-
What Makes the MonaLisa Twins music great?
I know this isn’t a question that can be answered in a few sentences, other than their music having that “je ne sais quoi” or that “it” factor. I would think that all of us here know that MLT music is fabulous, that it transcends a fad or a personal preference. Having a bit of an engineer mind I always want to deconstruct things to get to their essence, so what makes the MonaLisa Twins music great?
They sing beautifully, sure, but many other singers do as well. They write touching songs, that’s more of a rarity. Harmonies are unparalleled. But is that it? One surefire test is the test of time, and so only time will tell, but I disagree a bit with that, because though time will tell, sometimes we can also tell sooner rather than later. Sometimes, as I think it’s the case here, it’s so obvious that we can’t dispute it. Well, there’s always someone somewhere, but I try to prove things to myself and no one else, being as unbiased as I can, at all times.
We can take apart songs or any musical work and talk about melody, harmonies, tonality, counterpoint, etc., etc., deliberating on what makes this or that piece great, but the fact of the matter is that we’re always doing it in retrospect, once the piece has imprinted that “greatness” feel upon us.
Music for me is the conveying of a feeling, an emotion, which is unquantifiable. So any attempt to deconstruct it in quantifiable terms, will invariably miss the mark. When you think of it, a musical recording is the pressing of a feeling, an imprint of energy. Lighting in a bottle. Truly miraculous, at least to me. One thing that truly impresses me about MLT, is that I like every single song and some to me are instant classics. There’s no other artist that I can say this about, other than The Beatles. I love Elton John, Queen, Rolling Stones, etc., but there’s always a song I don’t care for. Not here. Why?
The best I can summarize is that MLT music comes from the heart. They have clearly decided that the music they put out would be their own, unadulterated. This means that they put out their honest feelings and emotions. Though, let us not forget their incredible hard work to master the art of performing music in order to make it possible to explore and deliver those emotions neatly crafted, which lift our hearts.
It’s not about this guitar, or that note, or that instrument. The Beatles are known to have used cheaper instruments throughout their career, even when they could afford whatever they wanted. Yet their music is sublime. There’s a video out there on YouTube bashing the Beatles’ song “I’m Looking Through You” which I’ve always loved. This guy was going on over and over, “once you hear this, there’s no unhearing it, you won’t like the Beatles after hearing this… blah, blah, blah.” So I took up his challenge. Well, the guy is clueless. There are some “inconsistencies” in the percussion and guitars, but it misses the point completely.
Paul said something a while ago that made me look at how I was recording from a completely different perspective and changed how I was going about things altogether, resulting in a much better end product. Paul said something like, and I’m paraphrasing, “nowadays with Pro Tools people spend an inordinate amount of time tinkering with details to make it absolutely perfect. Back then, we would choose the best take, tinker a bit and let it go, we knew it was not perfect, but we were on to the next.” When you’re bottling lightning, it’s not about the bottle or the cork. It’s about sparking a feeling. Eleanor Rigby is an indisputable masterpiece, yet if you hear the original stereo mix (which has been tinkered with in subsequent releases), there are some obvious technical problems with it. This however, takes nothing away from the song. The feelings and emotions it invokes are crystal clear, despite those issues.
Personally, I feel the MonaLisa Twins Duo Sessions are amazing. Nobody does it better. This could be in part because they strip the song to the bare minimum and highlight the vocals which are that complex and unexplainable purveyor of humanity. The perfect imperfection.
What do you think?
-
19 Replies
-
Wow, what an awesome topic Tomas! I wish I had seen it earlier as it is nearly bed time for me here, but I probably wouldn’t get much sleep now thinking about this. Will say a few things and then probably add more later as I think about it.
