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Oct 28, 2021 Web Exclusive By Austin Saalman

Organized by Brooklyn-based independent soul and funk label Daptone, and recorded over the course of three luminous nights at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater in December 2014, The Daptone Super Soul Revue featured performances from its distinguished artists. Listeners unfamiliar with Daptone or their repertoire may be surprised to find that the concert in question had in fact occurred in the mid-2010s and not the mid-1970s. Label greats such as the late Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley were able to use their intimate expertise to successfully deliver an exhilarating concert experience through their energetic performances.

“Screaming Eagle of Soul” Bradley, who had been active on the scene since 1965, often as a James Brown impersonator under the moniker Black Velvet or James Brown Jr., delivers an explosive performance alongside The Extraordinaires. Tracks such as “Heartaches & Pain” rivet the listener to the core, while the collection’s key track “Let Love Stand a Chance,” on which Bradley pleads, screams, and pontificates before the audience, sees his live wire sentimentality gleaming so raw and pure against wailing brass and funky organ. His spoken sections are especially notable, as his voice commands such emotion from an audibly moved crowd.

Like Bradley, Sharon Jones was a massively talented singer and performer who did not receive her due until she had reached the final decades of her life. Alongside label house band The Dap-Tones, Jones belts a soul anthem for the ages on the astonishing “Get Up and Get Out,” leaving the listener wondering as to how she wasn’t a larger name sooner in her career. Jones also succeeds on the authoritative “Making Up and Breaking Up” and elegantly downtempo “Every Beat of My Heart,” closing her set with the explosive “There Was a Time.”

Other Daptone artists such as The Sugarman 3, Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens, Antibalas, and Menahan Street Band also shine, helping to provide an entirely authentic experience. Released in commemoration of Daptone’s 20th anniversary, The Daptone Super Soul Revue represents the best of a significant force in music, showcasing an array of major works from worthwhile artists, helping to keep a hallowed tradition alive in their own neighborhood and across the world. (www.daptonerecords.com)

Author rating: 8.5/10