Customer Reviews

Wendy & Lisa

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman played a cruical role in Prince's
Revolution.To the public,they're probably known for the parts in
"Purple Rain" and in the raunchy intro to "Computer Blue".After Prince fired all of his band in 1986,Wendy & Lisa landed back on
their feet with a deal on Columbia and released their debut in 1987.Truth be told,the ladies sound just fine without Jamie Starr.

"Wendy & Lisa" is a very adventrous,stylistically diverse late
'80s dance/pop album.Wendy's strong,soulful voice is highlighted
in ways that it couldn't have been during her Prince days.Lisa's
keyboard prowess is now actually in the forefront.Bobby Z,W&L's
bandmate from The Revolution,had a big hand in the production so
of course "Wendy & Lisa" has a semi-strong Prince feel.

Funky,taut workouts like "Honeymoon Express","Sideshow",and
"Light" have grooves that actually move and the lush instrumental "White" are all impressive.As well as the effective ballad "Stay" but I have one big question:WHY IN THE WORLD WASN'T A HIT???? That's right,this set's intial single stalled at #87 on the Billboard singles chart even though it was loaded with a nice beat,a great hook,and a strong Prince feel.Hey...maybe "Christopher Tracey" himself had something to do with such a surefire hit stalling(LOL)...Makes you wonder.
Anyway,I can't fail to mention the misty "Song About" with it's
sly references to Prince("No one stayed after the Parade":get it?).
Overall "Wendy & Lisa" is actually an underrated,well-produced
album that quietly paved some way for Sheryl Crow(whom W&L's
former boss sang with on his "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantasik" album)
and other soulful,pop/rock/soul female artists.'80s music that
still holds up very well.
Wendy and Lisa seemed to be possibly the most talented in former
Prince understudies(Shelia E comes close though).The two women
would release two more albums,1989's "Fruit At The Bottom" and

1992's "Eroica",both of which pushed the musical envelope even
more.Sadly both of those albums are out of print in the US and
both barely if ever charted over here as well.W&L released the
powerful "Girls Bros." project in 1998,a soaring,somber musical
grievance over the death of Jonathan Melovin,drummer for the
Smashing Pumpkins(he also played drums on Prince's "Do U Lie?"
from "Parade").They also have went on to play behind Me'Shell
N'Degeocello,Seal,Joni Mitchell,and BB King & Eric Clapton(yup,
that's them on "Riding With The King"),among others.And they've
scored the music for such feature films as "Dangerous Minds",
"Soul Food",and "Juwanna Mann".
Wendy and Lisa have truly stood the test of time.Somewhere,
Mr. Nelson is shedding purple tears seeing how well his musical
babies grew up.

After Parade, Prince disbanded the Revolution and worked with both new and old musicians, including Sheila E., Wendy Melvoin, and Lisa Coleman. Although Wendy and Lisa had a few contributions on Sign 'O' The Times, they were jettisoned from his band per se, but that didn't matter. Wendy and Lisa decided to do their own thing, producing their debut album with the help of Prince drummer Bobby Z.

"Honeymoon Express" and "Sideshow" begin with some Prince-influenced funk and bass but Wendy and Lisa quickly give it their own sound immediately after. "Sideshow" has some amusing rhyming verses, "The government, firmament/spearmint, doublemint."

"Waterfall" was the first single and I only heard it on MTV with their video. The strong drum rhythm and grinding guitar really won me over. And that chorus: "People may come/poeple may go/just as long as the water's slow/but watch out when you're headed for/the waterfall."

The instrumental "White" with piano and soprano sax finds the duo going the jazz route. What improvs could've been made from this!

"Blues Away" and "Song About," like the piano ballad "Stay," lack a Prince stamp, while "Chance To Grow" veers toward pop-jazz.

"The Life" is my favourite song here, and is the original mellow piano version instead of the speeded up version on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack.

It's back to Prince-like stuff in "Light." This could have been at home on Parade.

Some of the music is Prince-influenced, but don't anyone dare mistake them for Prince satellite-bands such as the Time, Apollonia 6, or The Family! Wendy and Lisa are musicians in their own right. Besides, they declared independence by signing on with Columbia as opposed to Paisley Park.

Too bad this album was overlooked by many. I wouldn't call it mainstream fodder. There are traces of funk, jazz, light pop, but nothing in a single category.

One interesting note here: some of the backing percussion is done by Jonathan, presumably Jonathan Melvoin, Wendy's brother who later became backup drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins, and well,... you know the tragic rest.

