Funk it out

Once again, the weather has turned. Which of course means I'm listening to soul music, it's like a tic. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings have released a killer album on that old standby for delicious music, Daptone. I used to feel she was something of a novelty act, sounds like music you like from a time you like to imagine, but not something I'd sit down and listen to. Live act, awesome, albums not so much. Her latest is about as gritty and pure as soul gets. Try to listen to this and not FEEL it. The title track and Better Things To Do are absolute dynamite...as is the rest of it.





Enjoy

Second up, Erykah Badu. I was a huge fan of Baduizm and her earlier stuff, but I got a little lost with the outer-space, aliens stuff she got into around the millenium. That's not to say it was bad, just not my cup of tea -- very dense, very out there. Well she married the two in her latest effort and it's so effortlessly listenable, I have run through it a few times in the last week. She's still talking about aliens, but she's also talking about the real world and real life...which is a relief. It's smooth, it's full, it will actually make you pause and run those lines over in your head a few times and the music just rolls you along. Very much worth a listen.





The whole shebang