I’m listening to Naturally as I write this, and it’s just as impactful as the first time I heard it. It opens with a groovy wall of sound and transitions into the upbeat rejoice Natural Born Lover. My Man is a Mean Man funks into your ears with a rippin’ bassline.
I adore How Long Do I Have to Wait for You? and its noodly guitar riff, soulful bass, and emotional lyrics. Sharon sounds sad, but not depressed, lonesome, but not despairing. It’s a wonderful blend of the many things that define SJ&TDK in that they cannot be pinned to one genre.
The entire album has a palpably vintage sound, cultivated by bassist and composer Bosco Mann. The songs alternate in almost perfect rhythm – from soul to funk to R&B – without pause. The ballads, You’re Gonna Get It and a cover of Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land, demonstrate Sharon’s tremendous range. I own all of Miss Jones’ recordings with The Dap Kings on vinyl, and they all sound incredible… Naturally (pictured below) is no exception.
As a unit, the group is beyond smooth and play from a pocket that both harkens back to the Motown days while blazing its own trail through the modern music scene. It’s a difficult environment to succeed in, today, but Sharon’s positive energy and determination to return from health problems has led to widespread respect and much-deserved commercial success in recent years.
Favorites:
-How Do I Let a Good Man Down?
-Stranded in Your Love
-You’re Gonna Get It
-How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?
-All Over Again
