Originally released with an all black cover, re-issued in 2000 with the cover shown above.

Tracks:

1. You Bring Out The Best In Me (radio edit) (Debbi Lonmon/Jenni Lonmon) [3.51] MP3
   previously unreleased on an album
2. Broken Heart (Debbi Lonmon/Jenni Lonmon) [4.31] MP3
   previously unreleased on an album
3. Inside Out (Clair & Craig Gibson) [3.16] MP3
   previously unreleased on an album
4. Dear Abbie (One Night Of Passion) (Lonmon /Robbie/Millar/Brettell) [4.48] MP3
   from Ready and Willing
5. Peace On Earth (Debbi Lonmon/Jenni Lonmon) [4.46] MP3
   from More Than Meets The Eye
6. No Man Shall Fall (Angelo/Sargent) [4.15] MP3
   from Ready and Willing
7. Now Or Never (Debbi Lonmon/Jenni Lonmon) [2.55]
   from More Than Meets The Eye
8. Mystery Of Life (Debbi Lomon/Jenni Lonmon/Lionel Bastos) [3.44] MP3
   from Along The Way
9. Love Is A Weapon (Dennis East/Marc Bentel) [3.43] MP3
   from Along The Way
10. Stay The Night (Cedric Samson/Debbi Lonmon) [4.00]
    from More Than Meets The Eye
11. That's Just The Way It Is (Solem/Wilde) [3.37] MP3
    from More Than Meets The Eye
12. Something Happened To Us (G Worth/B Watson) [4.13]
    from Along The Way
13. Young Hearts (Lonmon /Robbie/Millar/Brettell) [4.31]
    from Ready and Willing
14. Little Sister (Millar/Brettell) [3.59]
    from Ready and Willing
15. You Bring Out The Best In Me (album version) (Debbi Lonmon/Jenni Lonmon) [4.54] MP3
    previously unreleased on an album

Click on the song title for the lyrics. Clicking on MP3 will download an MP3 file of that song.

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Musicians (on new recordings):

• Jenni Lonmon: vocals, acoustic guitar
• Debbi Lonmon: vocals, acoustic guitar
• Bret Collings: drums
• Kai Horsthemke: bass
• Doug Bean: electric guitar

Release information:

March 1999, Gallo, GWVCD9

Reviews:
SA Rock Digest Issue #70, 14 August 2000:

Little Sister, the Lonmon sisters and their friends, typify what I have come to associate with South African musicians: they are experienced, they know what pleases an audience, they are confident, and, like so many other SA bands, the Sisters are utter professionals. Their smooth sound is inspiring.

I was familiar with many of these tunes before acquiring 'While No One Was Looking' by virtue of having heard them over at their web site. It's a friendly site, and airing the music as it does made me decide that I did want to acquire their music -- they're not giving it away, they're advertising, and it worked: after I heard their songs, I wanted more.

By the way, sidemen aren't credited in the liner notes of this CD, but they are in the respective albums these songs come from, and on their website.

Little Sister's songs are clever in that they are intelligent rock songs yet are deceptively easy to listen to. The hooks are not obvious, but thoroughly catchy nonetheless. There is an urgency, an aggressiveness if you will, to many of the lyrics that raise these songs above pop or easy listening and into the realm of mature singing, mature songwriting, and talented rock. The clever, thoughtful lyrics engage one's attention the way rock should.

Here's where I admit ignorance on two topics and yet come to a real conclusion, with an unrelated example to support my contention. I don't know how many gigs Little Sister plays a year, but they seem to undertake a healthy number of tours. I don't know how many shows a huge current world-success band plays annually, but I'll bet it's far fewer gigs than Little Sister plays. My conclusion is the playing Little Sister does accounts in part for their confident and professional sound. To back this up, boxers of yore used to fight more often that a modern toothless wonder like Spinks. Spinks boxes once or twice a year, while old-time fighters fought every weekend. The old time boxers learned moves, combos, endurance, and skills unknown to modern sluggers. My conclusion of this thread: Little Sister has talent and experience, that makes them a wonderfully tight and smooth and professional band -- I urge them to keep slugging away!

Here are my takes on a handful of the songs, though each and every one of the 15 tracks is a winner -- truly a Best of collection:

'You Bring Out the Best In Me' -- Two versions are on this disc, the first and last tracks. The second, extended, version seems more intimate, even with the added guitar, but both performances are lovely love songs.

'Dear Abbie' -- So sincere and honest a song, replete with passionate despair, excellent musicianship and singing, and fine songwriting.

'Peace On Earth' -- An optimistic anthem suggesting we keep on aspiring.

'No Man Shall Fall' -- Elegiac and beautiful, soaring singing and guitar work, a song about awareness of wrongs done and a new leaf turning.

'Love Is a Weapon' -- Ain't it sometimes though? Rocker with an honest hook.

'That's Just the Way It Is' -- a nice straight-ahead thumping bass guitar and a bit of a bopping shimmy going on here.

'Little Sister' -- Crank it up! Aggressive adult lyrical content, too. Based on this tune, I think my next Little Sister album will be 'Ready and Willing'. It contains two versions, one with extra guitar, apparently.

The songs above, and the otherwise excellent ones unmentioned, make a nice ebb and flow through the album. The tempo will slow a little, then in roars a song to fill the dance floor. Good pacing of these cuts.

I've read comparisons between Little Sister and Heart, but frankly, I don't hear any more Heart (as in Ann and Nancy Wilson) in these songs than might be coincidental by virtue of two female voices, sisters no less, in a guitar-and vocals-oriented rock band. I hear Debbi and Jenni Lonmon. Not much Heart, but lots of heart -- and a fair amount of rocking blue-eyed (make that brown-eyed) soul. Little Sister is not a girl group, but an original-sounding rock band with a pair of female lead singers.

At times I feel dismay that my wish list of SA rock is so long, but then there is another side that cheers me up. After enjoying this CD so much, I am glad I have four more Little Sister CDs to buy from One World. And, to brag, I have the special autographed edition -- if you hurry, One World might still have in stock some CDs that Jenni and Debbi have signed.

Kurt Shoemaker, Blanco, Texas

---

Strutterzine, December 1999

LITTLE SISTER is a band out of South Africa and they are very popular in their home country. 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 MICHAEL 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. 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 'The 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.

Now read the other review I did of the band's third album 'Along the way' which is even more a recommendation to every fan of female fronted AOR than this best of-album.

Rating: 8/10

Gabor Kleinbloesem

---

Press Release:

Living in Africa has many remarkable aspects - aesthetics, people or even just the way of life, but one often seems to forget the musical talent. Voices, songwriting, popularity, beauty and style. All this and more in one of our own remarkable talents Little Sister. 'While No One Was Looking' is a collection of hits spanning a retrospective of a career that started in 1990 and saw them go from a club act to chart toppers writing music that has become an integral part of the musical sound scape of the country... from hard rock to acoustic guitars with harmonies, these sisters have travelled the musical highways and byways.

Little Sister have been performing at many venues around the country, out ot the eye of the media but not out of the eye of the general public. Their new album 'While No On Was Looking' is a retrospective featuring fifteen tracks which includes three new recordings. The album 'While No One Was Looking' brings out nine years of hard work and a pure definition of South African talent.

The three new tracks, 'You Bring Out The Best In Me', 'Broken Heart' and 'Inside Out' are beautiful lush ballads, showcasing the new harmony-direction the band has taken. 'Inside Out' is the title track to the South African commercial hit movie, "Inside Out". 'You Bring Out The Best in Me' and 'Broken Heart' were recorded, engineered and produced by Neal Snyman at Downtown Studios.

1990-1992

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