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.
Tracklisting:
CD1
01. Sunshine
02. Curios Soul
03. Dreamland
04. One Of A Kind
05. I’m Feeling Fine
06. New World Generation
07. Mystical Planet
08. Celebrate
09. Do What You Do
CD2
01. Worry
02. Free Your Mind
03. How Do You Feel
04. Orison (A Prayer)
05. Sunshine (Alternate Mix)
06. Curious Soul (Alternate Mix)
07. Listen From Your Soul
08. We’ll Find A Way
09. Loving You
10. Someday The World Will Be As One
The album New World Generation “New World Generation” (Now Again) has been released December 23, 2011.
