Cherry Pop Reissues Wendy & Lisa Album
Cherry Pop has announced details for a new reissue that will have Prince fans excited: an expansion of Wendy & Lisa’s sophomore album, Fruit at the Bottom.
Childhood friends, band mates, lovers, soundtrack composers – Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman have had a lengthy, prolific career in the music industry. Both daughters of session musicians, Coleman was approached by Prince in 1980 to play keyboards for his Dirty Mind album. Three years later, with the exit of Dez Dickerson from the band, Prince recruited Melvoin to be his second guitarist. Her first night with the band was a trial by fire: a benefit concert at Minneapolis’ First Avenue in 1983, where the newly formed Prince and The Revolution first played the songs that would form the basis for Purple Rain. (Several of the tracks that ended up on that iconic album were overdubbed versions of live recordings from that very night.)
Though The Revolution was tragically short-lived – tensions particularly mounting between Prince and Wendy & Lisa led to the band’s dissolution in 1986 – the girls soldiered on, releasing their self-titled debut on Columbia Records (Virgin Records in the U.K.) in 1987. That album had the incredibly underrated, moderate U.K. hit “Waterfall.” Though Fruit at the Bottom fared even less on the charts, it still showcased the duo’s talents as crafters of danceable pop. And the guest list was impressive: the duo’s sisters, Susannah Melvoin (also an ex-Prince associate, having been a member of The Family and one of Prince’s more notable girlfriends) and Cole Ynda, contributed extensive background vocals, and Jesse Johnson of The Time lent his guitar skills. (In an incredible display of musical friendship – or marketing savvy – Prince himself actually remixed the album’s “Lolly Lolly” for single release.)
Fruit at the Bottom, previously expanded in the U.S. on Wounded Bird Records in 2006, includes the original 10-track album remastered alongside five bonus tracks: remixes of singles “Satifaction,” “Lolly Lolly” and “Are You My Baby?” and two non-LP B-sides. (One of them, “Hip Hop Love,” did not appear on the Wounded Bird CD, making this one vital for completists and collectors.) This disc is out in the U.K. on February 21 and can be ordered at Cherry Pop’s Web site. Full track details are after the jump.
Wendy & Lisa, Fruit at the Bottom: Expanded Edition (Cherry Pop CRPOP70, 2011)
- Lolly Lolly
- Are You My Baby?
- Satisfaction
- Always in My Dreams
- Everyday
- From Now On (We’re One)
- Tears of Joy
- Someday I
- I Think It Was December
- Fruit at the Bottom
- Are You My Baby? (7″ Remix)
- Happy Birthday
- Lolly Lolly (According to Prince)
- Hip Hop Love
- Are You My Baby? (My Man’s 12″)
- Satisfaction (12″ Dance Mix)
Tracks 1-10 from Virgin LP VWL 2580 (U.K.)/Columbia LP FC 44341 (U.S.), 1989
Tracks 11-12 from Virgin single VS-1156 (U.K.), 1989
Tracks 13-14 from Virgin single VS-1175 (U.K.), 1989
Track 15 from Virgin 12″ single VST-1156 (U.K.), 1989
Track 16 from Virgin 12″ single VST-1194 (U.K.), 1989
This is really cool! I wish more of the Prince-associated and especially the Prince proteges catalog would get reissued this well done! =)
I highly doubt it.
Definitely excited about this release. This is my favorite album from them. Their first one was very good too, but Fruit was the album where they loosened up and really unleashed their funk. They really were a great band.
How can this be getting released and yet there is no update of their debut, which still sounds amazing in a Steely Dannish way? GASP!
Ironically enough, I was going to do a Reissue Theory post on the first Wendy & Lisa album – but it turns out it was already given a reissue on Wounded Bird along with the initial “Fruit” reissue. Double irony: I found said reissue in a Borders today! Haven’t given it much of a spin yet but I was pretty psyched.
This version at least does have one more
extra remix than the W.Bird CD, probably due
to label restrictions.