Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings I Learned The Hard Way (Digital Download Card)

Since so few acts in the new millennium attempt the old-school soul that's the specialty of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, it may be easy to assume that they're heralded simply because of their rarity: although they certainly sound like plenty of acts from back then, they're praised because nobody else sounds like them now, something that's all well and good but doesn't quite suggest how good the group really is. I Learned the Hard Way, their fourth album, goes a long way in illustrating that they're very, very good, holding their own with all the '60s Southern and Northern soul they hold so dear. In fact, the striking thing about the album is that contrary to their deep soul rep, Jones & the Dap Kings spend just as much time riding smooth easy grooves as they do pouring out some sweat: despite its tough title, "I Learned the Hard Way" breezes with the cool assurance of Curtis Mayfield's Windy City and the instrumental "The Reason" shimmers like the sound of Philadelphia circa 1