The Ennis Sisters – March/April 1998
Style: breath of Atlantic angels
Line-Up: Maureen Ennis (rhythm guitar, vocals); Karen Ennis (tin whistle, vocals); Teresa Ennis (vocals); Anne Devine (bass); Sonny Hogan (drums); Patrick Morgan (fiddle) and various guests.
Contact: 4 Bowring Place, St. John’s, NF A1E 3P5 (709) 368-3496 or (709) 432-2152.
With the commercial breakthrough of Celtic groups Great Big Sea and Leahy, A&R reps are swooping down on these young Atlantic Canadian lasses with voices bright and clear. The album, Red Is The Rose, named after a traditional song of the same title, includes gentle and the sprightly material, mainly written by Maureen Ennis with arrangements credited to all three siblings. While they cover Charlie McGettigan’s beautiful “If Anything Happened To You” and the Ron Hynes/Murray MacLauchlan co-write “No Change In Me”, The Ennis Sisters originals fit well alongside. “The Traveller”, augmented with upbeat fiddle and bouzouki, is footloose and fancy free; the lonesome “Right Here With Me” is gentle and mournful; “Seasons” is a merry metaphor of love and “Breath of Angels” caresses with memories of “the land I love and cherish.” Produced by Anne Devine with engineer Spencer Crewe, the album was recorded and mixed at First City Productions in St. John’s, Newfoundland.