Sharon Jones & Dap-Kings - New Cd- Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In)

Here's word and info all about a worthy recent cd release from Daptone. The album has been available for a while via download and streaming services but the cd version has just been released. As the title 'Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In)' hints,  Daptone have put together a release made up of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings doing cover versions. Curated from a variety of sources, it does work well, and features a wide range of covers from the likes of a 'Little By Little' cover to the more unexpected, such as the cover of Musique's 'In the bush'

Can read and listen to details, release notes and audio below

Release notes

Often, in an effort to save the expense of licensing an original master from a major label, a music supervisor may request a song be re-created as closely as possible. Such was the case when a well-known bank asked the band to cut Stevie Wonder’s classic, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” for a TV commercial, or when Hank Shockley asked for a perfect replay of Bad Medicine’s funky instrumental, “Trespasser” for the American Gangster soundtrack.

Both “Rescue Me” and “In the Bush” were among the outtakes on the cutting room floor of The Wolf of Wall Street motion picture soundtrack, for which the band recorded several unused sides. “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” was not just a remake of the Kenny Rogers’ First Edition hit, but more specifically a near re-play of Bettye Lavette’s 1968 version, and was notably the very first recording done at the Daptone House of Soul studio in 2002. Likewise, the band’s replay of Gladys Knight’s “Giving Up” was specifically requested but unused by a producer who was confident he needed it to sample for a beat on a Dr. Dre album.

“Little by Little,” “Inspiration Information,” “Here I Am Baby,” and “Take Me with U” were cut for tribute projects to Dusty Springfield, Shuggie Otis, The Marvelettes, and Prince, respectively. The latter of which is a perfect example of the way the band was able to take a familiar tune and completely flip it on it’s head.

Of course, there were also many non-contracted covers over the years that the band cut of their own volition, starting with the complete re-invention of Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done for Me Lately” on the their 2001 debut LP, Dap-Dippin’ with..., which convinced more than a few fans that Sharon’s version was in fact the original after a counterfeit news article surfaced claiming that Jones was suing Jackson for copyright infringement. Sharon’s heart-wrenching take on Bob Marley’s early Wailers ballad “It Hurts to be Alone” is a tender nod to the soul that Jamaica borrowed from the States in the early sixties.

Though the band has mostly built their career on a prolific catalog of originals, these forays into other artists’ compositions lay bare their gift for arrangement and the unmatched studio prowess that earned them their reputation as The Baddest Band in the Land. 

Streaming

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Video Previews

Track Listing

1. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours 02:35

2. Little by Little 02:39

3. Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) 03:00

4. Here I Am, Baby 03:18

5. What Have You Done For Me Lately? 02:48

6. Take Me With U 02:54

7. The Land Is Your Land (Digital Album Exclusive) 04:30

8. Inspiration Information 04:03

9. Giving Up 03:09

10. Rescue Me 02:23

11. In the Bush 03:29

12. Hurts to be Alone 03:00

13. Tresspasser 02:42

Purchase

Cd is available via all the usual stockiest both on and off line and also features in our very own Soul Source store cd section {details below)