Wendy And Lisa - Wendy And Lisa download mp3 flac

While many remember them dearly to Prince and Prince alone, Wendy & Lisa are true treasure box, all of their own. Or if you prefer, the adorable couple did help his royal funkness big in writing some of his most memorable pieces in the 80s (among these, "Sometimes It Snows In April" remains a personal favourite and one day, a life's farewell wish).

Leaving The Revolution behind, Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman focused on their own material with production help from Bobby Z, assisted by Kris Bell and Wendy's twin-sister Susannah - resulting in a masterpiece debut album that walks a thin line between pop's finest and the avant-garde respectfully (of course, don't take the latter for granted, in case you expect "noise" or any similar, radical leftfield artistic endeavours here - Wendy & Lisa perform sophisti-pop type of avant-garde music which is characterised by their exquisite multi-instrumentalism. It sounds like standard 80s' music but between its lines there are far too many layers to label it just another pop-rock album.

Not that it lacked deserved hits - all three of them placed at the very top beginning of the album; "Honeymoon Express", "Sideshow" and "Waterfall" each with their own atmosphere and strength... maybe the only remark to the album is this sudden hit-marathon - the remaining part of the album is far more intimate; the beautiful jazz-blues of "Stay", amazing Metheny/Hancock-esque instrumental called "White" (which echoes Prince's "Mountains" a little bit, in one of its drum-programme sequences - and mind you, Wendy & Lisa helped Prince arrange/write that one as well!), "Blues Away" which continues with stunning guitar/drumming textures and beautiful, layered vocals that occasionally lean on "Honeymoon Express" singing arrangement in some of the verses, serving as a nice reminder.

"Song About" is a standard ballad that will sadly be imprisoned by the obscurity of this very album (something tells me, Curtis Stigers borrowed the riff from this song for his "I Wonder Why") - featuring a short but effective piano solo way down the middle of it. Another beauty, "Chance To Grow", features faster drumming, but continues to use the moody guitar and piano melody. Comforting and melancholic "The Life" remains one of the duo's undiscovered masterpieces first time around - a ballad firmly constructed of acoustic guitar and piano solos with Wendy's vocals on top, resurfacing several years later (in different mix altogether) as main theme to the film "Dangerous Minds" (for which Wendy & Lisa scored the entire instrumental part of the soundtrack). "Everything But You" again shifts the rhythm section for another moody track that slides and grooves around the heart, with brilliant jazz-instrumental intermezzo towards the end, blending into the closing number "Light", the track which - as is the case with "Blues Away" echoing "Honeymoon Express" - chooses to recall some of the mood of "Sideshow".

In its entirety of around 50 minutes, "Wendy & Lisa" flows with such ease, while at the same time stays amazingly rich and complex album. Of highest recommendation, of course.