Life Is Large

Album Review

The Varese Sarabande reissue of Life Is Large by Pete and Maura Kennedy is a textbook case of how such recordings should be done. In addition to a gorgeous remastering job where the guitars literally ring out of the speakers, there are six bonus tracks. Four are acoustic versions of songs included on the record — "Life Is Large," "Sirens," "One Heart, One Soul," and "St. Mark's Square" — and two are new cuts from the same sessions, a dynamite read of the Beatles' "And Your Bird Can Sing" and "She Just Don't Care," an original. Musically, Life Is Large dates very well seven years later — not something many albums from the 1990s can boast. Musically, the Beatles and the Byrds are the cross-references for the Kennedys' larger than life jangle rock sound — evidence of this is having Roger McGuinn guest on the title track. Other startling pop heroes who appear here are alt-country darling Kelly Willis, the dB's' Peter Holsapple and his wife Susan Cowsill (yes, of the Cowsills — perfect, huh?), Nils Lofgren, the Dixie Hummingbirds, and Texas songwriters Jimmy LaFave, Michael Fracasso, and Monte Warden. Maura Kennedy's singing is as deft and soulful as her husband Pete's guitaristry. Tracks like "Velvet Glove," "Sunday," "Heart of Darkness," and "Right as Rain" literally crackle with sparkling pop urgency. And in Maura's voice, singing a funeral dirge would come off as a meditation in optimism. But the hinge piece of the album is "One Heart, One Soul." Here the pair sing in close harmony about the rewards of marital union at a dark juncture in history. They are strident, upright, and stalwart, singing with the commitment of the Everly Brothers. They are breathless in their conviction and their chorus of guests chimes in, just under Pete and Lofgren's guitars, as the track is lifted off the rails into the heavens. It's an awesome moment on a brilliant recording. Fans should also check out the remastered version of their debut, River of Fallen Stars.