Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Naturally [20th Anniversary Edition]
DAPTONE
Let’s not go through the whole thing of having to miss Sharon Jones all over again. Thinking of a stewing, Augusta-born and Bed-Stuy-tempered voice that made you happily realize that the power and talent of immense soulfulness would never be lost to trend or technology, a band of musicians whose deep, subtle funk made Amy Winehouse's Back to Black with producer Mark Ronson possible, and a time of Brooklyn excellence that helped forever raise real estate taxes is too much to think about too soon, really, even though it’s been nearly a decade since Jones passed.
Despite relying on a history of great, musky R&B bands (James Brown’s The J.B.’s; The Bar-Kays, who backed the likes of Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes) and a studio they designed and built themselves, Naturally pulled itself up from the leathery bootstraps of the Dap-Kings’ well-worn 2002 debut, Dap-Dippin’, with a respect for nuance to match its need for pulsating grooviness. And like that predecessor, there was also a continued and colorful yearning for originality that was equal to Jones and her band’s history-focused love of soul trains, funky drummers, and Broadway boogaloo-ers. Hence, Naturally: nine original songs of revivalism without sounding retro-phonic; of downright, uptight, unbridled effervescence—the utterly unsparing, gleeful simplicity—of “Fish in the Dish” and the trashy “Your Thing Is a Drag”; of sweat equity romanticism without being afraid of having to come correctly. Could you record a new tune such as “My Man Is a Mean Man” now, or the longing “How Do I Let a Good Man Down?,” or the sensual “Natural Born Lover,” even?
Along with the gutsy duet of silk and soot that was Jones’ “Stranded in Your Love” with Lee Fields, there’s “This Land Is Your Land,” written by Woody Guthrie—a song where, in Jones’ hands, the American folk standard’s openness grows wider and more propulsive. For anyone asking how you could possibly make something this great greater still, this 20th anniversary edition offers nine thorny renditions of Naturally’s tracks in their naked instrumental form, highlighted by the reedy interplay of saxophonists El Michels and Neal Sugarman, drummer “Funky-Foot” bumped up against conga player Boogaloo Velez, and the occasional Jew’s harp and Hammond organ solo. And now you have me missing Sharon Jones all over again.
