New Jill Swing 1988-1994

Notwithstanding its dominance from the late 80s through the early 90s, new jack swing -- journalist Barry Michael Coopers 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 "Im So into You," more specifically the Riley radio remix with funkier bottom. Mere weeks after that song reached the airwaves, it was joined by another harmony-rich belter, Jades "Dont 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 Whites "The Way You Love Me" and Pebbles "Giving You the Benefit," typically upscale Babyface and 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 Savages "Betchall Never Find" was nearly as successful before the singers version of "I Will Survive" became her signature recording. Among the deeper standouts are En Vogues "Lies" (the EPMD-flashback remix by NJS don Dave "Jam" Hall and Heavy D & the Boyz Eddie F.) and Keisha "Daughter of Millie" Jacksons sparkling "My Happiness" (an album cut that plays out like an extended coda to Teena Maries "Ooo La La"). One could nitpick about any number of issues possibly related to licensing and budget restrictions or blind spots. Shanices grown inclusion "I Wanna Give It to Ya" has nothing on "Its for You," Tene 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

80年代末のニュー・ジャック・スウィング時代に、その女性版として生まれた呼称がニュー・ジル・スウィング。言葉が定着しなかったのはアン・ヴォーグ"Lies(New Jack Remix)"からもわかるが(?)、単純にその時代の女性R&Bが毎度お馴染みボブ・スタンレーの選曲で楽しめる一枚だ。SWVの"I'm So Into You(Radio Remix)"やジェイド"Don't Walk Away"、ペブルス"Giving You The Benefit"のようなヒットをはじめ、当時の躍動感を象徴するグッド・ガールズの"Your Sweetness"も収録。フェンデレラやエクスケイプ、シャニース、ジャスミン・ガイ、ナッティン・ナイスらが並ぶだけでもいい感じ。
bounce (C)轟ひろみ