"Life Love & Chocolate is a superbly produced, exquisitely sung album, without doubt one of the most listenable albums I have heard for many a long month. Wendy has excelled herself with this fine collection of songs which not only shows off of her considerable vocal talents and natural musicality, but places her right at the top where she belongs." — Stan Graham , BBC Radio York. “There’s a quintessential beauty about ‘Life, Love & Chocolate’, the latest album from Wendy Arrowsmith with its mix of traditional and self-penned songs. And should an album touch your soul this year then this is the one. The package combines piercingly pertinent lyrics, beautiful melodies and Wendy’s outstanding voice to produce an album of folk brilliance.” — Tim Carroll, Folkwords “Review of Life, Love & Chocolate - Impressive 3rd CD from North Yorks based Scot brings a new luxuriousness in texture, though it's intelligently considered backdrop is never allowed to obscure Wendy's own commanding singing voice and her consistently strong writing. ” Thumbs Up. — fROOTS, fROOTS * Album Review: Wendy Arrowsmith - Life, Love and Chocolate (Wee Dog) By Allan Wilkinson - Posted on 17 August 2011 Is there a better subject for an opening song on a record than chocolate? Sweeter by the Day incorporates a delicious chorus, where we are encouraged to dip our dreams in chocolate in order for them to grow sweeter by the day, which is all well and good until we discover the song's real message, a lament for those affected by chocolate factory closures, sadly gone the same way as all our other industries. Glasgow-born singer-songwriter Wendy Arrowsmith follows her previous albums NOW THEN? (2007) and SEEDS OF FOOLS (2009), with a new collection of songs, some self-penned, others traditional or arrangements of contemporary songs, but each with a distinctly traditional feel. The mood of the album is maintained by a handful of choice musicians and singers including one of the busiest musicians on the folk scene Katriona Gilmore who plays fiddle, viola, mandolin and provides some backing vocals, along with Marjorie Paterson on cello, Will Pound on harmonica, John Bushby on whistle and pipes, Caroline Bushby on harp, Malcolm Bushby on fiddle, P.J. Wright on slide guitar, Sarah McQuaid providing vocal harmonies on a couple of songs, Harry Scurfield on concertina, Roy Schneider on mandolin, Jude Rees on soprano sax, Paul Arrowsmith on banjo and Gerry McNeice on double bass and tenor guitar, who also produces. One or two songs here have come from the tradition taking the shortest route, The Southern Girl's Reply for instance, which was learned from the singing of Jeff Warner, whose mother collected the song, which was originally a poem set to a Civil War marching tune. The American feel is highlighted by Paul's banjo picking. Wendy's own songs are imbued with a strong sense of the past and are likely to be mistaken for traditional songs, Riding Officer and The Lass O' Gowrie for instance. Wendy also wanders effortlessly into gospel territory with the engaging Moody's Waltz, referencing Charles E Moody's gospel standard Drifting Too Far From the Shore. There is a bonus track tagged on to the end, The Visitor, which brings the sea faring folk of North Yorkshire's coastline vividly to life, incorporating a good strong shanty chorus; an ideal chorus for those currently preparing for Whitby Folk Week. With informative sleeve notes and lyrics, bound in a handsomely designed booklet, LIFE, LOVE AND CHOCOLATE should be taken with a nice cup of tea and of course, a selection of soft and creamy truffles with highly lickable ganaches. Allan Wilkinson Northern Sky “ it can only be described as the CD of the year” Review of Life, Love & Chocolate by Terry Ferdinand: WENDY ARROWSMITH’s latest offering is imaginatively titled LIFE, LOVE AND CHOCOLATE. The CD is an extraordinary 11 track extravaganza of new songs and this time WENDY has taken the bold step of inviting others to accompany her. The music is not only is fresh, lively and innovative, but above all is very listenable with WENDY’S crystal clear voice cutting incisively through the varied accompanying guests’ backing vocals and instruments. The cover design and inner sleeve sets the scene for what’s to follow, and what the listener gets is a veritable sweet treat of music and stories, a real feast for the ears and performed by a galaxy of stars, with a WOW factor that will make you want to keep coming back for more, and more. The songs are so varied and every track takes you upon a magical adventure of musical dexterity, bringing in the HARP, CELLO, MANDOLIN, SOPRANO SAX, VIOLIN and even a SLIDE GUITAR at times. Full marks to Wendy for giving us a Landmark CD to treasure and to delight in for a long time to come, and for her choice of friends, too many to mention here, that give this memorable CD and extra dimension.