect a warm reception, but Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings appear to be trying to do something akin to this head-scratching feat, even down to recording with Gabriel Roth on an eight-track Apex machine at the Daptone Records House of Soul studios. There is a difference between discovering and maintaining your distinct sound (gratefully avoiding the horrors of auto tunes and synthesized pop) and simply failing to deepen, expand or evolve that sound to keep your act fresh. To put it coarsely, new gimmicks must be discovered. Yet, listening to this project, one finds only the pleasant tricks we've already seen and heard before.
Like most things predictable, we smile at the comforting confirmation of what we already know. And there is plenty to smile about listening to the doo wop call and response of rhythmic blues like "She Ain't A Child No More," melodic finger poppers like "Without A Heart," and knowing promises like "I'll Still Be True." On mountain high points like "Money" and the slow drag "If You Call," Sharon Jones delivers all the fire and passion that she did on 100 Days and 100 Nights, and the notoriously dynamic horn section of the Dap Kings proves it's still in top form on the instrumental hard bop of "The Reason." AAA radio should be able to embrace the simple but fairly modern "Better Things," a laidback memorable cut destined for repeat play. As solid as Sharon Jones is on these elder tracks, attention must be paid to the consistently stellar guitar work heard throughout I Learned The Hard Way in a truly liltingly beautiful way.
Musicians who find themselves in a creative rut often repeatedly release the same type of material, claiming they are only delivering what their fans want. Given the sellout crowds at current Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings' legend-making shows (go, if you haven't before now), there might be something to not messing with the formula. History says American fans are notoriously fickle and always on to the new, particularly when something grows stale and routine. Hopefully, Jones and the boys will take more risks and reach for something new on their next go round. Otherwise, with fewer ticketholders paying tribute over time, they may be singing their prescient title a little too closely. Recommended.
By L. Michael Gipson