New Jill Swing (2 Viewers)

[VoR]

New compilation courtesy of Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne.

New Jilll Swing

by Various Artists (Saint Etienne) on Ace Records

www.acerecords.co.uk

‘Young women from the ghetto were taken advantage of’: the power and pain of R&B’s ‘new jill swing’ era

The female counterpart to new jack swing, which exploded in the late 80s by fusing hip-hop, pop and R&B, was thrilling – but held back by sexism, racism and dodgy contracts

www.theguardian.com

 

[Joseph]

Now that’s an excellent compilation

 

[Joseph]

I totally forgot about Tara Kemp. I loved her song on the 90210 soundtrack as well.

 

[dUb]

Looks great! Don't know lots of those songs

Couldn't find it as an album on Spotify but here's all the tracks

 

[Jocasta Clun]

This really isn't my POT OF TEA at all but I love that BOB LOVES EVERYTHING and that's why I LOVE BOB

 

[GALA]

So pleased Lies is in there. 90s EV peaks were just so good.

 

[FetchFugly]

I saw this then forgot all about it. I'll give the less obvious ones a listen, as Mr Stanley has compiled I'm sure they'll be good.

Bob also needs to do a volume 2 for the fantastic Freestyle comp.

 

[Sheena]

This really isn't my POT OF TEA at all but I love that BOB LOVES EVERYTHING and that's why I LOVE BOB

Or that Bob gets PAID for everything. I do fear I pay no mind to these compilations because there was JUST SO MANY OF THEM.

 

[funky]

Some interesting DEEP CUTS in there!

 

[Sheena]

Yes, but I love this genre like I love freestyle, so both work for me. Some absolute gems here. Jade and Karyn and EV- you can’t go wrong.

 

[funky]

We need to deep dive more into Swing. Back in the day I would confuse it with 90s R&B which by 1993 had morphed into hip-hop soul and bedroom R&B, but of course Swing really began in about 1986 when Teddy Riley and Jam & Lewis starting producing albums, and peaked in 1989/1990 with a lot of these acts. Not just these but the R&B stars of the 80s who were still going dabbled with the sound too - just recently I uncovered an album by Joyce Sims in 1990 which I didn't know existed. Even Stephanie Mills was doing it on her 1989 album "Home"

Jody Watley strangely absent who was second only to Janet in the late 80s for this sound.

 

[FetchFugly]

Or that Bob gets PAID for everything. I do fear I pay no mind to these compilations because there was JUST SO MANY OF THEM.

I don't imagine that compiling for Ace Records pays that well. Hoping he is finding some time to work on the next St Et album (and it isn't still a sequel to I've Been Trying To Tell You).

 

[Sheena]

The 80s stuff wasn’t swing, it was freestyle influenced. Which he’s already done a compilation on.

 

[funky]

Paula Abdul should also be mentioned, although I wasn't a fan of her larger sound. Some of the pop stuff irritates me. I never liked "Forever Your Girl" for example. But "Straight Up" is surely in the Top 5 best Jill songs ever.

 

[Sheena]

I don't imagine that compiling for Ace Records pays that well. Hoping he is finding some time to work on the next St Et album (and it isn't still a sequel to I've Been Trying To Tell You).

It is. Album this winter of noodlings, proper pop one scheduled for June. Which means 2026.

 

[Sheena]

Paula Abdul should also be mentioned, although I wasn't a fan of her larger sound. Some of the pop stuff irritates me. I never liked "Forever Your Girl" for example. But "Straight Up" is surely in the Top 5 best Jill songs ever.

That’s about as FREESTYLE as you can GET!

 

[funky]

The 80s stuff wasn’t swing, it was freestyle influenced. Which he’s already done a compilation on.

That's a completely different genre! Janet's first album wasn't freestyle, it's largely recognised as the first iteration of Swing.

 

[Sheena]

That's a completely different genre! Janet's first album wasn't freestyle, it's largely recognised as the first iteration of Swing.

Control was R&B/ funk, which led to the likes of new Jack/Jill swing, absolutely, but also gave way to the freestyle/ pop melding that brought the likes of Paula and Jody to the fore.

 

[FetchFugly]

It is. Album this winter of noodlings, proper pop one scheduled for June. Which means 2026.

Oh well. Hopefully the timetable doesn't slip that much.

 

[funky]

Control was R&B/ funk, which led to the likes of new Jack/Jill swing, absolutely, but also gave way to the freestyle/ pop melding that brought the likes of Paula and Jody to the fore.

I'm sure their albums were a combination of both in the same way that other artists like Stephanie Mills were experimenting with Swing but weren't exclusive to it, still doing classic R&B and quiet storm stuff.

Paula I can hear the Freestyle sound which I'd never really considered before. But Freestyle to me personally is separate as it steered off into a new direction, developing sounds like SAW, Hi-energy and european house music. Swing morphed into hip-hop soul and influenced everyone from Timbaland to Pharrell and is the real R&B lineage.

Jody Watley to me will always be a swing act first and foremost. Horses for courses.