Top of mind why I think MLT music is great is, because they are true artists at heart, and they experienced how truly artistically written music can move the soul and make a positive difference in peoples everyday lives like when they first heard the Beatles when they were just kids. They devoted their lives to recreating that magic to be able to move people through their music and art just like the great legends of the 60’s did led by the Beatles who started it all. That is why MLT want to have nothing to do with major record labels, music contests, and everything else that denigrates music to entertainment and a business, and remained independent and maintained control of their music and destiny. Just like the finest watches, fountain pens, or automobiles in the world are crafted all in house, MLT music, videos, and everything to do with their music is done in house cottage industry style.
Just like the Beatles music, MLT music is timeless, and each time you listen to it there is something more you get from it. “The Wide, Wide, Land”, “Nothing Is In Vain”, “Close To You”, “Count on Me”, “Still a Friend of Mine”, “Sweet Lorraine” etc, no matter how often I listen to them, I never tire of them just like when I hear “Let It Be” or “A Day In the Life”. I experience something pleasantly new every time I hear these songs, which is a mark of greatness in a song. MLT music is also very positive and uplifting, and I feel better after I listen to Orange or When We’re Together. Their songs are poetic and they convey a lot of positiveness, love, and everything at the core of the human experience.
MonaLisa Twins Orange, Beatles Sargent Peppers, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. What do they have in common? The music is timelessly beautiful, and you never tire of listening to it again and again.
Now I can sleep 🙂
-
Well done Tomás. Yes, the MonaLisa Twins music IS great and you have just stated the many reasons why! I don’t think I can add to what you have covered but I’ll definitely give it more thought.
“The best I can summarize is that MLT music comes from the heart. They have clearly decided that the music they put out would be their own, unadulterated.” These have been my sentiments too, from the moment I discovered them just six months ago. They have a genuine and passionate love of music, especially the music of sixties harmony groups. It is something they do for the shear love and pleasure it gives them and they are also passionate about sharing this love of music with others. Unlike many other groups, for them, it’s not about the money.
I have been very passionate about MLT not getting involved with Eurovision and other music contests for the very reason that it would be a distraction from their current path which has kept their music so pure and genuine. It is a path that has required them to work very hard to keep total artistic and marketing control of their music. They have not signed a record contract for obvious reasons and hopefully their integrity will continue to work for them in such a positive way, with the support of their many fans and projects like the MLT Club.
Great topic Tomás. Perhaps you should consider doing a PhD on the MLT! I’m sure someone will one day, just as I’m sure MLT music will be included in school music classes one day!
This discussion makes me even more excited about the delivery of their next album of originals!
-
Well said Howard, and I like that passion you have for MLT.
If music is about expressing what is in the heart as Beethoven said, there is a ton of goodness in Mona and Lisa to come out. Truly good people. That is one thing that really attracts me to them. They are very sincere and pure at heart and their music expresses that too, and I hope they never lose that innocence. “Close to You”, “Count on Me” are just examples of songs that come from a good heart. That is why they are like a ray of sunshine brightening our lives through their music. Yes their music comes from the heart, and that heart is pure, and that is another reason why their music is great.
-
Hi; My two cents…….
There is not a single thing that makes their music great. It’s a combination for me and in no particular order:
1) Very good on their instruments. When I first saw/heard Johnny B. Good and Lisa’s riff on it, I could not tell a difference between her and Chuck Berry. It sounds like they practice the instruments on songs several times to get the songs note perfect. Also, they are both multi-instrumentalists and seem to take chances, e.g., Mona playing the flute.
2) Extremely tight harmonies. When I first heard their harmonies, I thought that I had not heard anything that good since Phil and Don Everly. And these days each one has the chance to sing multiple different parts, i.e., 4 or more different vocals on songs as in “God Only Knows”. The only songs I have heard that is better in harmonies are some of the early Beatles songs where Paul and John sang together. BTW have you ever heard Paul and George sing a duo……that was pretty good, too. Anyway, Mona and Lisa harmonize so well together.
