I Learned the Hard Way is the fourth studio album by American soul and funk band Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, released April 6, 2010 on Daptone Records. Production for the album took place at the label's House of Soul Studios during 2009 to 2010 and was handled by Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth, credited for the album as "Bosco Mann". The album debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200, selling 23,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, I Learned the Hard Way received generally positive reviews from most music critics.

Release and promotion

The album was released by Daptone Records on CD, vinyl, MP3, and FLAC formats. The vinyl LP release includes a code for a free MP3 download of the whole album from the Daptone Records website., Discogs.com This digital version includes an exclusive bonus track, "When I Come Home." This song was later available as a 7" single., Discogs.com Three of the major digital music stores — the iTunes Store, Amazon MP3, and eMusic — each had their own exclusive bonus track.

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 23,000 copies.Kaufman, Gil. . MTV. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. In Canada, it entered at number 22, its peak position,. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. on the Top 100 Albums chart.. Jam!. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. It debuted at number 84 on the French Albums Chart,. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. at number 34 in Austria,. acharts. Retrieved on 2010-04-10. and at number 19 on Norway's VG-lista Top 40 chart.. VG-lista. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. In the Netherlands, the album debuted at number 32 on the Mega Album Top 100 chart.. MegaCharts. Retrieved on 2010-04-20.

Critical response

Upon its release, I Learned the Hard Way received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 30 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Critics praised Jones' maturing voice and The Dap-Kings soulful musicianship on the album.Burns, Zeenat. . Metacritic. on 2010-05-02. Allmusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it 4 out of 5 stars and praised the band's incorporation of regional soul music styles, writing that it delivers "songs that swagger and stir the soul, fitting within tradition without being beholden to it".Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. . Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Entertainment Weeklys Whitney Pastorek complimented Jones's singing on the album.Pastorek, Whitney. . Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. The Boston Globes Siddhartha Mitter stated "The band is superb, and Jones ... sings of hard times, infidelity, and other life lessons with total authority".Mitter, Siddhartha. . The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Richard Trapunski of NOW gave the album a 4/5 rating and commended its musical style, stating "Shifting between Philly soul and James Brown funk, the heavyweight horn section provides a suitable backdrop".Trapunski, Richard. . NOW. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Boston Phoenix writer Jeff Tamarkin gave it 4 out of 4 stars and praised their "commitment to retro soul", but wrote "they never leave the impression that they’re trying to recapture past glory. This music just feels right on them, and in its own way contemporary".Tamarkin, Jeff. . Boston Phoenix. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. The A.V. Clubs Noel Murray complimented its incorporation of "Motown sound" influences, writing that Jones and the Dap-Kings apply "grandeur and polish to what used to be called 'race music'".Murray, Noel. . The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. The Washington Posts Sarah Godfrey lauded the band's "vintage" sound and wrote that it "is so entrenched in retro soul that it creates, rather than emulates, '60s sounds".Godfrey, Sarah. . The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Delusions of Adequacy writer Bryan Sanchez called the album "a beautiful representation of what real, honest and true soul music really is".Sanchez, Bryan. . Delusions of Adequacy. Retrieved on 2010-04-20.

However, some critics viewed the album's material as unvarying to the band's previous work and expressed a mixed response towards its vintage soul style and sound. Q gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and found it "no better than a genuine, crackly, long-forgotten B-side or buried album track that a specialist reissue label might have unearthed". Rolling Stones Jody Rosen called its musical detail "period-perfect" and commended Jones's vocal ability, but ultimately viewed that "Jones sings with force and feeling, but there's only so much she can do to breathe life into music so in thrall to the past".Rosen, Jody. . Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. The Guardians Dave Simpson gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and called it "almost comically textbook at times, but made with love".Simpson, Dave. . The Guardian. Retrieved on 2010-04-23. Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine perceived a lack of "risk" in the band's musical style, but stated "Even if the album is stagnant from an artistic point of view, Jones and the DAP-Kings really do their damnedest to make it seem fresh".Keefe, Jonathan. . Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. In contrast, Nate Chinen of The New York Times expressed that the album "sustains more of a plaintive air, with songs about eroded trust, exasperated patience and wounded indignation".Chinen, Nate. . The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Lindsey Thomas of Spin commended Jones's "brassy" style on the album and called the Dap-Kings "tight and energetic as ever".Thomas, Lindsey. . Spin. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Steve Jones of USA Today gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and stated "The singer's raw intensity and the band's propulsive energy make satisfaction guaranteed".Jones, Steve. . USA Today. Retrieved on 2010-04-20.

