Story of songs on SPACE by Teresa Ennis, in her own words:
‘Here’s the story of the songs on the ‘Space’ CD and how they came to be.
We recorded the songs over the course of a year in our spare time with no particular schedule or goal in mind other than to make some music that we liked and have some fun doing it. The songs were all recorded, except for some instrumental over dubs, in my friends’ home in Beaverbank, Nova Scotia. Joel Hunt, the producer, and his partner Eleanor have a nice home in a rural setting surrounded by big trees on a lake. The house has wooden floors and exposed wooden beams. It feels and sounds great in there.
We recorded these songs between periods in hockey games, with pots bubbling on the stove, after getting back from hikes or sea kayaking. During the colder months, there was a fire in the wood stove and the dogs would be sleeping on the floor by my feet while I sang vocal parts. I perfected my Mojito recipe over the course of the recording - that’s for sure!
When we decided to put out a CD, we realized we had more songs recorded - and more song ideas than we could put on one CD, so we went with these. As a result, we’ve already started (or maybe it is 'continued') to work on another CD.
#1 Blue Red and Grey: (Pete Townshend)
We listen to a lot of Who since my friend Joel is a huge fan. This song was originally recorded on the album, ‘Who By Numbers’. I love it because it’s about loving life and living it to the fullest. It stood out because it’s so different from the typical songwriting style of Pete Townshend. I had a lot of fun recording the vocals on this track – lots of cool clashy harmonies!
#2 The Lowlands: (Gary Scruggs)
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded this song (sung by Gary Scruggs) on their album, ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken – Vol. 3’. Ennis Sisters had the privilege of touring throughout Canada with the NGDB in 2003 and recorded their album, ‘Be Here For a While’ with Gary Scruggs’s brother, Randy Scruggs, in Nashville - so I immediately felt a connection with this song. It was the first song we recorded for the project and it is a beautiful one.
#3 Going To the Country: (Bruce Cockburn)
Bruce Cockburn is one of Canada’s greatest singer/songwriters. This song really captures the whole idea of the CD. We all live in the country in Nova Scotia and spend most of our time doing things in and around the ocean, the coasts and the great outdoors. During the recording of this CD, Joel was training his puppy, a large Saint Bernard named Lucille. You can hear her barking at the end of this track. I think she wanted to play!
#4 I’ve Endured: (Ola Belle Reed and David Arthur Reed)
This is an old bluegrass standard. I first heard it recorded live and played much faster by Tim O’Brien. We wanted to give it a new treatment and thought it would be appropriate to slow it down and turn it into a ballad since the lyrics are all about the hardships some must endure in a life time.
#5 Ma Jolie: (Ronald Bourgeois)
Ron Bourgeois is a brilliant Acadian singer/songwriter from Cheticamp, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I took French immersion in school and thought it would be fun to try a French song. This song is so beautiful and we thought it would fit perfectly with the other material on this project.
#6 Under the Moon: (Teresa Ennis and Andre Bourgeois)
I wrote this song during one of the darkest coldest months of the Canadian winter, January. I was thinking of a the warm summer nights when I’d sit on my back deck and watch the stars and point out the constellations to my friends.
Andre Bourgeois co-wrote it with me and helped me with some of the guitar chords.
#7 Downstream: (Rick Davies)
We listen to our fair share of Supertramp! This song was recorded on their album, ‘Even In the Quietest Moments’. This is a beautiful ballad with a care-free feel which really fits into ‘Space’ theme musically and lyrically.
#8 Annie: (Ronnie Lane)
This was Joel’s favourite song when he was a kid and it has quickly become one of mine. This is a great example of how a song can stand up to the test of time. When I sing this song, I think of parent singing a lullaby to their child. It is such a pure and pretty song.
#9 Song For Adam: (Jackson Browne)
Jackson Browne has written many beautiful songs and this is just one of my favourites. He wrote the song for his friend who was thought to have committed suicide; however, Jackson Browne offers a more hopeful perspective believing that his friend’s death was accidental. This was a difficult song to cover for some reason but we are very happy with the end result.
#10 Train Leaves Here: (Bernie Leadon and Gene Clark)
Bernie Leadon was a member of The Eagles from about 1970-1975, and he recorded this song with them during that time. It’s tough to find an Eagles song that is not very well known but this one fit the bill. We went for a laid back country roots feel with this one - and I love Lewis Melville's pedal steel sound! Bernie heard our version of his tune, and he really liked it.
#11 Can’t Get It Out of My Head: (Jeff Lynne)
We thought it would be fun to put an upbeat bluegrass twist on this early ELO classic. We had a lot of fun with this one!
#12 Space: (Joel Hunt)
Joel produced this CD and played a lot of the instruments. This is a pretty song he sang for us one night. I liked it so much that we decided to record it. It ended up being a natural for the title track and a nice way to end the CD.
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