Wendy and Lisa: Fruit At the Bottom (Review)

Everyone knows who The Revolution is. If you don't, fix that problem. Wendy and Lisa released their sophomore album, Fruit At the Bottom, at the Dawn of 1989. Why am I doing a review for an album released in 89'? Because the album is so iconic that is deserves a rightful place in Soundbytez history. Deal with it!

After the Parade Era The Revolution, which consisted of Wendy, Lisa, BrownMark, Dr. Fink, Prince, and Bobby Z, decided to part ways for sake of artistic individuality. For many fans it was a shocking and yet questionable moment. For others, many eyes were on Prince and what he would do with his creativity without the Revolution. And then there's me, who not only enjoyed the fruits of Prince's post offering, Sign O' The Times, but also dug into Wendy and Lisa's catelog searching for that classic funk induced synth and rhythmic chicken grease guitar that Wendy and Lisa injected into Prince's sound. Many sounds that made Prince iconic were those that originated from none other than Wendy and Lisa. Both Prince and Wendy and Lisa admit to stealing, exchanging, and being influenced by each others sound. And here I find myself stumbling upon Fruit At the Bottom, an iconic album that the world was not yet ready for. This album stands the test of time and in all honesty, it fits bettter in recent times than it did back in the late 80's.

We dive into the opening track, "Lolly Lolly", which reminds of that "Alphabet Street" vibe to it that Prince incorporated on LoveSexy. Fueled with a latter rap section and slick guitars, the bass and melody of the song is purely fun and screams of the bloom in pop and rap fusion that saturated radio stations at that time. Tracks like "Everyday" and "Satisfaction" are the kinds of funk pop sounds that no one even touches these days. Why? Because usually in these times music lacks adventure, danger, and most importantly fun. With all of the words used to describe the history of Wendy and Lisa, one would wonder why this album was a so-called "flop". I wonder that same thing. Still, this review is not so much about the album as it is about the fans expressed need for another Revolution album when it's right at their fingertips. If the Revolution made another album it would be similar if not identical, to Fruit At the Bottom. Yet we still have Revolution fans who have been complaining since the 1980's. What? Look at Wendy and Lisa's work and study Fruit At the Bottom. You'll find that for over 25 years you've been missing out.