URBs Svein Brunstad wrote that Jones's voice "keeps getting stronger in her '50s, echoing the raw power of Tina Turner, the moaning soulfulness of Mavis Staples and the rhythmic swagger of James Brown".Brunstad, Svein. . URB. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Viewing it as "a singer's record", Matthew Fiander of PopMatters noted Jones's progression in her vocal performance and viewed that it contributes to the album's distinctiveness, stating "Jones peels back her fire just enough to emote in quieter ways. As a result, this album—perhaps better than its three predecessors—shows her as an immensely talented singer with a genius eye for how to shape a phrase, how to pull the most out of each word".Fiander, Matthew. . PopMatters. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot compared its arrangements to "'60s Motown and horn-spackled Stax" and complimented Jones's vocal range, stating "Jones' voices veers from an agitated rasp to a vulnerable falsetto, sometimes in the space of a line or two. All the while, she gives the impression of conversing with the listener, whether dispensing a little advice or dishing on a straying lover ... The you-are-there intimacy is Jones’ great gift as a communicator, the reason every one of these songs feels fresh, rather than merely a retro exercise".Kot, Greg. . Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Brian Richardson of Tiny Mix Tapes commended Jones's vocal "articulation, phrasing, and ornamentation" as "confident and varied, allowing her to sound powerful without being histrionic". Richardson wrote that the Dap-Kings "match her authoritative readings with taut arrangements, outstanding contrapuntal work within the rhythm section, and lavish horn, organ, and string parts".Richardson, Brian. . Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved on 2010-04-20. Pitchfork Media's Joe Tangari praised the band's "attention to detail" and called the album "a varied and well-sequenced work".Tangari, Joe. . Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-04-20.

Personnel

Musicians

* Sharon Jones - vocals

*The Dap-Kings

**Thomas Brenneck - guitars, piano

**Binky Griptite - guitars, bass

**Dave Guy - trumpet

**Ian Hendrickson-Smith - baritone saxophone, flute

**Bosco Mann - bass

**Homer Steinweiss - drums

**Neal Sugarman - tenor saxophone

**Fernando "Boogaloo" Velez - bongos, congas, tambourine

Additional personnel

* Victor Axelrod - piano, organ

* Moon Bancs - marching snare

* Cosmo Bann - guitars

* AnGee Blake - background vocals

* Sam Boncon - piano, clavinet

* Chris Cardona - violin

* Amos B. Conn - string arrangement (tracks 1, 2, 11)

* Nydia Davila - soul claps

* Eric Davis - french horns

* El Deuvo - cabasa

* Brian Floody - timpani

* Cochemea Gastelum - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone

* Wayne Gordon - soul claps

* Jimmy Hill - organ

* Aaron Johnson - trombones

* Alex Kadvan - cello

* Kevin C. Keys - background vocals

* Matthew Lehmann - violin

* Michael Leonhart - trumpet

* Leon Michels - tenor saxophone

* Toby Pazner - vibraphone, glockenspiel

* Mikey Post - soul claps

* Boom Boom Romero - drums

* Antoine Silverman - violin, string arrangement (tracks 4, 7)

* Daisy Sugarman - flute

* Entcho Todorov - violin

* Saundra Williams - background vocals

* Anja Wood - cello

* The Bushwick Callers - background vocals (track 5)

Chart history

References

Artist/Band Information

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the Dap-Kings are the house band. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. Part of the way this is achieved is to shun modern digital recording methods in favour of using traditional analogue recording equipment. The type of instruments used by the band may also be considered limited to those that would have been available up until the mid-'70s.

