Wendy & Bonnie

It's always nice to be driven by inspiration but let's face it, inspiration isn't always around when we need it. That's when the desperation kicks in.

In other words, I've been trying to write my artist of the month post for days. Since I don't have a new artist to wax eloquent about at the moment, I decided to pick an old favourite. Well, the artist I picked {who will remain anonymous :P} just wasn't doing anything for me, though I love them. Then yesterday, out of the blue, I started writing a post about the album Genesis by Wendy & Bonnie. For some reason that is what my muse wanted me to write about. So, thanks to my perverse muse, I bring you June's artist of the month: Wendy & Bonnie!

This is an old favourite, like from when I first started listening to obscure music. It's one of those delicious albums that was "lost" soon after its release but later resurfaced and, thanks to the internet and a re-issue, has gained more popularity. Wendy and Bonnie Flower, two sisters from California, recorded this album in 1969 when Wendy was 17 and Bonnie was 13. But fate was seemingly against these two as their label went bankrupt shortly after the release of Genesis and the man who wanted to see them about further recording was murdered {!?!}. They never recorded together again but pursued separate careers in music.
Incredibly, Wendy and Bonnie composed all the songs on Genesis themselves. They might have played an instrument or two as well, but mainly they were backed by an awesome group of musicians.

Their album represents the best of the 60's, the innocent desire for personal and universal love, unclouded by drugs. But their songs still have a pleasing sense of light psychedelia and are brimming with the sister's harmonies. The first half of the album {sans any bonus tracks} is the best, both lyrically and in musical composition, but begins to falter a bit after that. Overall, though, it's a darn fine album and a merit to the creative era it came from.

It's so hard to pick a favourite off this album; I've been vacillating for a while now. I think I'm going to go with the lovely and sad 'By the Sea' but 'I Realized You' and 'You Keep Hanging Up On My Mind' are two other absolute favourites.

Listen:


{My divshare players have been acting up. If you press play you can hear the music but can't see the time nor pause it. Sorry about that. If this persists I may have to find another file host.}



This post has opened a floodgate I've been obsessively listening to lesser-known 60's music since yesterday evening. *happy sigh* I've missed it so.