Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: I Learned The Hard Way

It was only a matter of time before the Motown sound became as much a part of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings’ palette as their standard shades of funk, Afrobeat, and Memphis R&B. The Dap-Kings’ fourth album, I Learned The Hard Way, retains the old grit on songs like “She Ain’t A Child No More,” “Without A Heart,” and the sublime “Mama Don’t Like My Man,” which resemble vintage Tina Turner, Otis Redding, and Mahalia Jackson, respectively. But over the first half of the album, The Dap-Kings are just as rooted in the era when Berry Gordy aspired to compete with the established pop impresarios, applying grandeur and polish to what used to be called “race music.”