{"id":31115,"date":"2020-10-25T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=records&p=31115"},"modified":"2020-10-24T21:19:36","modified_gmt":"2020-10-25T01:19:36","slug":"just-dropped-in-to-see-what-condition-my-rendition-was-in","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/just-dropped-in-to-see-what-condition-my-rendition-was-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Rendition Was In"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All respect is due to Antibalas, The Budos Band, and all the others on the labels Desco and then Daptone. The beating heart of the boisterous Brooklyn funk revival that exploded around the turn of the millennium, however, was Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. A perfect recreation of the classic \u201960s soul revue, it paired up the band that backed Amy Winehouse on Back to Black<\/em> with a full-time frontwoman who\u2019d previously been both a corrections officer and wedding singer \u2013 a commanding yet convivial presence, with powerhouse pipes to boot. The bond held for 20 musically amazing years, two decades that saw eight albums, a Grammy nomination, and countless collaborations including Michael Bubl\u00e9, Phish, and David Byrne \u2013 until Jones\u2019 passing from pancreatic cancer in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the band delivered killer originals, they earned a reputation for punchy cover versions, cooked up for soundtracks, advertisements, tribute projects, or just for the hell of it. Their earliest calling card, after all, was a surprising take on Janet Jackson\u2019s \u201cWhat Have You Done For Me Lately?\u201d It\u2019s included here, as is \u201cTake Me With U\u201d, from Prince\u2019s Purple Rain.<\/em> These two iconic \u201980s soul-pop tracks are about the most dramatically altered of the dozen on this retrospective compilation \u2013 a lucky 13 in the digital format, with a startling revision of Woody Guthrie\u2019s folk anthem \u201cThis Land Is Your Land\u201d. The old-school soul numbers, like Aretha Franklin\u2019s \u201cRescue Me\u201d and the young Stevie Wonder\u2019s \u201cSigned, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours\u201d, arrive unadulterated, while others still are given just the right bit of the outfit\u2019s own twist. They strip off the glitz and toughen up Musique\u2019s mid-\u201970s disco essential \u201cIn the Bush\u201d, and feed a jolt of electricity to \u201cJust Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)\u201d, the Kenny Rogers oddity familiar to fans of The Big Lebowski<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider this an album of other people\u2019s greatest hits, if you like, but be assured that it\u2019s a solid-gold soul session from end to end, with rave-ups, shakedowns, and a couple of easy jams to catch one\u2019s breath. It\u2019s also one more opportunity to remember Jones, a latter-day queen of soul music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n