Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Review: Revivalist funk and soul veterans Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings appeared to have drawn the curtain down on their career back in 2011, with the release of the well-timed retrospective Soul Time. Happily, they were just on hiatus, and three years on return with their first album of new material since 2010. For those who enjoy their sweet, soulful, faithful recreation of original '60s and '70s soul, this should be cause for rejoicing. Certainly, Give The People What They Want lives up to its title, delivering a blend of strong songs, heart-aching lyrics, nostalgic production and superb playing.

Review: Daptone drops a new single from their premier funk act Sharon Jones & The Dapkings, with two tracks lifted from their latest album I Learned The Hard Way. Sharon's catchy melodic vocal on ''Better Things'' is assisted by rhythmic hand claps, cascading piano lines, brass stabs and backing vocals from The Dapkings. On the flipside is a silky deep soul cut with Sharon's vocals telling the tale of her wandering eyed window shopping man!

Review: Before she passed away last year, Sharon Jones spent a couple of months recording what would become her final album with the Dap Kings. Released posthumously, Soul of a Woman is every bit as good as her previous collaborations with Bosco Mann's revivalist soul and funk band. Naturally, Jones death has added extra poignancy to the album's more melancholic moments (see "Just Give Me Your Time" and "Pass Me By" and "When I Saw Your Face"), but these sorrowful outings are contrasted by a string of rousing soul and funk anthems in her confident and effortlessly soulful style. With Mann and the rest of the Dap Kings excelling themselves in a bid to guarantee Jones' legacy, Soul of a Woman may well be Jones single finest album. It's certainly a fitting send off for one of soul's finest voices.