The Newcomers

From 1969 through 1974, the Newcomers issued half a dozen singles on the Stax imprint and landed a handful of minor R&B hits with “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” “Keep an Eye on Your Close Friends,” and “(Too Little in Common to Be Lovers) Too Much Going to Say Goodbye.” These sides mirrored the broader trajectory of Stax in its waning period, favoring polished approximations of then-current soul fashions over any real individuality. Motown and the Jackson 5 supplied the clearest template for several early outings, just as Philly soul and the O’Jays shaped a number of the later ones. Agreeable if unmemorable, nine Newcomers tracks surfaced on a 1996 compilation CD that also included material by the Astors, the earlier ’60s Stax soul group.