Be yourself and stand your ground / Dont you let nobody turn you around / Life is large. On their second effort as a duo, husband-and-wife team Pete and Maura Kennedy are living by their own words. With no apologies or shyness, they wear their influences of the Byrds and Beatles on their sleeves. Nor have they left any doubt that this is a pop record. From beginning to end, Life Is Large is a pop fans dream sweet melodies, gorgeous harmonies, catchy hooks and truckloads of jangly guitars.
The appearance on the opening/title cut of Roger McGuinn (reprising his 12-string Bach solo from She Dont Care About Time) and the Steve Earle mandolin tracks on the closing Sirens serve as wonderful bookends to a long and impressive list of guest appearances. Charlie Sexton, Peter Holsapple, Nils Lofgren, Eric Ambel, Kelly Willis, Jimmy LaFave, Michael Fracasso, Susan Cowsill and John Gorka are among those who joined regulars Vince Santoro (drums) and Wade Matthews (bass) to assemble this solid collection.
With Mauras sweet vocals and Petes powerful guitar work, the Kennedys song writing holds up through a variety of styles. From the folksy St. Marks Square to the straight-ahead Sunday and the psychedelic Sirens, both the writing and the performances are consistently strong.
After Petes service as guitarist for Mary Chapin Carpenter and the duos stint in Nanci Griffiths band, the pair have built on their experiences and crafted a distinctive sound of their own. If their radio-friendly sound finds its way to the ears of pop fans, life will indeed be large for the Kennedys.
