Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are already well known as an\nexciting act for both their explosive live shows and their prolific\noutput of gritty studio recordings. Their breakout release, 100\nDays, 100 Nights, sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. This April\nthe band will release I Learned the Hard Way, their fourth\nfull-length on Brooklyn’s independent Daptone Records. The record\nmarks a bold step forward for a band who almost single handedly\nstewarded today’s return of soul music to its more traditional\nsound.

\n

Produced by Bosco Mann and recorded on an Ampex eight-track tape\nmachine by Gabriel Roth in Daptone Records’ House of Soul studios,\nthe record drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since\nthe golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax. Sharon’s raw power,\nrhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her\nfirmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples, and\nAretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music. From the lush\nPhilly-Soul fanfare that ushers in “The Game Gets Old” at the top\nof the record, to the stripped down Sam Cooke-style “Mama Don’t\nLike My Man” at the tail, the Dap-Kings dance seamlessly through\nboth the most crafted and simple arrangements with subtlety and\ndiscipline. I Learned the Hard Way is the “Daptone Sound” at its\nbest.

\n\n