Desco: the early years

The original incarnation of the band, the Soul Providers, were formed in the mid nineties by Philip Lehman and Gabriel Roth AKA Bosco Mann. The Soul Providers began recording an album consisting of James Brown inspired instrumentals and vocal collaborations with Deep Funk legend Lee Fields. It was during these sessions that Roth and Lehman discovered vocalist Sharon Jones after she recorded backing vocals for one of the Lee Fields tracks. They were impressed enough to record a solo track with Jones entitled "Switchblade", a track that had originally been intended for a man to record. This track along with another Jones solo, "The Landlord", were included on the Soul Providers debut release Soul Tequila, released circa 1996 on the French label Pure Records (defunct). Lehman and Roth then started a new label in Brooklyn, New York. Desco Records was born taking its name from Desco Vacuum, a vacuum cleaner store in West 41st Street underneath which they utilized the basement as studio space and an office to administer and distribute the label. Sugarman 3 organist Adam Scone just happened to live upstairs in the same building. The Soul Tequila album was then reissued as a vinyl only LP renamed Gimme The Paw. The record, which featured Lehman's pet dog Spike on the cover, only kept one of the Sharon Jones collaborations, "Switchblade", omitting "The Landlord".

Dap kings 5257766w.jpgthumbSharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, moers festival 2007

Having established a scene in New York of performers, Desco aimed to showcase a stable of artists with revue style shows and concentrated on releasing vinyl 45 records by a number of artists including Sugarman 3, The Daktaris, The Mighty Imperials, Naomi Davis & The Knights of 41st Street, Lee Fields, Joseph Henry and Sharon Jones, who backed by the Soul Providers who had become the Desco house band, released three 45's on the label. Desco Records were gaining intrigue and reputation for quality amongst soul/funk collectors and enthusiasts. Many people who bought the early records were unsure that they were modern recordings as recording dates were deliberately omitted from the labels and were often marketed as being released in the 1970s. Two other Soul Providers albums were released, an instrumental soundtrack to a mysterious Sam Lung Kung-Fu film, The Revenge Of Mr Mopoji, credited to Mike Jackson And The Soul Providers and a Lee Fields solo album Let's Get A Groove On where the Soul Providers provided the backing.

Daptone: a new label and the birth of the Dap-Kings

In 2000, due to a growing difference of opinion, Lehman and Roth decided to go separate ways and both set up new labels. Philip Lehman set up Soul Fire Records (now defunct, the back catalogue is handled by Truth & Soul Records). Gabriel Roth went on to start Daptone Records with Sugarman 3 saxophonist Neal Sugarman. The Soul Providers split and a new band, the Dap-Kings formed. The band consisted of label owners Roth, AKA Bosco Mann, on bass and Neal Sugarman on Saxophone, plus original Soul Providers: guitarist Binky Griptite, organist Earl Maxton, percussionist Fernando Velez and trumpeter Anda Szilagyi. Joining them were original members of the Mighty Imperials whose album, Thunder Chicken, was the last release on the Desco label: tenor saxophonist Leon Michels and drummer Homer Steinwess.

Having secured a summer residency at The Boite, a club in Barcelona, Spain, the band recorded an LP, Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in 2001. A few hundred copies were pressed, so that sales during the residency would provide financial backing on what would have otherwise been a financially disastrous trip. With promotional copies reaching notable funk DJs and reviewers, the album gained a significant reputation and was officially released as the first LP and CD on Daptone Records in 2002 to universal acclaim amongst enthusiasts. In their review at the time, quarterly hip-hop and funk magazine Big Daddy (defunct) suggested that it might be the best new funk album ever, credited Roth with being "one of the best analogue producers there is" and stated "this LP is a major triumph and a new standard has been set".