Why this album wasn't nominated for a Grammy is beyond me; it could be because, at the time of its release, music videos were all-important to the success of an album, and the video for "Waterfalls" was boring and easily forgettable. Nevertheless, this is a work of absolute beauty. Particularly brilliant are "Everything But You", "Chance to Grow", and "Blues Away", not to mention the exquisite instrumental, "White". Wendy and Lisa deserved a much better reception than they got for this album. Incidentally, the only song on which you could hear Prince's influence, in my opinion, was "Waterfalls".

i got this atfer my favorite group disbanded...the revolution!!!!the first single was "waterfalls".i cried when i saw the video.they were just beautiful. the music was so lush.then i copped the album.i first bought it on cassette.the first song was "honeymoon express".i was blown away just from the intro!!!!it was like you can connect them to prince,but it was just so different.to this day,it's my favorite because it jams...like a smooth groove.it was about time they had showcased their vocals.it was like a secret i didn't want to let out."song about"was a song to me like a crush on a high school jock that you can't have.they knew my heart and what i was feeling.the music was just soothing my soul.the piano on the track was comforting."everything but you"was the song that meant the most of their independenceand mine.it was a brilliant introduction of the things to come.this was my album in high school to college!!!

I bought this album when it came out because I was a Prince fan. I still spin the CD here in the year 2001 on occasion because it's a great record that stands entirely on it's own. Thanks to 'retro radio', most of the really good music from the 8o's has been forgotten, to be replaced with endless repetition of Petter Schilling's 'Major Tom', Dexy's Midnight Runners' 'Come On Eileen.... This is a stunning record from that period that is still enjoyable. I can see why Prince keeps leaving little messages to them in his albums-between albums like this and the work they did with Seal, it's obvious Wendy & Lisa really are very talented and interesting musicians. And considering Prince's uneven output of the last, oh, I don't know, decade or so, he could really use them back in Paisely Park...

In the early 1980s, you always heard the name Prince & the Revolution. Yes, even if the music still came mostly from Prince's pen, he was gracious enough to give the band he used equal billing. The legend seems to be that anyone who worked under the Purple One were strictly under his thumb with no identity of their own. But when Prince disbanded the Revolution in 1986, guitarist Wendy Melvoin & keyboardist Lisa Coleman decided to try their luck on their own. Their first statement free from Prince was their 1987 self-titled debut.

Friends since childhood, Wendy & Lisa it seems were made for each other when it came to making music & while their debut is simply a way to show that they can handle things on their own, it still overflows with promise.

The ladies show that working under Prince taught them well with funky grooves like "Honeymoon Express", "Sideshow", "Blues Away", "Light", & "Waterfall" (amazingly, Wendy & Lisa's only singles chart entry!). Why on Earth these songs didn't rule the dance clubs back in the day is truly criminal. Even a sitting duck like me feels the need to get down! :)

But lest Wendy & Lisa get too exhausted from all the hip-shaking tunes, they slow down just as well on songs like "Song About", "Stay" & "Chance To Grow". Some people don't like these songs that much, but I think they're actually quite good, even with a hackneyed title like "Stay".

They may be great singers & songwriters (proving that a protege of Prince's could have a voice of their own), but Wendy & Lisa are instrumentalists above all. It's on the instrumental "White" that Wendy gets to show off her chops on guitar. Lisa's keyboard prowess also takes center stage on a song that's jazz fusion at its best (dig that soprano sax!).

Sure enough, Wendy & Lisa had a lot to prove on their debut album & they certainly did it well. But this was just the beginning. Their follow-ups 1989's FRUIT AT THE BOTTOM & 1991's EROICA (widely thought to be their masterpiece) would be even more influential with excursions into 1990s female-angst rock before Alanis Morissette made it fashionable. Sadly, those two albums are out-of-print in the U.S., so Wendy & Lisa's truly groundbreaking work is hard to find.

WENDY & LISA may seem like typical mid-1980s dance-pop compared to the more ambitious albums that came after it, but it's spectacularly-executed dance-pop that was not as faceless as it often was back then. Since 1998's GIRL BROS. album, Wendy & Lisa have kept a low profile, but have remained much-in-demand session musicians (they also scored 1995's hit film DANGEROUS MINDS). But until they return to making their own music, WENDY & LISA will be good to listen to. However, if you do find FRUIT AT THE BOTTOM or EROICA, by all means pick up those as well.

...as pointed out in the review above, this album is an excellent showcase of what Wendy & Lisa do so well. The 'girl bros.' have major chops. They also happen to be very good songwriters. Standouts on this album include "Waterfall", "Chance to Grow", and "Blues Away". This is hardly emotionally manipulative (if you want that, read Erica Jong); this is just good music. And as far as this being a re-working of Prince, after working with him, his influence couldn't help but appear throughout the album. It is, however, music that stands on its own without the needless comparisons to the Purple One.

I said back in '87 that this was one of the best albums of that year. 13 years later, nothing has changed my mind. This album is great.

