Tommy Ridgley’s long wait is over. The vocalist, pianist and songwriter, who cut his first record in 1949 and was among the city’s upper echelon of R&B stars in the late ‘50s, knew he could still make another good record. But desire and ability don’t always win out over practical concerns. A couple of low-budget quickie albums recorded in the early 1990s fell far short of qualifying as definitive artistic statements.

But finally Ridgley hooked up with Black Top Records, the local label...