Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens

"What Have You Done? / Long Road"

Regular price $ 7.00
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Naomi Shelton first lifted her soulful voice into our family back in the Desco days of the late 1990s. Under her maiden name, Naomi Davis, she gave us "Forty First Street Breakdown" which has become a secret weapon for funk DJs. Next came the coveted "Wind Your Clock" 10" which surfaced only as a test pressing due to the record company's untimely demise. Later she fronted Sugarman and Co., delivering 2001's Promised Land. All of these have earned her a box seat in the theater of Funk and Soul collectors. However there is another side of Naomi that been stirring folks longer and deeper than any funk record could ever. Like most great Soul singers, Naomi is first and foremost a gospel singer. She has spent her life lifting her voice in churches from Alabama to Brooklyn. Though her gospel voice (and true last name of Shelton) has been a part of the Daptone Family's life for years, performing under the musical direction of the legendary Cliff Driver whose band often featured members of the Daptone rhythm section, it has never before been allowed to fully blossom on wax in its most natural, beautiful, and powerful form.

The A side "What Have You Done?" is a dark stomping inquiry which cuts unapologetically to the very soul of the listener. it is backed with "I'll Take The Long Road," a soulful ballad about patience and righteousness which rings of the wisdom and humility that makes Naomi Shelton good for you.

At the risk of being longwinded, there is one more thing that must be said here: Naomi Shelton is love incarnate.