Genesis (Deluxe Edition)

17歳と13歳の姉妹ソフト・メロウ・サイケ69年傑作、グリーン・ヴァイナル!

アシッド・フィールたっぷりのフィメール・ソフト・メロウ・サイケ傑作! 晴れやかなサンシャイン・ポップ、爽やかなアレンジメント、洗練されたソフト・ロックの華やかさ・・・。少しばかり遅れた花のサンフランシスコにひっそりと咲いた17歳と13歳のウェンディとボニーのフラワー姉妹によるデュオが69年に残した名盤中の名盤。純真と言ってなんら差し支えない姉妹ならではのハーモニーと、その年齢に相反するように淡く洗練されたレースのような音触り。グルーヴィーなオルガンに、メランコリックでトリッピーなフォークから、ブリージーなソフト・ロック、ファズまみれのサイケデリアまで、意外にしっかりとしたプロダクションは西海岸の一流セッション・マン、LARRY CARLTON、JIM KELTNER、MIKE MELVOIN等の手によるもの。メロディーに溢れたお菓子箱と例えられるそのソングライティングも、シンプルながらも全曲姉妹によるオリジナルというのも素晴らしい逸品です。

Wendy & Bonnie's only album is a nice, if not truly necessary, relic of the late 1960s. It's the sort of unconventional yet accessible project that might have had trouble finding its way into release in any other era, but managed to at least get issued, even if it was largely undiscovered until cult listeners unearthed it decades later. The sisters' harmonies have the sweet-sour major minor blend typical of many San Francisco rock artists of the time, yet with a more homespun, intimate flavor than those of many a heavily produced band. Their songs have the sort of slightly askew lyrics that, again, were prevalent in their time and place, glowing with anticipation of an era of greater love and less social constraints, and also imbued with a certain innocent naivete. ("The Paisley Window Pane" is a particularly priceless songtitle.) There are sometimes jazzier accents to their singing and chord progressions than there were in most psychedelic or harmony pop/rock groups; "The Paisley Window Pane" sounds like it might have absorbed lessons from Jose Feliciano's cover of "Light My Fire." The 2001 CD reissue on Sundazed adds several bonus tracks, including a garage-psych acetate ("The Night Behind Us") from their earlier rock group Crystal Fountain, and four acoustic home demos of songs that were not on the LP. ~ Richie Unterberger