Customer Reviews

Genesis

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first time I listened to this CD, I thought it sounded incredibly dated, with nasal vocals and songwriting that lacked any semblance of craft. First impressions could not have been more wrong.

Buy this record. Be patient, stay with it, let it draw you into its unique and haunting world. The honesty, sensitivity, and sheer melodic invention of "Genesis" is simply astonishing. The songs have a musical logic all their own, with layers of complexity that only repeated listenings can reveal. The wonderfully psych-y Crystal Fountain song is my favorite, but magic permeates every cut on the album.

The harmonies are Beatlesque, always reaching for the unexpected interval. No boring, predictable triads here--musical surprises abound.

If you're weary of today's shallow, uninspired, and self-involved singer-songwriters, you need this album.

This is a very cool album. While it is definitely a late-'60s period piece, it's appeal is timeless. The Flower sisters had a dark-angel harmony. Their moody take on the world is both innocently wide-eyed, yet wise beyond their tender years (17 and 13). The musicianship, by a soft-psychedelic stable of first-rate session players (guitarist Larry Carlton, drummer Jim Keltner, keyboardist Mike Melvoin, etc.) under the guidance of lounge-jazz wizard Gary McFarland (Producer), is superb, adding colorful atmospherics and breezy Brazilian washes. This album was obscure -- the original record label went out of business shortly after the album came out in 1969 -- but it has had a deserved cult following for decades. Tim and Laetitia of Stereolab are known to be big fans (Tim called it "undeniably a great LP"), and it's obvious why -- Wendy and Bonnie had trail-blazed a similar musical path 25 years before. The voices are gentle, but never vapid. The arrangements are sophisticated, and the songcraft is solid. Genesis manages to avoid many of the cliches of late '60s SF psychedelia. The four acoustic demo bonus tracks are interesting, but not as compelling as the whole of the original Genesis album. Perhaps if McFarland hadn't died young and the girls had continued recording together, those demos might have been the foundation of an incredible second album. Where are the Flower sisters now?

I put this CD in and couldn't believe that two teenagers had written the subject matter. While admittedly some of it is outdated and flighty, when you put into perspective who wrote the lyrics and when it was recorded, this album is pretty darn impressive.

The vocal arrangements are superb, with the vocals themselves being wonderfully done by two teenage sisters from San Francisco. The musicians that were backing them up were true masters of their craft, with the organ and the mellotron coming to the forefront of many tracks. The album runs the gamut of slow and methodical to pyschedelic.

"Let Yourself Go Another Time" and "Hanging up on my Mind" are nice little pop ditties. "The Paisley Window Paine" has to be my favorite song on the album, though, with its heartbroken tone and slow bass line. The bonus tracks are also great, offering the listener a glimpse of the sisters' creative processes.

Its a great reissue of a lost treasure of an album. Listening to it will bring you back to an easier time, when 16 year olds with tremendous talent like Wendy wrote about things that mattered. Buy this.

1969...that was 37 years ago! Yet this disc could well have been made just this year. The magic it contains remains just as fresh and bright today as it was way back then. It really is a timeless
achievement and every time I spin it I come away with something new, enjoyable and thoughtful. I am extremely lucky in that I knew Wendy and Bonnie even before this music was recorded...I was the drummer in the Crystal Fountain Band with Wendy in that "Summer of Love". And better yet, both Wendy and Bonnie are still making great original new music today....That's Flower Power!

Hands down - One of the best albums from the late 60's. I picked this album out of a used record bin in Claremont back in 85' and was completely blown away!!! It sounds and feels like you're in San Francisco - right down to the rainy days, cable cars, walks on the wharf, late nights in the park and weekends drawing messages in the sand. After 30 years, Genesis is finally getting the attention and exposure that legions of underground fans have known for many many years. One can only wonder what might have become of this hip teen duo had Skye records not gone under or had Gary McFarland survived that strange incident in a bar.

I reviewed an album called Livin' Love by The Feminine Complex, a collection of excellent pop/rock by four little teenage girls from 1969. It is easy to think this is interchangable with Wendy and Bonnie--if you know one you probably know the other--but this would be a mistake.

