It's a Holiday Soul Party

Recording information: Daptone Records: House of Soul, Bushwick, NY.
Photographer: Jacob Blickenstaff.
R&B siren Sharon Jones and her band the Dap-Kings are ready to help you throw the coolest holiday party of the year with their first yuletide album. It's a Holiday Soul Party features eleven tunes that honor Christmas (and Hanukkah) with an old-school soul groove, featuring seasonal classics like "White Christmas" and "Silver Bells," reworkings of Christmas favorites such as "Funky Little Drummer Boy" and "God Bless Ye Merry Gents," and rollicking originals including "8 Days (of Hanukkah)," "Big Bulbs," and "Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects." As usual, Jones is in fine form, bringing the songs plenty of fire while also sounding sincere as she sings of the holiday spirit, and the Dap-Tones evoke the classic sounds of the '60s soul era with style, swagger, and enough imagination to give this music a feel all its own. If you're looking for something cool and groovin' to put under your tree or to slap on the stereo while you and your friends knock back some eggnog, It's a Holiday Soul Party is a hip, stylish, and rollicking good time. ~ Mark Deming