Wendy MaHarry
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Piano-based rock/pop
Status:
Most recent album, released (Dutch-re-released double album, 2002)
See also:
Wendy MaHarry's Facebook Page
Comparisons:
Marianne Faithfull (vocals), Tori Amos' early work, jill sobule's early work
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
See comments about her albums, Wendy MaHarry and Fountain of Youth.
Recommended first album:
There is strong disagreement about which album people prefer
Recordings:
- Wendy MaHarry (1990)
- Fountain of Youth (1991)
- Released (double album, self-released 2000; Dutch-re-released, 2002)
Wendy MaHarry
Release info:
1990—A&M—395 283-2
Availability:
Wide on release; now out of print
Ecto priority:
Medium to High. (jbr@casetech.dk)
Group members:
Wendy MaHarry—vocals, acoustic and electric piano, electronic keyboards, background vocals
Guest artists:
Steve Bailey—electric bass, acoustic bass
Chuck Barth—synthesizer, drum programming, acoustic drums
Byron Berline—fiddle
Randy Bishop—background vocals
Larry Brown—acoustic drums
Hans Christian—cello
Mike Finnigan—organ
Gregg Gottlieb—cello
Bob Henley III—background vocals
Pat Henley—background vocals
Joel MaHarry—acoustic drums
Dwight Marcus—synthesizer, drum programming, electric bass, organ, electronic keyboards, background vocals
Billy Ray Martin—slide guitar
Bobby Militello—saxophone, clarinet
Jeff Park—acoustic drums
Will Ray—electric and electronic guitars
Mike Spalla—electric and electronic guitars
Comments:
Wendy MaHarry's voice isn't very pretty (a little hoarse) but quite expressive and fits well with the lyrics and the piano accompaniment. Good lyrics. Takes a few listens to get into the album. (jbr@casetech.dk)I liked it a lot, although I don't know if I'd ever sit down and do nothing but listen to it, like I would with, say, Dar Williams or the Indigo Girls....
The similiarity to Tori Amos really jumped out at me actually. It has more to do with the style of the music than anything else—a few of her songs reminded me a lot of songs on Little Earthquakes—they started out with tinkly piano bits before the rest of the song crashes in...but then again, maybe it's just me. :) (Sherlyn.Koo)musically, it is similar to jill sobule's first record: lush, soft pop music. sherlyn mentioned a similarity to tori amos, but i don't really see that. however, wendy's singing voice on that record is reminiscent of chrissie hynde (The Pretenders), of all people. granted, it's a tamer chrissie, but the phrasing is very similar. very odd. i had never noticed that before. this album is relaxed, reflective, but never really engrossed me, though it got my attention. (woj@smoe.org)
Wendy MaHarry is better than Fountain of Youth. (vickie@enteract.com)
I think I like it more than her followup, Fountain of Youth which I've had for a number of years. (burka@jeffrey.net)
Fountain of Youth
Release info:
1991—A&M—75021 5370 2/397 173-2
Availability:
Wide on release; now out of print
Ecto priority:
Recommended for lovers of contemporary pop.
Group members:
Wendy MaHarry
Guest artists:
Dwight Marcus, Jim Keltner, Jeff Park, Tim Pierce, and others
Comments:
Very uninspired album, good ideas but badly arranged; only one good song, "Fountain Of Youth". (Dirk.Kastens@rz.Uni-Osnabrueck.DE)I bought this on the basis of hearing "Too Busy Looking Out The Window" on a sampler tape. I still really like that song, but the rest of this is pretty forgettable. (Neile)
fountain of youth was a revelation, excellent light pop. it's not unlike the first record, but it's much more immediately likeable. i mentioned that it was more upbeat. it's also very fun and catchy. it's still soft pop, but there are more acoustic guitars and hooky melodies. surprisingly, this album has stood the test of time. a lot of records like it seem to fade after a while, but it's still good and fun. (woj@smoe.org)
Further information:
Contact Wendy MaHarry c/o Dwight Marcus at whitemarks @ sprynet . com, or at 818-426-9363.
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