V.A. New Breed R&B

Our New Breed R&B series of CDs has been running for seventeen years so we thought such a venerable product deserved a fitting vinyl offering.

The selection reflects the acceptance of differing R&B styles among its followers; there is a broad ten-year time span between releases. Monster or maybe mammoth tracks include Mike Pedicin’s ‘Burnt Toast And Black Coffee’, Luther Ingram’s ‘Oh Baby Don’t You Weep’, Gladys Bruce’s ‘I’ve Got a Feeling For You Baby’ and the Charmaines’ ‘I Idolize You’. All of those selections are stone-cert floor-fillers and the latter trio are exclusives.

Two tracks have yet to make it to the New Breed CD series although they are heavily pencilled-in. Prince Conley’s ‘Hard Times (Every Dog’s Got His Day)’ was recorded for Stax’s first incarnation, Satellite records, around 1961 but didn’t come out until an Ace CD featured it in 1995; it’s a bit of a sleeper! New York street musician Sterling Magee once featured in a U2 video but his mid-60s recordings for Jesse Stone and Al Sears were the real highlights of his career. ‘You’re Supreme’ has only appeared on an Arock Story CD until now. Johnny Gosey’s ‘Double Locks’, tells a terrific tale of rent trouble and, like the Conley and Magee tracks, this is its first waxing.

The BB King, Bobby Mitchell, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Albert Washington tracks are all now looked on as New Breed classics guaranteed dance action when the needle hits.

Two more Kent exclusives came out in 2008; Gladys Bruce’s ‘I’ve Got A Feeling For You Baby’ and Barbara Perry’s ‘A Man Is A Mean Thing’ both livened up the burgeoning New Breed scene. The Phillips Sisters’ Ike & Tina-esque ‘Where Did You Stay Last Night’ is one you can actually find on an original release, as is Austin Taylor’s quirky and catchy ‘Why O Why’ – but it’ll cost ya!