''Wendy and Lisa'' is the 1987 debut album by American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

duo

Wendy & Lisa Wendy & Lisa (briefly known as Girl Bros.) is a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasi ...

, formerly of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's band, the Revolution.

Background

Five of the eleven tracks on the album were co-written by

Bobby Z. Robert B. Rivkin (born January 9, 1956), aka Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, best known as being the drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986. Life and career Early life Rivkin began his mus ...

, Wendy and Lisa's former colleague from the Revolution, who also co-produced the album with the duo. Wendy's twin sister,

Susannah Melvoin Susannah Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American vocalist and songwriter. Melvoin is best known for her association with Prince in the mid-1980s. Melvoin comes from a musical family and is the twin sister of musician Wendy Melvoin, sister ...

(an extended Revolution member herself) co-wrote the track "Honeymoon Express". The album, released in the United States on August 24, 1987, peaked at No. 88 in the US and at No. 84 in the UK. The UK and European release features different cover artwork to the US release. The album contains several singles, including "Honeymoon Express" and "Waterfall" (which was re-released two years later as "Waterfall '89"). In the US, the only single to hit the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 was "Waterfall" which peaked at No. 56 in 1987. "Sideshow" was also released as a single in the UK and Europe. The track "The Life" was re-recorded in the 1990s when it was retitled as "This Is the Life" and produced by

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

. This version was included on the number-one hit soundtrack album of the film ''

Dangerous Minds ''Dangerous Minds'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N. Smith, written by Ronald Bass, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It is based on the 1992 autobiography ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by retired U.S. Mar ...

'' (1995) and released as a single in Europe. The album was reissued in the US in 2006 by

Wounded Bird Records Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists. Most of the Wounded Bird catalogue is licen ...

, featuring four bonus tracks including "To Trip Is to Fall", which was originally a 12" B-side track. The album was reissued in the UK in 2013 by Cherry Pop Records also featuring four bonus tracks, though two of the tracks differ from the US reissue.

Critical reception

Upon release columnist of pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' highlighted "Sideshow", "Stay" and instrumental "White" and concluded that although the album's compositions "remain heavily influenced by Prince," the album "proves that not only can they stand on their own two feet, but also how important they are to Prince's Revolution."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Wendy and Lisa'' liner notes. Wendy & Lisa *

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

– lead and background vocals, guitar, bass, drums and percussion, organ * Lisa Coleman – lead and background vocals, keyboards, piano, synth Additional musicians *

Jonathan Melvoin Jonathan David Melvoin (December 6, 1961 – July 12, 1996) was an American musician, active in the 1980s and 1990s. Early life He was the son of Constance (née Ives) and Mike Melvoin, keyboardist for the Wrecking Crew, and brother of t ...

– drums and percussion * Tom Scott – soprano saxophone, lyricon * Cole Ynda – vocals *

Carla Azar Carla Azar (June 15, 1972) is an American drummer from Huntsville, Alabama and member of the band Autolux. She also plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and sings. Azar played drums on Jack White's albums ''Blunderbuss'', ''Lazaretto'', and ' ...

– drums and percussion *

– vocals * David Coleman – percussion * Gary Coleman – congas

Charts

References

External links

* Wendy & Lisa albums 1987 debut albums Columbia Records albums {{1980s-pop-album-stub