3) Song construction. The lyrics in their original songs are not as straight forward as we had in the 1960s and later. They will change a word here and there during the bridge or chorus when they repeat it. This causes the listener to listen with great care to each song. Arrangement of other instruments (piano, other strings, etc.) is done with great care. One of their best songs “Still A Friend Of Mine” was recorded using only the piano and other strings and it is this simplicity that makes more of an impact than a full orchestra. It kinda reminds me of Yesterday which was just Paul, his acoustic, and a string quartet. Both of these songs could have accommodated more instruments but each was made better by doing less.
4) They also happen to be very good singers and stay within themselves……Their voices happen to be pleasant to the ear which always helps. By “staying within themselves” it means they have not tried to reach extremely high or extremely low notes.
Well, that’s about it for me…..I’m sure I’ll think of other things after submitting. Mona and Lisa are both extremely talented and I look forward to them doing more great things in the future. Mike.
-
Mike, I’ll echo what you said about their harmonies. Mona and Lisa’s harmonies are truly remarkable and is what put them over the top for me when I first discovered them 2 years ago on their San Francisco cover. I never heard anything so beautiful before. Their harmonies in “Best Years of Our Lives”, “Little Drummer Boy”, “God Only Knows”, “Count on Me”, “Still a Friend of Mine” among many others are sheer beauty. I think their unique harmony is one of their greatest strengths and they will never go wrong when there is a good dose of this magic in their musical mix.
-
OK… Gonna share my 2 cents here…
Though I’ve poetically written about this topic kind of in my own way over the years .. It’s all true… They are just refreshing in today’s music landscape with the ability to not only intertwine and incorporate both old and new whether it be their originals and Covers… It’s all distinctively and Uniquely Their Own Style and Sound… No denying and timeless in the sense of the Musicianship itself…. Music created proper-like in terms of quality and caliber will forever resonate from generation to generation .. Reach globally to all… That is what MLT has… Their Spirit Soul Groovy… It has found its way from within them to Eminate outwards through instrumentation .. Vocals.. Creativity… For all to enjoy and be touched by Kudos for onward going with doing what matters truly and it clearly shines through Like a Blossom Bloom poetically ????????????❤️????????????✌️????☮️????????????????️????????????????????????????????????????????????????????☺️????????????????????????????????????
-
For me it was the harmonies and the fact that they always look like they’re having fun. Their harmonies are very family sounding like the Beach Boys, Everlys, or Bee Gees. And their original music has a “universality” to it. Not universal in the sense that it appeals to everyone, but universal in the sense that it can be played in a number of different styles and still work. My wife is out of town this weekend and I got a little twisted off, went into the studio, picked up the “Orange” chord book and started picking up guitars . The music fits classical style guitar, folk guitar (OM style guitar), pop (Casino though an AC-15) but where it really got fun (tonight anyhow) was when I picked up the Les Paul, plugged into a Marshall, set the gain on 10, and played it Punk style (and which tunes I played punk would probably be surprising).
-
Such a great question and thank you for bringing it up!
As said above it is a topic that can be talked and written about for hours, but if I had to pinpoint the reason for the greatness of the music of Mona and Lisa is that it makes you feel so good.
Not to get political but with the way the world and society is becoming it is such an amazing blessing to have something to be able to go to that will “take you away” and never fail to put a smile on your face. They have an amazing knack to pick the best songs to cover and do so very respectfully to the originals while making them all their own. I also feel that the Wagner family is a very special one- the sort of people that you would love to have over for dinner and hang with and their unique personalities translate perfectly into their original songs and videos. Of course I am a child of the 60s and to have such talented young woman share my musical tastes so enthusiastically and translate them so beautifully into catchy songs is amazing on an extremely high level.
As I am sure everyone on this chain can agree, I consider myself so lucky to have found the MLT videos and songs and my life is much better because of it. 🙂
-
The combination of their excellent singing and musicianship abilities and the sound of those guitars. The fact that they both play various instruments is a huge plus also, so talented! Their ability to write their own songs as well. Their cover songs are FANTASTIC and stay pretty true to the originals which for me is a big plus, I do like their arrangements of them as well.
