Rare and unreleased late 70s and early 80s disco, soul and boogie recorded by the cult New England ensemble.

We’re happy to present New World Generation’s self-titled anthology, a collection of rare and unreleased soul, disco and boogie by the cult New England ensemble. Presented as a 2CD and as a 2LP; both formats contain extensive liner notes with rare photographs and ephemera. Note: songs from CD disc two are not contained on the 2LP version of this album.

We first got a taste of the New World Generation when Phil Morrison, bassist for avant-garde, Boston-based jazzers Stark Reality, sent us a copy of New World Generation’s solitary recorded document: a five song EP that the band privately released in 1982. We heard echoes of the Roy Ayers produced RAMP sessions and the precise yet sensual vibes of the foundation known as Earth, Wind and Fire. We were intrigued, so we put in a call to New World Generation’s bandleader, Lekan Parsons and found that he had recorded more music in the years leading up to the New World Generation EP. But he’d recorded with different ensembles; finding the first threads of his musical tapestry would take time.

He promised to dig out his masters and send them to us for our consideration. It took years for him to collate the various components of the first phase of his recording career – which stretched from New York to Boston over the course of a decade – but when he did send the music, we were thrilled. The songs he’d recorded with the Universal Rhythms and Orison ensembles were harbingers of the sophisticated soul he’d proffer with New World Generation. They were winsome, hopeful songs – and their existence offered us the chance to present this album.

New World Generation references the faith that carried Parsons through the difficult and demoralizing times accomplished musicians like he and his friends experienced in a post-disco world. Download an example of New World Generation’s music below – “One Of A Kind,” from their 1982 EP.

Buy: New World Generation: New World Generation
Download: New World Generation “One Of A Kind.”

A few months back we announced that that we’d be releasing an anthology that centered around a mythical album by the US Army band East of Underground. Well, we’re now proud to announce Hell Below: faithful reissues of the three albums released by the winners of the US Army’s First and Second Annual Original Magnificent Special Services Entertainment Showband Contests. Packaged as LP and CD box sets, Hell Below presents nearly two hours of heavy funk and soul music played by United States Army soldiers enlisted during the politically turbulent early 1970s.

East of Underground, SOAP The Black Seeds and The Sound Trek were bands comprised of soldiers stationed in bases across Western Germany during the height of the Vietnam War. While little is known about the bands, the players, and the milieu they came from – other than what can be pieced together from a handful of photos and documents found in a box in the New York Public Library, and the vague recollections of some of those involved – we at Now-Again Records have worked diligently with the United States Army and researchers the country over to present this important document, and some damn good music to boot.

Each of the two double-billed albums contained in this box set is presented as an exact reproduction of the original United States Army issue. The extensive, full-color booklet features essays, annotation and a collection of Army ephemera from the creation of these albums. Also included is a full-color, exact reproduction of East Of Underground’s 1971 tour poster.

Buy: East of Underground: Hell Below.
Download: East Of Underground “Hell Below.”

(more…)

This anthology – the first to survey the lofty 60s and 70s achievements of Lee Anthony’s legendary Little Rock, Arkansas-based True Soul Records – has been 13 (!) years in the making. It’s so expansive that had to release it in two parts: the CD/DVD of Vol. 1 is out now, the CD/DVD of Vol. 2 is in stock at Stones Throw and shipping immediately, and the deluxe, 4 LP vinyl box set will ship on or before July 21st. Both Vol. 2 and the 4 LP box set are released worldwide on July 26th.

Buy: True Soul, Deep Sounds From The Left Of Stax Vol. 2
Pre-order: True Soul, Deep Sounds From The Left Of Stax 4 LP Box Set
Buy: True Soul, Deep Sounds From The Left Of Stax Vol. 1
Download: Classic Funk “Funk’s Gonna Fly.”

The Jazzman/Now-Again Funk series has offered surveys as broad as they are deep: Midwest Funk, Texas Funk, Florida Funk, Carolina Funk. Yet this might be the most important trawl of all: California Funk. Over a decade in the making, this – from compilers Malcolm Catto and Gerald “Jazzman” Short – is the Funk masterpiece. This anthology examines what happened to the independent ensembles who gigged during Sly and the Family Stone’s Bay-area renaissance. It delves into the stories sidemen who worked alongside LA’s Charles Wright and the Watt’s 103rd Street Rhythm Bands and offers answers to elusive questions. At the same time, it offers thunderous drums, fuzzy wah-wah, fat basslines, blistering horns and exhortations akin to James Brown and his many disciples over its 21 track selection.

This official reissue was licensed by the lost bandleaders, bass players, drummers, label owners and studio-vets – independents, all, lost to history no more. This CD is packaged as a “mini-LP” in a thick, “paste-on” gatefold cardboard sleeve Now-Again’s issue of California Funk also comes with a 24 page full color booklet with full liner notes, annotation, and never-before-seen photos of these most impressive organizations.

Download a representative track L.A.’s own Apple and Three Oranges’ “Curse Upon The World” here.