Wendy and Bonnie is, better in a number ways. Their dad, was a jazz musician, and managed to get his girls onto Gary McFarlands label, Skye, in 1969. This is signiffigent, because where the Feminine Complex plays out and out rock, Wendy and Bonnie shade their rock and pop with jazzy dynamics, creamy, cocktail playing, and nuances such as wha wha guitars. The vocals fit into the smokey dynamics of this music perfectly, and combigned, the singing and excellent back up band create a real warmth. You can picture yourself in a dark room full of 60s panneling and a fireplace, making out with your mini-skirted girlfriend, sipping a brandy and listening to this.

Two discs 52 and 54 minutes each approximately. Remastered-the sound is warm yet clean,it could have been ruined very easily by heavy-handed mastering.
Was the world ever this innocent? From the outset this is innocence personified. The sister's fresh voices blending as only siblings can,Wendy and Bonnie sing about things they see around themselves,and what they have absorbed from the radio. A look at the song titles will tell you a lot. At times the voices and arrangements are vaguely from the Mamas and the Papas book-voices out front with subtle accompaniment in the background. Wendy did most of the lead vocals with Bonnie harmonizing. The sisters come from a musical family and learned several instruments. What really helped this album is the fact that Gary McFarland produced it. He was(and is) known for his arranging skills,especially in the jazz world. The sisters(Bonnie plays acoustic guitar) are accompanied on disc one by several L.A. musicians of repute. Mike Lang and Mike Melvoin-keyboards,the great Larry Carlton-guitar,Randy Cierly-bass and kalimba(!),and Jim Keltner-drums.
The first disc lays out the original complete "Genesis" album plus seven alternates/outtakes. The sisters are the featured attraction,with the band literally propping up the simple arrangements. Occasionally Carlton will step out for a short,subdued solo,or the keyboards will fill in around the sister's innocent vocals. There's little variation in tempo between tracks,which can be a good thing it you're prepared for such a whimsical,charming experience. Every so often a Brazilian feel will creep into some of the arrangements,which give the songs something extra. The second disc contains demos and some live tracks(1-13) on which Wendy sings and plays vibes and Bonnie sings and plays acoustic guitar. Hearing their renditions of "Eleanor Rigby" and "We Can Work It Out" is a pleasant surprise. There are three tracks (14-16) taken from acetates with a complete(though different) band. These tracks have a folk-rock sound more in keeping with the then current trend. The final track is a live version of "Children Laughing"(recorded in 1969) which features the sister's father leading a middle school band and glee club. The packaging is a multiple fold-out style and looks quite nice. The only thing that could be improved is the way the two discs are held in the package. It's the new "snap-in" style-which means if you're not careful the discs could easily fall out. The notes and period photos are very good. They give a good account as to how the sisters came to record,and the sad story of what happened to their impending recording career.
This is for anyone looking for something different,from an era known for it's musical explosions on all fronts. This is in some way the antithesis of everything then going on in music-yet it's certainly of it's time. Very refreshing-a real breadth of fresh air. Fresh air that's been tightly bottled until now. Relax,breathe,and listen.

Hippyish sixties soft vocal rock never sounded this good. To be fair, the tunes rock out in places too (great bass playing throughout!), but the mellower moments really stick with you and 'by the sea' is tremendous and heartbreaking. The Flower sisters? Of course they are, and they are the toast of a lost era. Girls if yr reading this, thanks, and thank you Mojo magazine for turning me on to this.

This is how it felt to be a sensitive, artistic teenager in the 1960s, filled with hope & innocence, yet touched with a streak of melancholy ... and if that sounds like the sensitive, artistic teenage experience in any era, I can only say that it was all the more intense during that particular time. The word "naive" has been used in previous reviews, and I agree, but not in any negative sense -- there's an openness & vulnerability here, without the least trace of self-consciousness, that simply wouldn't be possible today. Certainly of its time, this collection of lovely, wistful songs is also timeless. Granted, the psychedelic touches may date the sound for some; but for those of us who were there, it's hauntingly evocative. (Particular favorites at the moment: "By the Sea," "Endless Pathway," "Night Behind Us," "December Sun.") The bonus tracks offer a glimpse of the second album that never was, alas. We can only be grateful that this one is finally available once more. Highly recommended for yearning dreamers everywhere, gazing through the paisley window pane ...

This is an incredible album. Wendy and Bonnie's talents as
children are still with them as adults. Their harmony and
voices blend beautifully on Genesis.
You can read more about the girls on Wendy's website.