-
I’m glad this question has sparked some great comments, and I agree with all of you. Thank you. The amount of “Heart” in the songs certainly brings joy to me, which I find very precious and rare. One thing I’ve noticed in doing this exercise is how much the melody and harmonies weigh in any song. In getting a song made, what archives the final goal of greatness or not, is heavily weighted by the melody and harmonies. For whatever reason that may be, I have found that if the melody and harmonies are great, then there’s leeway for the instruments to be so-so and still the song is great, but not the other way around.
When I first discovered MLT, I went back to listen to the Everly Brothers and put them side by side. For me the Twins have left the Everly Brothers in the dust, both songwriting and with harmonies. Dreams is proof for me. God Only Knows was another wake up moment. That song is a masterpiece and a few few people have given it a shot, but nobody achieved that rarefied feeling until MLT. I have to admit though that Because is for me the absolute top when it comes to harmonies. Nobody has topped it, not Beach Boys, not Simon and Garfunkel, not anyone. At least not yet.
Another thing that seems to be a given in MLT music is not only the hard work, but the attention to detail and the understanding of what music truly is. It’s an “all in” attitude, there are no doubts, no plan B, music is it. I don’t think they could achieve what they have if wasn’t that way. At least that’s how I see it from the outside. Many of us here have experience making music, so we know very well how hard it is to come up with a couple of albums like MLT has done.
For all I know they might think we’re a bunch of sycophants, but the reality is that they bring me lots of joy and clearly not just to me. MLT has become my go-to music whenever I need uplifting.
-
I’ve heard “God Only Knows” a lot of times over the decades by the Beach Boys, but it never came to life like it did when I heard Mona and Lisa do it. In December Mona and Lisa vocals and harmonies peaked to a new plateau for me with ” Little Drummer Boy”. I know some people here did not care for the song itself, ( it happens to be my fave Christmas song), but that is besides the point, the singing was truly sublime. With Little Drummer Boy they stripped away all the instruments except the drums, and stepped out of the Rock and Roll/Pop Genre and flexed their vocal and harmony muscles, and the result was truly remarkable singing. Just loved the way Lisa carried her voice with the highs, and Mona was perfection harmonizing the lower range right along side, super tight. There were some 6 back up voices mixed in the background that sounded like an angel choir, all MLT voices. It was the most beautiful singing I ever heard, ever, in any genre!
-
I found the girls through their video of “God Only Knows” on you tube almost 3 years ago. My two favorite bands are the Beatles and the Beach Boys; sort of a 1 and 1A type of ranking, and one day after a particularly challenging day at work I found myself watching you tube waiting for my wife Maria to come home. I wanted to find an alternate cover of God Only knows to enjoy so I began searching. One of the selections that came up was that of a pretty red haired girl with headphones on singing into a microphone. With my curiosity peaked I clicked on that video and was completely mesmerized and blown away by what I saw and heard – a perfectly constructed stripped down version of one of my favorite Beach Boy songs that showed complete respect to Brian Wilsons original. The way the harmonies were layered and constructed with such delicate structure I felt that I was listening to angels. To say I was completely knocked out and won over at that moment is an understatement. After listening to the song two more times I wanted to hear more. I found their cover of “You’re going to lose that girl” and had the chance to enjoy their rocking side and as they say the rest is history. Needless to say I couldn’t wait to share my new treasure with Maria and all of our friends.
To wrap up and come bag to topic every act, band or performer that I follow and admire have one big thing in common- that hook, that sometimes unexplainable thing that draws you in, captures your attention and makes you go back over and over. Sometimes its visual, sometimes its what you hear or how it makes you feel. So to me Mona, Lisa, Michaela and Rudi achieve all of that consistently with much care and effort and that is what makes the MLT music great. 🙂
-
I find it fascinating that for us here in the MLT Club, we found them through a search and never looked back. It seems we were looking for a breath of fresh air in a polluted world, a life line to lift us up. Clearly we found it and have not let go. Given that we remember exactly how it happened is also an indication of the impact it had on us.
