VARIOUS – New Jill Swing – 2LP – Black Vinyl [SEP 27]

2LP – Black Vinyl.

“New Jill Swing” was a cheeky response to the very male, late 80s world of new jack swing, and it was the dawn of a golden age for female R&B in the 90s.The original source of new jack swing – or swingbeat – could be found in key records such as Janet Jacksons Control, produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, which mixed hard beats with soul, real R&B with 808s and a tough shuffle. Producer Teddy Riley took these sounds a step further at the end of the 80s, blending them with hiphop because – strange as it now seems hip-hop in the 80s was barely integrated into R&B.

Solo acts like Karyn White (The Way You Love Me) and Jasmine Guy (Try Me) followed in Janet Jacksons future perfect footsteps, inspiring a bunch of female groups who followed in the early 90s. The initial ground-breakers were a Motown act called the Good Girls who were set up to be a swingbeat Supremes, with the wonderful Your Sweetness in 1989. 1990 saw the emergence of R&B superstars En Vogue whose confidence and style proved that swingbeat wasnt just a genre for boy bands. Xscape (Love On My Mind) followed in 1991 while SWV (Im So Into You) and Jade (Dont Walk Away) both had their first UK hits in the spring of 1993. These hits were also pop classicist in their melodies and lyrics, harking back to 60s girl groups as much as they looked forward to the 21stcentury.

Compiled by Saint Etienne‘s Bob Stanley, this is historically significant as the first ever compilation of the genre. New jill swing may have borrowed from hip-hop but it was more smartly stylized and consciously retro-modern in its look, whether that was in En Vogues Old Hollywood references, the Good Girls plaid skirts or Jades baseball caps and braids. It would also unwittingly lay down the groundwork for the ultra-modern sounds to come later in the decade from the likes of TLC and Missy Elliot.

Tracklist:

1. I’m So Into You (Radio Remix With Rap) – SWV
2. The Way You Love Me – Karyn White
3. What I Will Do To You – Ex-girlfriend
4. Giving You The Benefit (7″ Version) – Pebbles
5. Don’t Walk Away (Pop Walk) – Jade
6. Try Me (Special Slammin’ Remix Edit) Jasmine Guy
7. Your Sweetness (Album Version) – Good Girls
8. Piece Of My Heart – Tara Kemp
9. She’s Not My Lover – Joyce Irby
10. Lies (New Jack Remix) – En Vogue
11. Ain’t Nuthin’ In The World (Single Edit) Miki Howard
12. In My Nature – Nuttin’ Nyce
13. You Make The Difference – Tracie Spencer
14. Love On My Mind – Xscape
15. I Wanna Give It To You – Shanice
16. Full Term Love – Monie Love
17. Betcha’ll Never Find (Radio Version) Chantay Savage
18. My Happiness – Keisha Jackson