Performer Notes

Contains an untitled hidden track following "Casella Walk".
Personnel Sharon Jones (vocals); Binky Griptite (spoken vocals, guitar);
Anda Szilagyi (trumpet); Otis Youngblood (tenor saxophone); Jack Zapata (baritone saxophone); Earl Maxton (organ); Bosco Mann (bass); Homer Steinweiss (drums); Bugaloo Velez (congas).
Recorded at Dukes Basement Studio, Brooklyn, New York.
Personnel: Sharon Jones (vocals); Binky Griptite (guitar); Homer Steinweiss (drums); Bugaloo Velez (congas).
Recording information: Duke's Basement, Brooklyn, NY.
Photographer: Dulce Pinz?n.
It's hard to believe that Sharon Jones' debut LP is a product of the year 2002, for several reasons. Given the excellent singles she recorded for Desco beginning in the late '90s, it seems like she would have gotten the opportunity for a full-length sooner; plus, her brand of raw, heavy, hard-driving funk is such a throwback to the '70s, and she pulls it off so well, that you wonder how she could have escaped that decade without at least a few rare, classic 45s (in the vein of labelmate Lee Fields). It's not hard to believe she once made her living as a prison guard, based on the tough-as-nails, no-nonsense performances she belts out on Dap Dippin' With Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, the first full-length release on Desco's descendant, Dap-Tone. Backed by the Dap-Tone house band (a conglomeration of studio pros with connections reaching back to the Desco orbit), Jones delivers a storming set of tunes that would have sounded perfectly at home on the James Brown's Original Funky Divas compilation. The style and quality are pretty consistent all the way through, but it's hard not to single out the nearly unrecognizable cover of Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately," which is transformed into a churning blast of funk full of biting guitars (and nary a synth or drum machine in sight). Other highlights include the chunky leadoff track, "Got a Thing on My Mind," the would-be dance-craze "The Dap Dip," the slow-burning "Make It Good to Me," and the trials-and-tribulations tale "Ain't It Hard." Plus, label head Gabriel Roth throws in his usual "authentic" trappings -- the fake live introduction running down Jones' "hits," the intentionally dated copy on the back cover -- that make the whole package even more fun. All in all, a terrific debut. ~ Steve Huey

Professional Reviews

CMJ (7/8/02, p.11) - "...Listeners will be barrelled over by 30 minutes of bona fide, soul-shaking funk...an album of authentic soul and funk, a sound many contemporary bands fail to achieve....outrageously groovy beats..."

Mojo (Publisher) (7/02, p.102) - "...Rife with rugged bass lines, choppy guitars and bumping brass, the album starts with a wild 'star-time' build-up, introducing Sharon Jones herself as 'badder than badder'....go shake your tail feather."

Album: Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Introduction	More Info...
2)	Got a Thing On My Mind	More Info...
3)	What Have You Done for Me Lately?	More Info...
4)	The Dap Dip	More Info...
5)	Give Me a Chance	More Info...
6)	Got to Be the Way It Is	More Info...
7)	Make It Good to Me	More Info...
8)	Ain't It Hard	More Info...
9)	Pick It Up, Lay It in the Cut	More Info...
10)	Casella Walk	More Info...

Album: Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Introduction	More Info...
2)	Got a Thing On My Mind	More Info...
3)	What Have You Done for Me Lately?	More Info...
4)	The Dap Dip	More Info...
5)	Give Me a Chance	More Info...
6)	Got to Be the Way It Is	More Info...
7)	Make It Good to Me	More Info...
8)	Ain't It Hard	More Info...
9)	Pick It Up, Lay It in the Cut	More Info...
10)	Casella Walk	More Info...