History:

The Last Next was a garage rock band from New York City. Not much is known about the band. The group was recruited by a team consisting of soul producer Lucky Dixon and arranger Sampson Horton to record an album for a local songwriter. The songwriter was named Stephen Charles Groll, a veteran of the Vietnam War who had returned to the city with songs about his combat experience and life story.

Groll wanted a contemporary sound for his tunes, so he enlisted Dixon, Horton, and The Last Next to make his song ideas a reality. The band convened likely at Bell Sound Studios (that’s where the lacquer was cut at least) and recorded “A Brand New Category of Music: Shanty Blue Folk” in 1972. The album features The Last Next on all tracks, but some feature a guest vocalist. Frankie Coe, a New York based soul and R&B singer, was brought in to lay down lead vocals on three tracks. He recorded three singles before this appearance, including a rare northern soul 45 privately pressed in the city. 

The resulting album is an interesting mix of genres. A good chunk of the album is this odd sloppy combination of blues and electric folk rock. The rest of the tunes are in the psychedelic direction with prominent organ.  The tracks are pretty rudimentary and raw overall with wavering vocals and sloppy guitar solos.

Nothing more seems to have come from The Last Next. Lucky Dixon continued his lengthy career as the head of his own music publishing company in New York City.