I Learned the Hard Way (7-Inch Box Set)

VINYL FORMAT. I Learned the Hard Way is now available as a limited edition box set, all on 7" vinyl! This set features all twelve of the album cuts from the latest Sharon Jones platter on eleven 45s including ten bonus cuts. It includes sought after instrumental mixes of eight of the original album tracks, perfect for DJs. Plus, it features "Give Me a Reason," the previously unreleased vocal counterpart to the hit instrumental "The Reason." And for those who missed the out of print "When I Come Home" 45, that exclusive vocal is included as well. The box set comes with an eight page full color 7" x 7" booklet featuring never before seen live and behind the scenes photos from the I Learned the Hard Way sessions and release parties. Packed in custom made Daptone 45 dust sleeves, and very very limited!

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are already well known as one of the most exciting acts in the nation for both their explosive live shows and their prolific output of gritty studio recordings, including their breakout release, 100 Days, 100 Nights. The follow-up, I Learned the Hard Way, is their fourth full-length on Brooklyn's independent Daptone Records, and marks a bold step forward for a band who almost singlehandedly stewarded today's return of soul music to its more traditional sound. Produced by Bosco Mann and recorded on an Ampex eight-track tape machine by Gabriel Roth in Daptone Records' House of Soul studios, the record drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since the golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax. Sharon's raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples, and Aretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music. From the lush Philly-Soul fanfare that ushers in "The Game Gets Old" at the top of the record, to the stripped down Sam Cooke-style "Mama Don't Like My Man" at the tail, the Dap-Kings dance seamlessly through both the most crafted and simple arrangements with subtlety and discipline. I Learned the Hard Way is the "Daptone Sound" at its finest.