Various Artists: Daptone 7 Inch Singles Collection, Vol. 2

Various Artists
Daptone 7 Inch Singles Collection, Vol. 2
Daptone
2008-06-03

The venerable Brooklyn label’s second singles collection delivers plenty of retro-soul goodies: big-beat drum kits, sharp-dressed horn sections, can’t-shake-it-loose infectiousness. This one’s low on Daptone’s high rollers, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Besides a smoking cover of “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” is an instrumental version of “How Long Do I Have to Wait for You” and another Jones-less Dap-Kings tune, the white-hot “Nervous Like Me”. Instead the collection favors the hard-working R&B burn of guys like Charles Bradley and Lee Fields. The Mighty Imperials drop some dark-alley funk with “The Matador”, while Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra shuts the whole thing down with “Che Che Cole”, a hot-plate groove thang guaranteed to make a floor full of feet moving well into the night.

RATING 7 / 10