Click here to download MP3 samples from the "Genesis" CD. |
1. Let Yourself Go Another Time Features such legendary musicians as Jim Keltner (drums), Larry Carlton (guitar) and Mike Melvoin (keyboards. Produced by jazz great Gary McFarland. "Genesis, the sole album by SF-based sisters Wendy and Bonnie Flower, ranks as one of the most remarkable unheard albums of 1969. With melodic confections laced with radiant sisterly harmony, the breezy Brazilian splashes and soft-rock strains of Genesis convey a sophistication that belies the artists' tender ages (Wendy 17, Bonnie 13). Produced for reissue by Irwin Chusid (author of Songs In The Key Of Z: The Curious Universe Of Outsider Music) with Wendy & Bonnie's full participation, Genesis makes its long-awaited official CD bow with 5 bonus tracks, interviews with Wendy & Bonnie, and a treasure trove of candid photos." WENDY & BONNIE "GENESIS" REVIEWS "So here are two teenaged girls, with a recording contract, and a clutch of musicians at their disposal including Jim Keltner, Mike Melvoin, and Larry Carlton. Um, not bad. What they came up with is truly a stunner ... The whole thing is executed brilliantly and sympathetically by the Extreme-Heavyweight musicians, who never let their own agendas get in the way. In fact, the whole thing is SO brilliant that when you first put it on, you immediately think "hoax.' There's no way these girls could have come up with this music. But they did, and you really need to hear it." - Ugly Things "The music is unashamedly pretty and deceptively complex, and any fan of late '60s soft pop has to hear it ... Genesis is a remarkable album." - Amplifier "A true artifact of life in the pop culture vortex of the 60s...For those whose finely attuned musical radar has brought them under the spell of Free Design's exuberant harmonizing and Curt Boettcher's avant-bubblegum recordings with The Millennium and Sagittarius, Genesis will come as welcome discovery to be happily filed somewhere between the two. Quality kitsch, as it were." -M Hotel Music Media "Revived with bonus tracks, Genesis is a charming, surprisingly mature confection, studded with tasteful session work and the girl's own prodigious playing ... sure to appeal to sixties pop afficionados." -Scram "...a sophisticated production with sweet lyrics, complex musical sounds and a jazz/pop/soft rock ambiance..." -Pacifica Tribune "...Bay Area sisters' sweetly sorrowful harmonies with songs remains as fresh and captivating as ever." -The Oakland Tribune "Delicate and warm, the album imparts a sense of worldliness and skill that belies the sisters' youth. If you can meet the unashamedly sentimental tone of this beautiful music on its own terms, there won't be much better listening while the summer grass is still there for you to laze in..." -Straight "Genesis, an unclassifiable but wholly beguiling 1969 LP by teenage sisters Wendy and Bonnie Flower, is an even more remarkable rediscovery. On self-penned folk-pop-jazz tunes like "Let Yourself Go Another Time' and "By The Sea,' the duo offers a radiant mix of youthful innocence and precocious sophistication, merging an inventive melodic sensibility with seamlessly organic sibling harmonies." -Time Out New York It's what's really happening performed by Wendy and Bonnie 1968 Recommended by delicado [profile] A wonderful track. As you may have read elsewhere, Wendy and Bonnie were young sisters who wound up releasing an album on the Skye label, which was owned by Cal Tjader, Gary MacFarland and Gabor Szabo. This recording benefits from some superb session musician work, and opens with a bluesey riff. The arrangement is simple, with a haunting organ joining the guitar and drums, and the Wendy and Bonnie singing and occasionally harmonizing over the top. The voices are clear and carry the melody very well. This short song has a rather enchanting moody feel to it, exemplified by the fade-out ending. The mix of earnest female vocals and great session musicians recalls the Feminine Complex. from Genesis (Skye Skye SK1006-D), available on CD (Sundazed) http://www.musicaltaste.com/filter.php?label=Skye CD / WENDY & BONNIE / Genesis / Sundazed / Genesis' is a re-release of the sole record Wendy & Bonnie put out on Skye Records in 1969. Wendy and Bonnie Flower were 2 young sisters (17 and 13 respectively) from San Francisco. The Wendy & Bonnie track "The Winter is Cold" (#10) is covered on the El Records comp 'The World in Winter' by Tomorrows World. This CD also contains "The Night Behind Us" #11), which was a single they recorded in 1967 with the garage psyche band Wendy sang and Bonnie played drums in, Crystal Fountain. Skye Records heard the sisters singing and asked them if they had more songs to record. Using the connections Skye had with the jazz world, in demand session players were recruited for the LP and 'Genesis' was recorded. The record has the same type of harmonizing and sophistication the the post-Honeys band Spring had. Sundazed has been putting out some really fine discs lately. Most of the songs on this one are pretty fine, though my faves are "Let Yourself Go another Time" (#1), "The Paisley Window Pane" (#2), and "You Keep Hanging Up On My Mind" (#5). "The Winter is Cold" (#10) (the song honored on the El compilation) sounds very familiar, as Tomorrows World did little to it except faithfully record for a new audience. Faves: 1,2,5,10(top) |