While No-One Was Looking

LITTLE SISTER is a band out of South Africa and they are very popular in their homecountry. A shame nobody outside of South Africa has ever heard of the band, because they sound very professional.

The band is pretty big in South Africa where they scored major hits. They released 4 albums and this CD titled While No-One Was Looking is a fine collection of their greatest hits. The album contains 15 songs and musically the sound can easily be compared to HEART. Not only due to the fact that LITTLE SISTER consists of two female lead singers called Debbi and Jenni Lonmon who both almost sound identical to Ann and Nancy Wilson from HEART, but also their AOR/Melodic Rock is pretty close to the American all-time Female fronted AOR band.

This best of is featuring some great AOR/Melodic Rocksongs, but also a couple of calmer Popsongs. But for the most part it is a very much enjoyable AOR album that is a big recommendation to the fans of HEART and VENUS AND MARS. Between the 15 songs are 3 new tracks. These 3 songs open this CD and are all pretty much in the 90s style. “You Bring Out the Best in Me” and “Broken Heart” are two soft 90s inspired semi ballads and “Inside Out” is a nice melodic poprocker like JAIME KYLE/PATTY SMYTH.

Then we can hear 11 songs that are all lifted from the band’s four released CDs. And almost all these songs are pure AOR, so it is pretty clear that LITTLE SISTER released 4 interesting albums before this best of. “Dear Abbie”, “Now or Never” and “Mystery of Life” are calmer popsongs in the style of 70s HEART, but the remaining 8 songs on this best of-CD are all pure female fronted Classic 80s AOR/Melodic Rocksongs in the style of HEART, WITNESS, SARAYA…

4 tracks are taken from their debut Ready and Willing which was released in 1990. These songs are “Dear Abbie” (popsong), “No Man Shall Fall” (fantastic midtempo AOR, pure 80s HEART), “Young Hearts” (pure semi AOR ballad like VENUS AND MARS, HEART, ALIAS) and “Little Sister” (uptempo melodic rocker).

From the band’s second album titled More Than Meets the Eye are 3 songs featured on this best of. “Peace on Earth” (midtempo AOR like late HEART/ROBIN BECK), “That’s Just the Way It Is” (good midtempo AOR, although it is a cover of THE REMBRANDTS song) and “Stay the Night” (great semi AOR ballad with some very good vocals) are the songs of this second album which got released in 1991.

Their third album Along the Way was released in 1993 and this CD featured some famous people from the AOR business such as producer MIKE FLICKER (HEART producer) and DENNIS EAST (STINGRAY singer). This album is a superb AOR album that is a total must for every fan of female fronted AOR. A review of that `album appears below this review. On this best of-CD are 4 songs of that CD. The songs are “Mystery of Life” (semi acoustic ballad), “Now or Never” (acoustic ballad), “Love Is a Weapon” (one of the band’s biggest hits, a great midtempo AOR/Melodic Rocker that is in the LAOS, VIXEN, SARAYA style) and “Something Happened to Us” (Classic midtempo AOR like early TONE NORUM, HEART).

I believe in 1996 LITTLE SISTER released their 4th CD titled Heart of the Matter. Strangely enough there aren’t any songs of that record on this best of-CD, but I don’t know what is wrong with that record. Anyway, maybe I can hear and review this album too soon. LITTLE SISTER has also performed on many benefit concerts as well as being featured in movies with their music. I guess you can say they were one of the country’s well-known bands and I believe STRUTTER’ZINE is the first AOR publication that is talking about this interesting band.