Name: Life Is Large (CD)
Brand: REDBIRD (SUNNYMOON DISTRIBUTION)
SKU: 243544
Price: 33.34 USD
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

The Kennedys: Pete Kennedy (vocals, acoustic, electric, slide & 12-string guitars, sitar, dulcimer, piano, Hammond organ, log drum); Maura Kennedy (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, drums, sound effects).
Additional personnel: Peter Holsapple (vocals, electric guitar, mandolin); Susan Cowsill, John Gorka, Kelly Willis, Monte Warden, Jimmy LaFave, Michael Fracasso (vocals); Eric Ambel (electric guitar); Nils Lofgren (electric guitar, guitar, accordion); Roger McGuinn (12-string guitar); Steve Earle (mandolin); Charlie Sexton (bouzouki, cumbus); Wade Matthews, Stu Voorman (bass); Vince Santoro, Stumpy Joe, Jr. (drums); Starz Vanderlockett (percussion).
The Dixie Hummingbirds: Ira Tucker, Paul Owens, Carl Davis, Howard Carroll (vocals).
Recorded at Gypsy Wagon Studios, Fairfax, Virginia; The Woodshed, Austin, Texas; Room & Board, Nashville, Tennesee; Platinum Post, Winter Park, Florida; Bias Recording Company, Sringfield, Virginia; Omega Recording Studios, Rockville, Maryland. Includes liner notes by The Kennedys.
Personnel: Pete Kennedy (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, slide guitar, dulcimer, sitar, piano, log drum); Maura Kennedy (vocals, acoustic guitar); Peter Holsapple (vocals, mandolin); Howard Carroll, Carl Davis, Paul Owens, Ira Tucker, Jimmy LaFave, John Gorka, Kelly Willis, Michael Fracasso, Monte Warden, Susan Cowsill, The Dixie Hummingbirds (vocals); Nils Lofgren (guitar, electric guitar, accordion); Eric Ambel (electric guitar); Roger McGuinn (12-string guitar); Charlie Sexton (bouzouki); Steve Earle (mandolin); Stumpy Joe Jr., Vince Santoro (drums); Starz Vander Lockett (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Heidi Gerber; Jim Robeson; Bob Dawson; Maura Kennedy; Pete Kennedy.
Recording information: Bias Recording Company, Springfield, VA; Gypsy Wagon Studios, Fairfax, VA; Omega Recording Studios, Rockville, MD; Platnium Post, Winter Park, FL; Room & Board, Nashville, TN; Woodshed, Austin, TX.
Photographers: Grant Kessler; Jim Purdum; Maura Kennedy.
The sophomore effort from the Kennedys finds the husband-and-wife songwriters developing and refining the slightly raw jangle pop offered on their debut, River of Fallen Stars. This time out the production is a bit bigger and a bit fuller, harking back even more explicitly to the lush 1960s melodicism that is the duo's musical ideal. From the opening title track, their chiming guitars and Maura Kennedy's sweet singing voice invoke the days when paisley was cool and melody was king. "Velvet Glove" and "Life Is Large" both couch a mildly didactic theme in layers of shimmery pop bliss ("Be yourself and stand your ground/Don't let anybody turn you 'round"), but for the most part the Kennedys continue their practice of churning out thoroughly charming pop for pop's sake. "St. Mark's Square" is a tuneful ode to a nonexistent urban neighborhood, "Tribe" is a heartfelt (if kind of sappy) expression of marital solidarity, and "Blackberry Rain" is a wonderful and shameless Beatles ripoff. On this album the duo is joined by a truly amazing list of guest musicians, including obvious choices like Roger McGuinn (of Byrds fame) and Peter Holsapple (formerly of the dBs) and such less obvious ones as country-punk rocker Steve Earle and gospel legends the Dixie Hummingbirds. The lyrics get a bit soft in the middle sometimes ("Baby, look into my eyes/True love never dies/No matter what they say"), but Maura Kennedy is such a winning singer and the group's melodic sense is so solid that it's easy to overlook the occasional maudlin moment. ~ Rick Anderson

Professional Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (5/10/96, p.74) - "...the second album from Washington, D.C.'s Pete and Maura Kennedy is miraculously fresh, with strong echoes of Liverpools Beatles and Lubbock's Buddy Holly....an instant folk-rock classic." - Rating: A

Album: Life Is Large (CD)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Life Is Large	More Info...
2)	Velvet Glove	More Info...
3)	St. Mark's Square	More Info...
4)	Sunday	More Info...
5)	Heart Of Darkness	More Info...
6)	One Heart, One Soul	More Info...
7)	Mystery	More Info...
8)	Tribe	More Info...
9)	I'm Not You	More Info...
10)	Right As Rain11. Blackberry Rain	More Info...
11)	Sirens	More Info...

Album: Life Is Large (CD)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Life Is Large	More Info...
2)	Velvet Glove	More Info...
3)	St. Mark's Square	More Info...
4)	Sunday	More Info...
5)	Heart Of Darkness	More Info...
6)	One Heart, One Soul	More Info...
7)	Mystery	More Info...
8)	Tribe	More Info...
9)	I'm Not You	More Info...
10)	Right As Rain11. Blackberry Rain	More Info...
11)	Sirens	More Info...