The fourth album from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – solidifying what we learned pretty early on from the indomitable soul spirit that
is Sharon and her impeccable combo the Dap-Kings –
it's that
this is not some retro soul revival novelty act, what they are
is the greatest active embodiment of a true soul sound that will never go away! We've always loved that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings recognize the studio and the stage as different worlds. On stage, Sharon
is the possibly the most energetic, charismatic presence you'll ever see and the band brings heft and heat. In the studio, they stretch out and diversify wonderfully, bringing both raw, unpolished funky soul realness to some more stripped down numbers and a full on Stax or Hi level heaviness to the bigger ones. The songs are better and more memorable than ever on
this record – with "The Game Gets Old" and "I Learned The Hard Way" (an astoundingly strong one/
two punch for the opening minutes) plus "Better Things", "Give
It Back", "Money". "The Reason", "Window Shopping", "I'll Still Be True", "Without A Heart", "If You Call" and "Mama Don't Like My Man".