An exhausting schedule of international shows then followed to promote the album and it quickly became clear that promotion of Sharon Jones would be key to the success of the Daptone label. Whilst trying to build upon the revue style stable showcasing and trying to record other groups and artists on the label, other projects have to a certain extent been sidelined in favour of building on the success of Sharon Jones. Expected albums from Lee Fields and Binky Griptite have so far been victim to a lack of time, funds and energy a small independent label has. Neal Sugarman's own band Sugarman 3 who have themselves released several popular albums including one on the Daptone label, Pure Cane Sugar, have also been somewhat sidelined.

Following the album, three 45s not included on the album were also released: What If We all Stopped Paying Taxes, released in 2002 just ahead of the U.S. Election, was a militant anti-war statement denouncing the Iraq War. Genuine (parts 1 & 2 (2004) was an uncompromisingly hard funk record which firmly kept the interest of enthusiasts. And their cover of "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", released in 2005, was apparently recorded for a KFC commercial in 2002 but was never used.

Personnel changes

By this time there were a few personnel changes, as organist Earl Maxton and trumpeter Anda Szilagyi officially became members of Antibalas, a New York based afrobeat band. Whilst Maxton was not replaced on organ, trumpeter David Guy was recruited on trumpet. Also from the Budos Band, Thomas Brenneck, a second guitarist was added. In 2003 the Daptone Recording Studio, complete with a sixteen track analogue tape machine was open for business. It was originally intended to record two albums back-to-back to speed up the next release process. However during the final sessions of the first of these albums, Gabriel Roth suffered serious eye injuries in a car crash on his way home from the studio. This led to a break in the recording process and ultimately plans to limit the sessions to only one album. Their second LP and CD, Naturally, was then released in 2005. This album was a more broad based album than the first (which almost completely consisted of funk numbers) and included a mix of both soul and funk influences. The sleeve notes, written by Gabriel Roth, provided some insight into the vision behind the music, "Somewhere between banging on logs and the invention of M.I.D.I. technology we have made a terrible wrong turn. We must have ridden right past our stop. We should have stepped down off the train at that moment when rhythm and harmony and technology all culminated to a single Otis Redding whine. That moment of the truest, most genuine expression of what it means to be human." The production and recording values of this album were also noticeably crisper than that of the first - attaining a sound similar to the kind of production standard achieved by James Brown at his height, rather than the slightly duller "scratchy 45" sound of the original album. With, again, international acclaim amongst enthusiasts and a steadily growing base of both fans and now imitators, the band embarked on more extensive international tours and promotion of the album.

Leon Michels left the band soon after the release of Naturally to help start a new label, Truth & Soul Records, on the back of a solo LP that was originally intended to be released on Daptone, Sounding Out The City, credited to El Michels Affair. The label would also fill the void left when Philip Lehman closed the Soul Fire label and moved to the Bahamas, leaving the scene altogether. The back catalogue of Soul Fire would then be handled by Truth & Soul Records who, along with Soul Fire often used many of the same artists in their stable, such as Lee Fields, Homer Steinweiss and Thomas Brenneck but of whom Leon Michels had been the biggest collaborator. Michels replacement in the Dap-kings came as Ian Hendrickson-Smith, a local saxophone player who has released several jazz albums under his own name.

Collaborations

The Dap-Kings were then hired as session musicians on a number of projects associated with New York based DJ/producer/recording artist Mark Ronson. Most notable of these is their extensive inclusion and somewhat unheralded contribution to Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black (2006). Six of the album's eleven tracks feature various members of the Dap-Kings with two notable hits from the album, "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good", extensively featuring the Dap-Kings. A further engineering credit goes to Gabriel Roth and several tracks recorded at Daptone Studios are mis-credited as "Dapking Studios". Again various members of the band feature on Ronson's second album, Version (2007), providing contributions on all but one of the album's fourteen tracks. The Dap-Kings then became the backing band used on Amy Winehouse's first U.S. tour.

In 2007 the Dap-Kings worked with British singer Ben Westbeech to record a new version of his song "So Good Today"; it was released to mark the first anniversary of Brownswood recordings, the label Westbeech is signed to in the UK. Sharon Jones lends her vocals on one song "The Way We Lived", on Wax Tailor's second album Hope & Sorrow, released in April 2007. Sharon Jones is also featured on releases by They Might Be Giants (The Else) and Rufus Wainright (Release the Stars).

