Great compilations of early R&B

[Rabshakeh]

For some reason I'm in the mood. 

Please recommend me some great compilations (single artist or various) of R&B singles.  Jazzy, bluesy, pre-rocky, whatever. Widely defined is fine, although the collections themselves need not be. Ideally streamable.

[HutchFan]

This set immediately comes to mind:

Various Artists - Atlantic Rhythm and Blues 1947-1974 (8 CDs)

 

 

[Rabshakeh]

2 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

This set immediately comes to mind:

Various Artists - Atlantic Rhythm and Blues 1947-1974 (8 CDs)

Oh yeah! Great one. 

[JSngry]

https://www.discogs.com/label/2458297-Risqué-Blues?page=1

Maybe wait until the kids aren't around...

 

[JSngry]

Can't go wrong here!

 

[Rabshakeh]

Some great stuff here! Thanks.

Also, Fluffy Hunter is a great name. Fluffy being short for Loronia, apparently.

[JSngry]

Check out early Johnny Guitar Waton.

Or later!

Vocal groups. Definitely The Ravens.

[JSngry]

Doo Wop - There's %he Moonglows and then there's everybody else.

 

[Dan Gould]

If you like the Louisiana thing, Ace's Rhythm 'n Bluesin' comps are all worth hearing.

 

[ghost of miles]

This Rhino set covers the early 1940s through the early 1970s fairly well across 6 CDs:

The R & B Box: 30 Years of Rhythm & Blues

Viewpoint from one label:

The King R & B Box Set

The Okeh Rhythm & Blues Story 1949-1957

[mjzee]

Can't forget the motor city...

[mikeweil]

I like this one:

https://www.discogs.com/release/4382058-Various-The-King-RB-Box-Set

https://www.discogs.com/master/1067750-Various-The-OKeh-Rhythm-Blues-Story-1949-1957

[JSngry]

A big source of pre-rock R&B is the Savoy catalog. Their Roots of Rock & Roll series was damn near epic, beginning as LPs and the moving to CD. No idea how to look for it on Spotify today.

This list doesn't seem complete, but maybe it is?

https://www.discogs.com/label/680442-Roots-Of-Rock-N-Roll?srsltid=AfmBOopX3H5g8ag3wiuv-LEG80y0n2E0TP-uZ9gMDo4zRrOsCmITVNro&page=1

And here's The Ravens:

Jimmy Ricks sounds like Lockjaw on that one!

[danasgoodstuff]

Wild sax from the aforementioned Savoy Roots of Rock and Roll series, the sounds are as epic as the cover art.

I have several volumes from this series, to which the guys from Canned Heat contributed rare 78s

[JSngry]

Is that a Specialty label comp?

[danasgoodstuff]

4 hours ago, JSngry said:

Is that a Specialty label comp?

The second one i posted is a series drawn from the Imperial label.  There is a good box of things on Specialty:

[Rabshakeh]

Streamability of these Savoy comps is weird. Some are up on the Spots and some aren't. But there's gold there.

I find early RnB bewildering. There's such a profusion of different singles.

[soulpope]

https://www.acerecords.co.uk/the-tramp-years

[JSngry]

3 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

I find early RnB bewildering. There's such a profusion of different singles.

That's all there was. 78s. Jukeboxes. Radio.

Albums only game later.

[Rabshakeh]

27 minutes ago, JSngry said:

That's all there was. 78s. Jukeboxes. Radio.

Albums only game later.

I get that. 

But a bit like dance music now. There's so much and it is so disorderly. I am always quite historiography focused in my approach to music and I like to know where things stand, so the sections of bubbling chaos are an adjustment. 

Another issue with RnB is it is high stakes. The gold is really shiny but the shit stinketh. A bit like comps of old timey fiddle music. Not always a rewarding trawl. 

Edited Friday at 11:40 AM by Rabshakeh

[JSngry]

The disorder IS the order!!!!🤩🤩🤩

[Big Beat Steve]

On 11/22/2024 at 12:37 PM, Rabshakeh said:

I get that. 

But a bit like dance music now. There's so much and it is so disorderly. I am always quite historiography focused in my approach to music and I like to know where things stand, so the sections of bubbling chaos are an adjustment. 

Another issue with RnB is it is high stakes. The gold is really shiny but the shit stinketh. A bit like comps of old timey fiddle music. Not always a rewarding trawl. 

Late to the game in this thread, so ...

First of all, I understnad your "early R&B" wants to cover roughly the 1945-55 period, or at any rate the PRE-Soul R&B years (i.e. some of the stuff from the later 50s falling alternately into the R&B or R'n'R category, depending on how you classify your music "historigrpahically" - an approach I sympathize with because I tend(ed) to adopt the same, but am not afraid of wading through ).

I am not sure what you refer to as "shit that stinketh". (Any examples of what stinks to you? ) I'd venture a guess it is more of a matter of taste than anything else. At least to those who dig deeply into this and who are prepared a) not to be turned off by less-than-perfect fidelity of ultra-rare 78s being reissued, and b) to take the tracks as unpretentious dance and entertainment music for the "average man" (and woman ) of the target audience of those days back.

As for the COMPILATION recommendations (I take this to mean Various Artists anthologies and not so much single-artist reissues) and looking at vinyl in the first place, I'd second ALL the SAVOY recommendations. Their twofers were great and numerous. The Atlantic box (that in its later twofer voloumes goes into Soul) is excellent too. Though mybe with less "new finds" than the Savoys.
Beyond this, the Ace, Charly and Krazy Kat labels from the UK had plenty of interesting compilations. Ace drew heavily from the Modern/RMP catalog, Krazy Kat did a lot on the Gotham label.
P-Vine from Japan did some very nice "themed" vinyl comps too, but they are likely to be very rare and expensive to source sedocndhand these days. At least in Europe.

With you being UK-based, in case you come across R&B compilation series titled "SAVAGE KICK" or "STOMPIN'" (even though they may look sort of grey-area-ish ) at good prices in specialist (underground) record shops, pick them up! They were done with the hardcore R&B and Black R'n'R collectors (and deejays and dancers) in mind in the 90s (and as CDs a bit later on) and circulated mainly at the concert record stalls.

https://www.discogs.com/de/label/341528-Savage-Kick?page=1

https://www.discogs.com/de/label/59225-Stompin?page=1

 

As for the CDs, I'll do a separate post later on. There is sooo much there, particularly off the beaten tracks of the usual suspect labels ...