New Jill Swing (1988-94)

Thanks to any number of comps and series, Bob Stanley had made his mark as being one of the premier girl-group-and-related fiends in the UK over some decades. As some of his reissue work started taking more in-depth looks at the time when Saint Etienne itself was firing up, he deftly combined both strands into the pure joy of New Jill Swing, a really fun dive into American r’n’b sounds from the era of Teddy Riley’s hip-hop-tinged reign. Riley himself takes a bow at the start thanks to the inclusion of his remix of SWV’s “I’m So Into You,” but the comp as a whole showcases a balance between delightfully passionate singing from a swathe of groups and solo performers and equally skilled producers and remixers like LA Reid & Babyface, Full Force and Jermaine Dupri. No such comp would be complete without the mighty En Vogue, appearing with a remix of their early single “Lies,” while veteran performers like Joyce Irby and Miki Howard proved adept with the style. But it’s the up-and-comers, whether stars like Karyn White and Xscape or bubbling-under lights like Nuttin’ Nyce, which give this lovely comp its biggest kicks.