Jones recently contributed six period numbers by Bessie Smith and others to the soundtrack for the film The Great Debaters, recorded in the legendary Ardent Studio in Memphis. Jones is also a featured on the Verve Records Baby Loves Jazz books/CDs and has even had her own character books published by Penquin Books in conjunction with the series, entitled Ella the Elephant: Scats Like That.http

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are featured on Michael Bublé's 2009 album, Crazy Love, in the track "Baby (You've got what it takes)".http

In the fall of 2009 Sharon Jones and David Guy appeared with Phish for their musical costume at Phish's Festival 8 in Indio California, where they covered The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St..

The Dap-Kings horn section backed The Heavy in a January 18, 2010 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.http

100 Days, 100 Nights

In late 2006, the band recorded a third studio album, entitled 100 Days, 100 Nights. It was released on October 2, 2007. A non-album single, I'm Not Gonna Cry, was released in April 2007 and featured the same uncompromised funk style of the earlier single, Genuine. The album also includes two B Sides or Bonus Tracks: Settlin' In and The Collection Song.

Use in advertisements

In 2006, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were featured in an I Love NY commercial set to their cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land". The band's cover of Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" also appeared in a Chase Manhattan Bank commercial that same year. In Australia, their song "Got a Thing on my Mind" featured in a 2005 commercial for Cadbury's Boost Chocolate bar.

In 2008 Tropicana Pure teamed up with Ziggy Marley, Bebel Gilberto and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Each wrote an original track inspired by the taste, smell and sight of a glass of Tropicana Pure Premium Juice. With each track written in the artists chosen style, they pulled together a range of genres as varied as Tropicana’s line of juices. And to add some extra flavor they then brought in Ticklah, Bombay Dub Orchestra and Afrodisiac Sound System to remix the original songs. Sharon Jones and the Dap King's tune was titled "Sweet & Lovely" and Ticklah did the remix for the project. Both tunes were available for stream/download for a limited time in 192kbs mp3 format.

Soundtrack

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", from the album Naturally, plays over the opening credits of the 2009 film, Up in the Air. The song is also the first track on the Up in the Air soundtrack album.

The same cover plays over the end credits of How to Make It in America episode "Paper, Denim + Dollars."

"How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?" was featured in the first season for the television series Hung (TV series) and included on the Hung (television soundtrack)

"Longer And Stronger" a previously unreleased track also made an appearance on the For Colored Girls: Music From and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack in 2010.

Discography

Albums

*Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (May 2002, Daptone DAP-001)

*Naturally (January 2005, Daptone DAP-004)

*100 Days, 100 Nights (October 2, 2007, Daptone DAP-012, World's Fair)

*I Learned the Hard Way (April 6, 2010, Daptone DAP-019)

Singles

*"Got a Thing on My Mind" (October 2001, Daptone DAP-1001)

*"Make It Good"/"Casella Walk" (December 2001, Daptone DAP-1004)

*"Got to Be the Way It Is Pts 1 & 2" (January 2002, Daptone DAP-1006)

*"What Have You Done for Me Lately" (April 2002, Daptone DAP-1009)

*"Pick It Up, Lay It in the Cut"/"Hard Eight" (June 2002, Daptone DAP-1011)

*"Genuine Pts 1 & 2" (January 2004, Daptone DAP-1016)

*"What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes"/"This Land Is Your Land" (September 2002, Daptone DAP-1019)

*"How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?" (November 2004, Daptone DAP-1020)

*"I Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Is In"/"(instrumental)" (March 2005, Daptone DAP-1022)

*"How Do I Let a Good Man Down"/"My Man Is a Mean Man" (September 2005, Daptone DAP-1024)

*"I'm Not Gonna Cry" / "Money Don't Make the Man" (April 2007, Daptone DAP-1031)

*"100 Days, 100 Nights" / "Settling In" (October 2008, Daptone DAP-1037)

*"Better Things" / "Window Shopping" (October 2010, Daptone DAP-1053)

References