As a Prince fan of over a decade, familiar with all his major works, but not obsessed with the nuances of every out-take or live rendition, I have never noticed any great musical or sonical input from Wendy, Lisa or Susannah. Of course they all happened to be working with Prince during the classic years of the mid-eighties, but beyond that circumstantial connection, why do fans thingk that W & L, and S are so great? All I hear with S is some bubbley fluff that makes Paul Peterson sound like he can sing. All I can recollect about Wendy and Lisa are awful backing vocals.

So what is about Wendy and Lisa that makes Prince fans long for the past? Were their performances ever good? Did they have a big input in Prince's songwriting with sons such as Purple Rain and Sometimes it Snows in April?

I am not just trying to put across an opinion - I would really like to hear about what people see in Wendy & Lisa (and Susannah)

to be quite honest, i could care less about the three of 'em. sure, they added their own flavor into p's outfit at the time but they ain't goddesses, y'know.

If nobody's gonna defend Wendy, Lisa, and Susannah's talent then I'll have to assume they're untalented

They were in the right place at the right time and yes they had input. As a human being and an artist in particular (more sensitive than most) anything around you will affect you. Without Wendy, Lisa, and Susannah you wouldn't have had ATWIAD, Parade or anything after that as it is. However, as 1999 proved Prince had the potential for greatness.
Who knows what would have happened were they not there. If it weren't them it might have been someone else or maybe he would have gone hip-hop earlier and done it right. If it weren't WB it might have been some other company. Then again perhaps the stars were aligned such that one slight change and he'd be pushing a broom in Minneapolis as we speak.
[This message was edited Wed Jul 23 9:17:56 PDT 2003 by whodknee]

For musicians as feted as Wendy and Lisa still are I was particularly surprised that they were so undisciplined during most of the 'Purple Rain' era rehearsals. They proved to be a dab hand at the art of chewing gum, smoking, reading magazines and playing their instruments -simultaneously.

Most shocking of all, they also seemed blissfully ignorant of the traditional 'When The Saints Go Marching In' when Prince asked them to sing along to it during a vocal warm up, prompting Prince to say mockingly: "Do you know who The Rolling Stones are?".

That one actually raised a few laughs.

.

I had the BIGGEST crush on Wendy! It lasted about a year. But I've also wondered what all the "musical" hype was about. I really enjoyed Lisa's piano solo on the "Parade" tour during "Anotherloverholenyohead". That was about all, though. As for Susannah...no comment.

I have to say that I am a "fan" of W & L. They really are quite talented. They may not be operatic divas but their voices have developed dramaticly since the "golden days" of Prince. Not to mention how sought after they have become for movie scores and even a few t.v. show themes. Several musicians even consistantly put their musical talents to extreme use as backup. Don't forget they have a number of albums on their own.
I think most people see the downward spiral of Prince starting right after the departure of the "girls", and that might be part of the reason they put such tall pedestals under them and their talent. Even Prince had his regrets of the split, not only because they were all so close, but because of their contribution to him and the music they put out.
Maybe you need to see them perform in person to fully understand where the admirers are coming from. Then again not every Prince fan has to like every song, group, or girlfriend of his. That includes the previous band members that went solo. But give them a try once just to see if what they do tickles your fancy a little bit.

prrtybby said:

I haven't heard any of their solo music, though I have heard many good things. I was trying to ask, where their talent shined in the realm of Prince..


I'd like to hear about those contributions. As I said earlier, I have only been a fan for ten years or so, so only hear Prince's eighties music at face value.

I might do!

Wendy & Lisa are highly talented musicians.

If you're looking for influence in Prince's music, just look at Parade, The Dream Factory, Sign O' The Times - and the out-takes from that period.

Power Fantastic, Mountains, In A Large Room With No Light, All My Dreams yadda yadda yadda.

They're not the be all and end all, but they're probably Prince's most important and influential musical collaborators. I don't think any other person he has worked with has influenced his sound so much at the time they were working with them.

Eric (a close 2nd), Sheila, Dez, Andre, Levi, Kirk Johnson - they've all been music collaborators, but I don't think any of them come close to making something so special as Prince, Wendy & Lisa did - especially not Kirk J.


-
[This message was edited Wed Jul 23 12:07:23 PDT 2003 by Romance1600]

sabaisabai said:

I forgot to mention that I DO NOT long for the past. The past is just that, and quite frankly, the 80's... not my best years. Before the two showed up in his regime, Prince rarely collaborated with anyone let alone gave credit to those he did. If you have any albums from that time, read through the liner notes. Romance1600 elaborated better than I could. But that would be the best way to see how must he appreciated them and their talents.

wendy, lisa and susannah are leading productive, creative lives working in the music industry.

google them to see what they're up to if you really want to know

Wendy & Lisa are very talented musicians, and I do enjoy their solo work.
I think that they did contribute to Prince' woek during that time/era, but not the extent that some think.
They were probably (at the time) the closet thing Prince ever had to a musical colaborator.
They do get real credit for what they did and contributed (probably a first for that time too).Prince really respected them as artists, probably still does.

As as far Susannah goes, she was a decent singer and (probably) the first well-rounded, classy long-time girlfrined Prince had. She's no aretha, or teena, or mariah, but she's pretty decent (hell of a lot better than vanity or apples).

lovebizzare said:

They have claimed to have written the song Purple Rain, just as is shown in the movie. I believe them.

sabaisabai said:

This one- is a real mature mind.

