One of the realities of the music business is that when an artist with a degree of popularity dies, you can count on plenty of their rare and unreleased sides getting repackaged for public consumption once their obituary puts their name back in the news. Thankfully, Daptone Records has been dignified and choosy in mining its vaults for unheard (or underheard) tracks from their flagship artist, vocalist Sharon Jones, who lost her life to cancer in 2016. The 2021 collection Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In) is only the second posthumous release from the retro-soul diva, following 2017s Soul of a Woman, recorded shortly before her death. The fact this LP collects 13 covers will probably make a few casual observers imagine these are mostly throwaway tracks, but one listen confirms thats not at all the case. Jones and her band the Dap-Kings recorded most of these tracks either for tribute albums or film soundtracks (in the case of their remake of Gladys Knights Giving Up, Jones and her band were commissioned to record the song so it could be sampled for a hip-hop track). Though a few clearly follow the blueprint of their originals (such as the opener, Stevie Wonders Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Im Yours), on most of the others they bring new thinking and new life to the tunes. They turn Janet Jacksons What Have You Done for Me Lately and Princes Take Me with U into lean, soulful, and organic grooves that recall late-60s James Brown, Woody Guthries This Land Is Your Land is infused with a defiance and flinty passion that reminds you Guthrie intended it to be a leftist response to God Bless America, and they strip Musiques In the Bush of its glossy disco affectations while maintaining its powerhouse dance groove and unsubtle sexual innuendo. Their interpretation of Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) is actually a cover of a cover, modeled not on the hit recording by Kenny Rogers & the First Edition but after Bettye Lavettes 1968 take on the tune. On every track, Jones demonstrates she was a masterful soul singer, passionate and expressive but never over-the-top, and the Dap-Kings have top-shelf chops and a genius for dynamic, full-bodied arrangements. When most artists are commissioned to record a cover, the results often sound professional but short on inspiration. Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In) demonstrates Sharon Jones gave 150 percent every time she stepped up to the microphone, regardless of the circumstances, and this album is a testament to her great talent as well as her gift for putting her own stamp on any song she chose to try on for size. ~ Mark Deming

Rovi