A Final, Posthumous Sharon Jones Album Has Been Announced, "Soul of a Woman" (11/17/2017)

I'm looking forward to getting this last one from SJ. Glad to hear it is up to her usual high standards.

 

I'm certainly enjoying it. I don't think it'll be my favourite album of hers, but that's in no way poo-pooing it; it's still a very good album. It also feels very complete--no Janis Joplin-like instrumental tracks where she didn't yet add her vocals to, and nothing sounds was pieced together from scraps of different unsatisfactory takes.

Now that we have her more-or-less complete output, I'll be starting a favourite Sharon Jones LP poll/thread in few weeks. It would be silly to do it now when this album just came out.

 

Very nice article about Daptone, Sharon and this album:

What it Took to Make Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ Final Album

 

The Tonight Show tribute was very nice.

 

Completely agree that "Rumors" is the most jubilant, downright funky, standout track on Soul of a Woman. Arguably one of the finest in the entire Dap-King catalog. This is the kind of track you can play 20 times in a row without fatigue. Sharon's lead and self-harmonies bring a smile to my face listen after listen.

This album is a bittersweet listening experience. So sad knowing there will never be another. Yet so joyous that there was enough in the vaults to put together one final, joyous album.

 

That three-CD set version of Soul of a Woman is really something! Along with the new album, you get Give The People What They Want and I Learned The Hard Way. Nice package!

 

From rolling stone dot com: A Soul Queen Says Goodbye: Inside Sharon Jones' Final Album.
Daptone Records co-founders Gabriel Roth and Neal Sugarman detail bittersweet process of recording late singer's 'Soul of a Woman'
...

 

I love the album; I've been listening to the digital version since I ordered it.
My LP copy (black vinyl) finally arrived (original order got lost in the mail...) and I was disappointed to open a box containing a severely bent corner and a substantially scratched lp. Anyone else get a bad copy?

 

I love this new album. Maybe it's knowing it's her final studio recordings, but it seems to me the songs on this are better and less cliche than some on the previous albums. Plus I like the lush orchestrations on the second side, which really showcased a different side of Sharon and the band.

 

+1.
Good people.

 

This album is really, really good.

 

Just had my first listen to a Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings album. Yesterday I received Soul Of A Woman vinyl as a gift. It's like experiencing something from my youth in 60's/70's. It's familiar and not at the same time so having a very strange effect on me especially as I read up on her last years and the recording process they went thru to make this record. Life has it's ups and downs and I can feel that as I listen....authentic real-time music built on the foundations of the past. Amen

 

Thanks.I've known so little about Sharon and the DK's. I think I just lumped them into the retro-Soul genre,which I'm not that into, and kinda put them off. So, getting SOAW as a gift from a family member demanded that I give it a listen. It's been playing all morning. There's something grainy about it like my Specialty Joe May tribute album or a lo-fi small (or major) label Soul or Gospel record from the late 60's to mid-70's. I could name 30 or more artists/bands/labels it reminds me of but not one in particular. Soul/Gospel/R&B kaleidoscope with all timbres and hues.

 

I finally got a copy of the lp. I'm looking forward to listening to it later today. The only one missing from my collection is the Christmas album.

 

The new one by SJ & the DK sounds very classy. The additional backing on some of the songs and the toned down grease gives it a grown up, stately feel. Not that it avoids celebrating good times but it seems a tad contemplative. This was my first spin so I'm sure my thoughts will shift a little with more familiarity.

 

What's your take on the new one? SJ & the DK.

 

I got to play it again, right now.
Not tomorrow
Not next week
Right
N
O
W
.

 

Have a Dappy Holiday everybody!

 

Rumors has a fierce groove and Pass Me By is a stand out track for its mellowness.
Searching For A New Day is a nice side opener and benefits from the larger group arrangememts. It reminds me a little of Sly as do a few other tracks. It's no copying though. It's all original soundng. Bosco and company sent Sharon off with a real gem of an album. It has a little more grown up feel in some ways though there are a few grinders for sure. It would be false to leave that out. The additional sweetners are nice to hear. They are particularly good on Girl! I like the way they echo and accent Sharon's lines. She certainly deserved it but I'd like to hear those songs without those additions just for fun. Call On God makes a nice ending, especially her little laugh. It's a beautiful goodbye. Whether there is more music to come in the future I don't know. That was quite a run, it was. Not a bad album in the pack either.