Funk…The Good Kind…

Back in October, while listening (once again) to my beloved iPod, I learned of a group called Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.  They were featured on To the Best of Our Knowledge, and they sounded pretty interesting.  From the TTBOOK website:

Sharon Jones is a black woman in her late 40s who fronts a band called the Dap-Kings. She tells Steve Paulson they make a kind of music that sounds like 60s Funk and even still record onto vinyl to get the sound they want. And of course, we hear lots of their music.

I liked what Sharon had to say, about Funk, about vinyl, and I liked the sound of their music.  So, I thought, I’ll put this on my Amazon wishlist, and perhaps I’ll get the CD for Christmas or my Birthday.  I didn’t.  But that’s only because it came early, and I opened it for one of the nights of Hanukkah.  Thanks, Jefito and Leah! You spoil us like crazy, though we are infinitely sad that we missed you when you (Jeff) were in sunny CA. Sigh. 

Anyway, I really like this CD…it’s mostly funk, mixed with some groovy soul sounds, and I thought I’d share a bit.  Of course, I don’t want to take money from the artists’ mouths, especially smaller artists who aren’t multi-millionaires, so if you like what you hear, go buy the CD (or LP, if you still have your turntable out and accessible)! Or, download it from iTunes.

I think my favorite song is My Man is a Mean Man.  Such a great funk song, fun to listen to.  I think you’ll agree.  An interesting cover on this album is This Land is Your Land. I guess I’m out of touch, but until recently, I never really listened to this song, and to the words and what they meant.  I didn’t realize that it is a populist song, though I guess that should be clear enough from the lyrics.  You can find out more about the song and its roots on Wikipedia.

I hope you give these songs a listen, and that you enjoy them as much as I do. 🙂