Description
Life After Chocolate, our debut album is the culmination of three years’ songwriting, including collaborations with David. It’s been described as a fresh approach to dealing with familiar and important themes and puzzles, featuring unusual, elegant arrangements. Tasteful, stylish and sophisticated .
In early 2004 the muse hit with a vengeance. Songs were surfacing, demanding to be given voice. People tell me that the songs resonate with our common experience. They have been described as relevant wise and witty, singing about what everyone’s thinking but find hard to put in words.
I write about the absurdity, vulnerability and longings of the heart, for personal and communal.aspirations. In some ways it feels a bit like the songs are writing themselves… I try not to get in their way too much. Words come much more easily than tunes for me, so in 2005 I was lucky enough to collaborate with well-respected songwriter and musician, David Wayman.
We are really pleased with the results. All along the way my good friend and tuba player Robyn Heesh has been helping these songs come to life (nothing hits the groove bit the same way as a tuba riff , specially when it’s _____ _ ___, I have to have it now).I guess you have to hear it and decide for yourself. Life is tough but it’s worth it……. and, if all else fails, there’s always chocolate! (preferably dark with either peppermint or orange)
Annie Kennedy (and friends) – Life After Chocolate by John Williams
Annie Kennedy and David Wayman spent three years putting this CD together. There are twelve tracks and Annie wrote the lyrics for eleven of them, with David writing the music on nine. The songs are varied and Annie’s crisp clear voice does them all justice. The opening track “Chocolate” is a very funny take on addiction. I suffer the same one myself and can sympathise with Annie. It is hard to break a chocolate addiction! “Iceberg” is an interesting and wry look at climate change. “Unnecessary Things” is a poignant track with a beautiful flute accompaniment from John Anderson. “Waiting On a Whim and a Prayer” is a bouncy, catchy tune about life and living and has a great tuba accompaniment from Robyn Heesh, who also appears on a number of other tracks. “Things Are Not Always as They Seem” is a very entertaining track about lust, love and life (and no tubas were harmed in its making)! Annie creates a great word picture with her lyrics for “Queen of the Rodeo”. The only track not written by Annie, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, gets a Guernsey on the CD and is a fine addition it is. Annie is backed by the Shady Tree Choir in this moving rendition of what is now a true classic. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of this song. Others may not agree. This is a great listen. If you love life and like your music with a sense of humour, then you’ll enjoy this CD.