When Prince disbanded his Revolution band in the late 80's, it seemed merely another superstar power trip: reach creative and commercial heights with a band, rake in the millions, then give them their walking papers. In hindsight, however, guitarist Wendy Melvoin and keyboardist Lisa Coleman owe a lot to his sudden change of heart: instead of being remembered mainly for the notorious, racy intro to "Computer Blue" ("Wendy?" "Yes, Lisa." "Is the water warm enough?" "Yes, Lisa."), they get a chance to strike out on their own and reveal themselves as the thoughtful and complex musicians they are.

With that in mind, don't expect another protegee project that ends up sounding like a collection of Prince demos with a guest vocalist. The ladies' former bandleader's influence comes through on the occasional production flourish (a plucked guitar here, a familiar drum machine sound there), but their songwriting identities come through louder and clearer until it is obvious that their days with Prince provided them with a frame, not the entire picture. (Not to mention that their earnest and emotional singing is miles away from the breathy, sex kitten approach of Prince's usual female discoveries.) True, "Honeymoon Express" and "Light" have funk-heavy pop grooves that the Revolution would have felt at home in, but both songs are so steeped in jazz overtones that it's easy to forget from whence these women came. Similar influences also fuel the swinging, hypnotic ballads "Stay" and "Song About," while jazz comes front and center on the instrumental fusion workout "White," featuring Tom Scott on soprano sax.

But the most radical departures from their musical past come when Wendy and Lisa decide to rock. Classic rock overtones abound on "Sideshow" and the catchy "Waterfall," and subtle 60's influences come through on "Blues Away" (imagine a subdued Led Zeppelin) and "The Life" (pure Joni Mitchell inspiration) to each song's benefit. True, the production, helmed by the artists along with Revolution mate David Z, is occasionally more gorgeous than the songwriting: "Chance to Grow" and "Everything But You" have interesting touches but are decidedly second-level compositions. But all in all this record proves that Wendy and Lisa were excellent students in Prince's Revolution, leaving the class not with mere interpretations of what they learned, but rather interesting and challenging ideas all their own.

SHort and sweet: One of the greatest albums ever made. It deserves that title just for The Life, which is a devastatingly jaw-droppingly beautiful ballad.The rest of the album is amazing. I cherish this CD.

A beautiful sadness envelops me as I listen to this jawdroppingly beautiful LP. One can truly sense the frustration, hurt and longing these two women must have been feeling while they were recording this album. Having just been terminated from The Revolution and searching for a musical identity, they turn in a set of songs that stand as nothing less than monuments to the human spirit. On the musical front, they have chops to spare; "White" is a stunning jazzy instrumental that gives the album an epic feel. "Honeymoon Express" is heavenly ear candy anchored by Wendy's crisp, chiming guitar work, "Sideshow" invites you to 'come get your mind blown' and carries you along on it's bed of slamming drums and funky popping bass. "Waterfall" was the only single released from the album and sports such a great hook, one wonders why it wasn't a #1 hit! Wendy's expressive, confident singing and guitar playing are terrific on this track and throughout the entire album.

"Blues Away" is another tightly harmonized, airy highlight on side two and is followed by one of my two personal favorites, "Song About". This track is the emotional centerpiece of the LP since it alludes to the break with Prince ('so strange that no one stayed, at the end of the Parade') and finds them almost wandering through a sea of of sadness looking for relief. This theme is also prevelant in "The Life", the best song they have ever committed to tape. Featuring Wendy on acoustic guitar and lead vocals and Lisa on piano/synth this heart-tugging ballad is the duo at their most introspective. Voicing the insecurities we all face, yet willing to be brave in the face of fear,('everyone has to be somewhere, I am here'), "The Life" is bravery embodied. "Chance To Grow" is a dynamite showcase for the sultry, plaintive voice of Lisa Coleman and further drives home the point of growth and personal fulfillment in spite of what happens around you and finding strength in yourself, not allowing others define you. Check the lyrics; ('hold me up, don't bring me down', 'when you tell me you love me, no need to go put yourself above me'). "Anything But You" is my other personal favorite simply because it sounds so damn exotic! The entire track from it's breezy intro, multi-tracked vocals, jazzy instrumentation and perfect, melodious guitar solo, it's a dreamy visionary piece of music that bears repeated listening, you'll love it! The closer, "Light" features Lisa on lead vocals once again, and is a funky, lighthearted romp that closes the album on an uplifting, encouraging note,('come on people, stand up!') and houses one of the best grooves on the album. Special Note: check out Lisa's nimble keyboard and organ work on this tune! This 1987 release would be the perfect introduction to the work of these two masters (and their crack backing band) and laid the groundwork for many young female musicians who've reaped the rewards of their early innovations. This is where it all started.