Wendy & Lisa - Eroica
Let's get funky...REAL funky
“My name is Prince, and I am funky.” It was true and few probably understood that as well as Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, members of the Revolution and the one’s in the movie Purple Rain who, if you recall, brought the music to the title track to his majesty.
After leaving Prince’s famed ensemble, the pair churned out a couple solid records in Wendy & Lisa and Fruit at the Bottom, the latter also worth a concerted listen.
But, it was 1990’s Eroica (the Latin feminine for “heroic”) that opened my ears. A blisteringly funky pop record with a rawness to it that felt new and less “Prince” but with many of the earmarks of the pop genius who helped foster the duo’s growth.
Funk Phase
There was a period in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when I was going through a “funk phase.” I mean, about as funky as you could be if you were a white, longhaired kid who lived in the suburbs of Houston.
When I was really young, I somehow acquired a blue plastic box filled with 45’s. I have no idea how I got them and neither does my mom upon recent questioning. The music in this box would — at least in part — form the basis for whatever rhythmic skills I would develop later, particularly as a musician and bassist.
It included Stevie Wonder, Chic, Brother’s Johnson, Earth Wind & Fire, Heatwave and others. It also had some ‘60s beach stuff like Jan and Dean too, which was, needless to say, pretty weird.
But, having access to “Sir Duke” and “Le Freak” and “Grooveline” at 8 or 9 years old definitely had an impact.
By the time I was out of high school and deeply entrenched in heavy metal, I began to discover a much more decidedly groove-based music. I loved Prince, but this was different - from boxed sets of Atlantic Rhythm and Blues to funk-rock outfits like Fishbone, I was in discovery mode.
Credit Where Credit is Due
My ex-wife (then girlfriend) was the first to introduce me to Eroica. She was a diehard Prince devotee from a young age having kept a rather erotic poster of him in the shower in her bedroom closet as a teen (probably this one).
I honestly didn’t know much about Wendy & Lisa outside of the scenes in Purple Rain, but this album was fire. And it dovetailed into a period of time when I began discovering more female artists like Suzanne Vega and Joni Mitchell, which makes sense given that Lilith Fair was only a few years away.
It was the silky “Mother of Pearl,” the, well, swingy “Porch Swing,” but mostly the all-out get the funk outta here in “Skeleton Key.”
Let’s talk about “Skeleton Key.” Like I said, I didn’t really know funky music. I liked it when I heard it, but I couldn’t play it and I wasn’t sure what constituted it, even after having heard a lot of it. This FELT like funk to me and pushed me to dig deeper.
The song grooves like crazy, but the chorus with the syncopated harmonies is outrageous. Hard to imagine playing and singing this stuff.
Get Down
Ultimately, Eroica is just a fun listen. Plain and simple. It didn’t do much of anything in the world of music at the time, but my cute little suburban white kid really found some deep grooves nestled in there. It reminded me of those 45’s I had as a kid.
Anything to tweak memories of great ‘70s funk music is worth a listen.
Wendy & Lisa - Eroica
Track Listing
Rainbow Lake
Strung Out
Mother of Pearl
Don’t Try to Tell Me
Crack in the Pavement
Porch Swing
Why Wait for Heaven
Turn Me Inside Out
Skeleton Key
Valley Vista
Staring at the Sun