Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights

MINE

This CD breaks all my rules.  I mean, it sounds like classic 50s-60s soul, but it's been written and recorded right now.  And ordinarily I'd sniffily call this sort of music "wanna-be soul" - except it doesn't wanna be, it damn well is.

Sharon can wail like Aretha or Diana or any one of those fabulous soul divas, and that band is tight.  Plus (and I don't mean to sound like a production Nazi here, but) that production is faultless.

This music is like discovering a whole new novel by an author you love and thought you'd read everything they'd ever written.  It's a modern classic.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP and get boogying, y'all

YOURZ

Thank you, Spicks And Specks.  If it weren't for this excellent music quiz show, we wouldn't have heard about the marvellous voice of Sharon Jones and her incredile soul-funk band, The Dap-Kings.  Appearing on an episode, she blew us away with one of the challenges, to sing a song using the words of an unrelated piece of text.  She was, simply and crudely put, fucking brilliant.

In fact, we have Spicks And Specks to thank for a number of our favourite pieces of music but more of that later.  In the meantime, 100 Days, 100 Nights could easily be the soundtrack to our other viewing experience of late, that of the marvellous HBO series, Treme.  Take the hint, sucker, and get watching!

We've expressed our love of good funk and soul before and while this isn't breaking new ground, it certainly shows there is still great music being made in this genre.  You just gotta keep an eye out for it.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP and shimmy like a slinky thang, you...

For more information: http://www.daptonerecords.com/pages/stable_sharon.html

Bullfrog - Bullfrog

YOURZ

Canadian band, Bullfrog, are one of those treasures rarely and often accidentally discovered by collectors such as myself.  I can't remember exactly where I got it, but listening back to it for this review, I'm surprised it hasn't been played lots more as it really is a great record of funk, off-kilter pop, jazz and hip hop and is ostensibly a live recording. 

Mine and YourZ (truly) have been watching a great new HBO series called Treme, which is about the lives of various New Orleans inhabitants immediately after Cyclone Katrina.  Of course, the biggest star of the show is the music, that of the Orleans funk and more traditional jazz and cajun blues.  Bullfrog sound like they could be one of the house bands for any of the venues featured in the show, such is the richness of texture and sheer talent of this band.

For this reason, among many, this is another Forgotten Gem

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

...and here we have the split between us, once again.  I hadn't really listened to Bullfrog before, even though it's been played a bit in our house, because it's generally been background to parties or just to living.  So I was surprised when I didn't really like it.

There are two reasons for this.  First is because they're another band who feel they have to mention their name in just about every song.  I mean, what?  Don't you think I can read the CD cover?  Do I have short-term memory loss?  What was the question again?

And secondly, although they're a great band with some really catchy tunes - none of the songs seem to actually go anywhere.  There's a lot of noodling and clever stuff, but largely it lacks structure.  It had the editor in me reaching for the red pen, so I could cross out this bit and that bit and move this one around there and then how about we tighten up here and...

Nice background music, but for a close-up listen, a tad self-indulgent. 

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.gobullfrog.com/