Wilson Phillips: Their fathers' daughters

I wonder if there was ever a time in the past when the girls of Wilson Phillips said, no way are we recording those old songs. If they ever said that, then, they could have been referring only to the hits of The Beach Boys and of the Mamas and the Papas. Just in case it has escaped your mind, the Grammy-winning trio is descended from pop music royalty. Carnie and Wendy are the daughters of prime Beach Boy Brian Wilson while the parents of Chynna are John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas.

Famous parents are always a source of pride but having them can also pose problems to children trying to establish themselves in their own careers. I am very sure that the media questions that Wilson Phillips got bored about first were those about the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas. I am also almost sure that there came a time when they were peeved about those and refused to discuss comparisons with their parents, and let alone sing their songs.

But times change. Age mellows everything. The girls of Wilson Phillips are now older and can listen to the songs of their parents from a different perspective. Those sounds were really good. They were not only good. They were so fresh and new that they came to define generations. Can you think of anything that expresses summer fun better than Good Vibrations? Likewise, is there any song that conjures up images of flower power during the ’70s better than California Dreamin’?

Those songs put food on the table and sent them to school. So why knock something they practically own? Wilson Phillips members now have their own careers firmly entrenched in pop music history. Hold On, You’re In Love, Release Me, Go Your Own Way and Daniel are among their most memorable. The comparisons have by now become odious and landed in the trash can. It is now time to do the album that combines the trio’s unique, harmony-rich sound with the music of their parents. The result is out. Aptly titled Dedicated, it is one of the very best that Wilson Phillips has done.

The liner notes that the trio jointly wrote give a good idea of what doing the album was like: “We have heard these songs literally from the womb and have sung some on stage or on our pretend stage (the fireplace mantle) as young children together. It was nearly impossible to choose from the hundreds of gems both groups have recorded… We hope you enjoy our rendition of these songs. So much love and emotional history went into the creation of this record.”

I can just imagine what it was like, the wealth of memories that the songs generated and the feeling of satisfaction after listening to the final product. They did their parents proud. And how nice that they chose to pattern their arrangements after the originals. This kept all the youthful charm of the songs that are now made new again by the voices of Wilson Phillips. How nice, too, that they have included baby pictures and old album covers in the CD booklet. These girls are who they are today because they were their fathers’ daughters.

Dedicated by Wilson Phillips featuring music from The Beach Boys and The Mamas and The Papas is made up of most of the big hits. Of course, I wish, they also had I Get Around, Surfer Girl, The Warmth of the Sun, Dance, Dance, Dance, Make Your Own Kind of Music, Go Where You Wanna Go, Do You Wanna Dance, Words of Love and others. But the selections are perfect and Chynna, Carnie and Wendy sound great. All I can think of now is that the girls will decide to do a part two.

In the album are California Dreamin’, Dedicated To The One I Love, Twelve Thirty, Monday Monday, Got A Feelin’, I Can Hear Music, by The Mamas and The Papas; Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Don’t Worry Baby, Do It Again, Fun Fun Fun by The Beach Boys, God Only Knows and Good Vibrations. Surely, one of the year’s best. You cannot help but love this album.