Ernie Vincent has more than earned his title of Dap King. His band The Top Notes have been a fixture in New Orleans since the early 1970s, working their own shows as well as backing many other artists.
Vincent himself grew up in Thibodeaux, Louisiana. With a stated preference for working in the background, Original Dap King is Vincent’s first album in some time. Tracked in April of 2021 at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi with Bronson Tew and Matt Patton at the helm, and drums and bass, respectively. Ernie was able to stretch out his guitar prowess and rip every solo on the album with Jimbo Mathus on keys and leading the band along with his Squirrel Nut Zippers’ horns and strings, Taylor Hollingsworth on some extra guitar, and Schaefer Llana with AJ Haynes on the backing vocals.
These players create a transcendent experience. The album opens with the one-two punches of “Body Shop” and “Midnight Rondezvous” — meaty grooves and glitzy vocals that evoke the excesses and glamor of the ’70s. The album truly shines on songs like these, but Vincent proves there’s much more than meets the eye, much less more to him than being the life of the party.
By contrast, “My. Good Daddy” is less bombastic and is a fun romp through disco — the closest we get to a slow dance on here, with shimmering disco balls not far from the imagination.
“Black” is a psychedelic masterpiece. It starts off like many of the songs here: simple lyrics and a hypnotic groove. But here, the band stretches out and for six luxurious minutes, the band explores every conceivable musical direction before collapsing back to the center. The final return to the groove reflects Vincent’s refrain: no matter where one goes, the specter of depression will follow.