New Jill Swing 1988-1994 in Bloomington, MN

Notwithstanding its dominance from the late '80s through the early '90s, new jack swing -- journalist
Barry Michael Cooper
's term for contemporary R&B infiltrated by tough hip-hop production techniques, pioneered by
Teddy Riley
-- has been the subject of few compilations. No overview is definitive. The best of them, the four-volume U.K.
New Jack Swing Mastercuts
series (1992-1995) and the two-disc
New Jack Swing: Gold
(2003), appealed admirably to casual listeners and collectors alike despite limitations. This single-disc or double-vinyl set, compiled by
Bob Stanley
, spotlights the women and is more like a knowing sampler with an otherwise similar function, placing hits beside significant commercial misfires that in some cases are just as pleasurable. Its later arrival was actually quite timely, as it appeared amid new interest in street soul, a rawer style birthed from U.K. sound system culture and Stateside R&B influence. The lone artist representing England is MC
Monie Love
, though she had been in New York for a few years when she cut "Full Time Love" -- a Top 40 pop entry in her home country -- with singers
Marsha McClurkin
and
Mary Brown
on the hook and
Riley
inspiration
Marley Marl
at the controls. A fair number of the selections are deathless era staples.
SWV
set it off with the dazzling "I'm So into You," more specifically the
radio remix with funkier bottom. Mere weeks after that song reached the airwaves, it was joined by another harmony-rich belter,
Jade
's "Don't Walk Away," riding the same sampled
Kool & the Gang
percussion that helped fuel
M/A/R/R/S
' "Pump Up the Volume." Just as crucial are
Karyn White
's "The Way You Love Me" and
Pebbles
' "Giving You the Benefit," typically upscale
Babyface
L.A. Reid
productions. Some of these tracks were certifiable hits that have been washed away with time. Cover stars
the Good Girls
, for instance, became footnotes after they scored a Top Ten R&B hit for
Motown
with "Your Sweetness," and
Chantay Savage
's "Betcha'll Never Find" was nearly as successful before the singer's version of "I Will Survive" became her signature recording. Among the deeper standouts are
En Vogue
's "Lies" (the
EPMD
-flashback remix by NJS don
Dave "Jam" Hall
Heavy D & the Boyz
'
Eddie F.
) and
Keisha "Daughter of Millie" Jackson
's sparkling "My Happiness" (an album cut that plays out like an extended coda to
Teena Marie
's "Ooo La La"). One could nitpick about any number of issues possibly related to licensing and budget restrictions or blind spots.
Shanice
's grown inclusion "I Wanna Give It to Ya" has nothing on "It's for You,"
Tené Williams
' "Give Him a Love He Can Feel" has yet to appear on a commercial compilation, and so forth. Regardless, this was needed. ~ Andy Kellman