I think i'll save my observations.


Nero

neronava said:

Looks like you didn't see the smile at the end of my sentence. I was just trying to have fun, egg people on to get some responses. Sheesh!

Well if you want to hear exactly what L&W can bring to the table pick Meshell Ndegeocello bitter.

Great album, they contributed alot to that.

Honey, they didn't have that much talent compared to Prince. That's the point - he needed a band because he couldn't play every instrument himself during concerts. Or else he would have never had a band!

Actually they do have that much talent. Nobody compares to Prince.

sabaisabai said:

A fan over a decade? Oh honey, sorry but you missed it!

Let's see, they actually got Prince to paint with a different color than black or gray. They pushed Prince to think outside the box and they are some of the only musicians that Prince ever trusted to finish his songs. What else do you want to know?

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Thank you for your but they ARE goddesses to some of us

giotto said:

Oh brother! Undisciplined?? They were actually having fun and teasing Prince. Wendy used to actually be the leader when Prince wasn't in town and she would let them know they sounded bad. And speaking of blissfully ignorant, don't you recognize sarcasm???

prrtybby said:

you so don't get any of it.

if u've been a fan over the last decade i can understand.

The only reason why folks give them so much credit is becoz they were around when Prince was at the hieght of his career THATS ALL! Prince was already big when they joined him, matta o' fact he GAVE THEM the fame(NOT VICE VERSA) and he would've hit the highest scores with or without them. If the NPG were backing him up at that time and playing the same stuff, ya'll would be RAVING npg to the full(instead of W-L-S)

Don't lie to yo selves by saying inputs and such. The only one person who I can give the credit to is Lisa Coleman(who was originaly down with Prince since the jump and who had a very unique tone in her Piano) Wendy & Susannah are the LEAST talented "musicians" in Prince's band. Matta o' fact, Prince would do just fine if he kept Dez at his band and no wonder why Miko always get the solos while endy was already there. Its no secret, that woman ain't that much of a guitarist otherwise you'd see Prince passing solos along her way.

They happend 2 be there when Prince was ALREADY big thats why most of ya'll give these ladies too much credit.
[This message was edited Sat Jul 26 13:04:33 PDT 2003 by Harlepolis]

Harlepolis said:

Have you even bothered to listen to any of their albums?

If you seen any of their concerts during their solo years,you might just change your mind!

gypsyfire said:

Yes I did, I'm even aware of their movies scores thang they do which is great. Their solo stuff are great.

But I'm only stating my opinion about their {presence} in Prince's band and what did they have to offer(which is nothing groundbreaking IMO).

Actually Prince didn't get "really" big until Purple Rain and Wendy started before then with 1999 because Prince heard her through a hotel-room door and before he knew who it was he knew it was talent. Susannah was never really a part of the band so to speak she was there only for backup vocals for a few songs before Parade. Above and beyond that, to say that they aren't that talented or even as talented as other members of the band (including all of the bands that followed) is saying that Prince has no taste or ear for talent and would let just anybody back him only because "he can't play all of the instruments himself during a concert." and it really doesn't matter if they can play well or not. Ergo they must have had talent. And how many of the previous band members have multiple albums and music credits in both t.v. and film. besides that none of them are as impressive to look at as they are!

prrtybby said:

You can't dismess 1999, Dirty Mind & Prince. Sales & record wise, these LPs were doing good commercialy & criticaly. Purple Rain happend 2 put him in the mainatream and it happend that WENDY & LISA were there(they were NOT the reason behind its success) . If Andre Cymone & Dez were there instead, it woulda been different story.



Wendy has no contribution in 1999 but her backing-vox.



Once again, I ain't got nothing about their solo stuff. However, They weren't that solid when they were with Prince, they had ideas? Sure, but who's the headmaster? Def not them.

Nuff said!

I'm not dismissing any of the other albums in any way. But I don't think I understand about Dez and Andre being there instead. How would it have been different? The album was huge and so was the movie to Prince fans eveywhere (new and old alike) at the time. This is when he became REALLY big. He was known before then with 1999 and the like but not like he was with Purple Rain. Lisa wasn't exactly there in the begining, she didn't come in until Dirty mind after Gayle left. But I am not saying that W & L were the reason behind the success either. I am just saying that without them we wouldn't know the Revolution the way it was. It's the people in the band that make the band be good or bad and who's to say that the group would have been so successful without them? Look at how everything dropped off after the original Revolution band members were all replaced. NPG was never as popular no matter how talented any of them were. I do agree with you about the headmaster part, but P respected them and their talent enough to not only use their ideas, but encourage them to have the ideas as well. Something he had never really done before with anyone else.

Harlepolis said:

Anyone who knows anything about music knows what Wendy and Lisa added to Prince's music. So why does Prince always mention them? His dream band included them when Chris Rock asked him that question. I don't remember him saying Miko or Dez do you?? They were there at the peak of Prince's creativity...not a coincidence. C'mon do your homework next time before not giving them the credit they deserve. Even Prince has said they used to think with the same mind, who else does he give that credit to? Who else has he EVER let finish a song for him no questions asked??? Hmmm...just WENDY AND LISA.