Some people that I’ve shared MLT music with find it interesting but not that instant “wow” factor that we have, maybe they have to be looking for it on their own, who knows. It’s cool however to know that so many of us had that similar experience, that “choir of angels” moment.
-
Hi Tomas (I tried to find the accent over the “a” but just couldn’t locate it….I apologize);
I found MLT when looking for some Beatles on YouTube. I decided to give them a listen and then just kept looking and playing more of their covers. Their music is so good that I have shared it with others, but they mostly give the same “nice” response. But, a few have given the “wow” response that we had when we first found them. Part of what causes the “nice” response, I believe, is that even before the people have heard MLT’s first notes they have already categorized them as a “cover band”. They could not be more wrong…..MLT plays a few covers from the mid 1960s, but their original music expands on the mid-1960s sound. People should give them a second chance. Mike.
-
-
Hi Mike. Some keyboards have ways of including these ‘accents’, but I’m still coming to grips with my new Apple Mac. However, if you can keep a secret, I’ll let you in on my devious method of getting Tomás’s name spelt with the appropriate ‘accent’.
I cheat! If you click on Tomás’s name or icon badge, it will take you to his profile page where you can simply copy his name and then paste it into your message. I’m sure he won’t mind you checking his media while there. He plays a pretty mean bass. I’ve always wondered why he appears to be so smart. It seems he’s a fellow Sagitarian!
Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese or Irish (also in the archaic forms Thomaz, Thomás and Tomaz) given name equivalent of Thomas.
I’ve had similar experiences to you when sharing my excitement for MLT with others, with comments like, ‘not bad’ and ‘nice’! It’s so infuriating. What’s wrong with these people? Then again, when I was a teenager in the sixties, not everyone shared my passion for music.
While using this thread, a shortcut to Tomás’s name is to simply copy one I’ve used in a previous post.
Cheers,
Howard
-
Hi Howard;
Thanks for the tip concerning Tomás’s name (see, even the technologically challenged can do it !!!!).
I know in my case when sharing MLT music I have led with their Beatles’ covers thinking that the others would appreciate it if they heard something familiar. But, it could be that is where their “just a cover band” thought starts. I’m going to share “Still A Friend Of Mine” with all FB friends. If any song of theirs is going to “knock their socks off” it will be that one.
Best;
Mike
-
Thanks about the concern about the accent on the á, but I’m not a stickler for it, as in English it’s non existent. Copy and Paste always works, but if you want to know how to do all characters with a normal English keyboard google ASCII tables and that will give you a code from 0-255. Extended codes are above 128. So the a (lower cap) is 160. On the keyboard you do alt+ 160 = á, another example alt+ 164 = ñ. For the German ß = alt+ 225. £ = alt+ 156
Now back to topic after that brief message… I try to share a song that is more to the taste of that person, but I was struck by the stark difference of interest if someone is looking for it or not. For me personally, sometimes I circle back to a song. Like You’re Gonna Lose That Girl at first it wasn’t one of my favs of the album (original Beatles) but a few years later (still a teenager) I really got into it. Similarly with All About Falling In Love, maybe because it was right after The Wide Wide Land, but it’s at the top of my list now, the harmonies are just amazing.
-
-
Good point about the cover band idea Michael….we certainly want anyone we tell about the MLT experience to go and check them out, and introducing them through a familiar song would probably go a long way (especially considering the covers are SO well done). But if they do take the time to do so I would remember my own experience of finding them through a cover on You Tube and then joyously discovering all of their beautiful originals that were there. The power of You Tube is not only are you able to hear and enjoy the song but you are able to see the girls and how infectious they are also. Plus the way You Tube is constructed the originals will come to you once you start searching.
…..and I totally agree about “Still a Friend of Mine” 🙂
Log in to reply.
