Record Reviews
Anyone who caught Cruz's performance at the Wave Waikiki last month may be surprised to find that he is as good "unplugged" as he is playing high volume rock.
His album, "Acoustic Soul," comprises mostly originals and unfamiliar songs by other writers. Cruz wrote five of the songs; his sister Ernelle and friend co-wrote another. The only selection that is a blatant mainstream remake is "Sitting in Limbo," but Cruz's interpretation offers a fresh perspective, rather than a "Jawaiian" imitation of the original. A work by Kawaikapuokalani Hewett taps another facet of Cruz's heritage.
Unlike many contemporary local artists Cruz includes enough annotation to explain the personal significance of each song and share the things that inspired him as a writer. For instance, an encounter with a barroom heckler was transmuted into "Impossible Anna," an enigmatic musical snap shot of a tentative relationship.
"Island Style" was written while he was in New York City and very homesick. It's catchy and commercial in a low-intensity way, and expresses the sentiments of many expatriate Hawaiians. His Jimmy Cliff remake may be the song that gets the play on local "island music" radio, and "Island Style" makes a memorable calling card.
The Cruz Brothers may eventually record together, but "Acoustic Soul" makes it clear that John would be a talent to watch even if he was an only child.
SINGER-SONGWRITER Rachel Victoria formally introduces herself with a 10-song sampler of original work. In addition to writing all the songs, she did the arrangements, sang all the vocal tracks, and played keyboards, bass and drums. The result is a musical curiosity most likely to appeal to adventurous explorers who are open to synthesizer-based rock performed by unknown artists.A majority of the songs tell of lost love, rejection and loneliness while only rarely utilizing memorable melodic or rhythmic hooks. Her vocal style can aptly be described as "soul-less melancholy."
Faster and harder tempos occasionally assert themselves. Guitarist Robert Cameron adds shards of texture; "Thunder" closes the album on a heavier note and Cameron contributes considerably to the impact of the arrangement.
The title track could be a sizzler if arranged and recorded by a vocalist with the gritty intensity of an Alannah Myles, Bonnie Tyler or Jennifer Barber.
However, if the songwriter chooses to serve up a sex song with all the heat of southern Tasmania in July who's to argue? Sex can be a pretty chilling experience these days.
WHEN a local label rereleases an album offering only 26 minutes of music at local CD list prices, the least it can do is add information left off the original."Waimea Cowboy" lacks song lyrics, English translations and liner notes that would give the buyer some information on the artist who recorded it, Sonny Chillingworth.
The recordings apparently date from 1964; at least that's the date on the liner notes. The annotation offers some vague stream-of-consciousness musings on the general mystic wonderfulness of slack-key, but next to nothing on Chillingworth himself.
New arrivals who know him only as one of the now-departed grand old men of slack-key may be surprised to discover how good he was 30 years ago. He was clearly a master of the instrument; his voice was as romantic as his music. What a heartthrob he was!
It's too bad that there's nothing on the exterior of the disc to inform tourists browsing the record bins who he was or all he accomplished. Nor are his musicians and female vocalist identified. It's a sad contrast to the packaging of "Sonny Solo," the album released by Dancing Cat in 1994.
Hardcore slack-key fans will want this album for their disc collections. The music is beautiful, and the performances are classics, but the label should give the buyers more for their money.
Cambern is apparently one of Takamine's major inspirations as a singer/songwriter. Audy Kimura appears to be the other.
Takamine could have done much worse in his choice of role models, although he wobbles a bit on "One and My Everything," an original that he presents twice. It is one of 10 originals.
Takamine moves outside his Cambern/Kimura comfort zone with "Tubular Scene" - an experiment in rock that turns out to be one of the disc's highlights.
Several arrangements are marred by the tinny synthesizer sound that defines local pop. Others are more promising and utilize many of the veteran musicians that back Cambern and Bryan Kessler when the Hawaiian Style Band performs.
Burdening Takamine with predictions that he will match the creative and commercial success of Kimura (or Cambern) distracts from the fact that he should do well in his own right.
JANE is another one-name alumnus of the karaoke bar contest circuit who has taken a shot at being a recording artist with her self-titled debut.She has followed in the footsteps of entertainer Mary Barboza in turning to the production team of Bob St.John-Payne and Richard Natto for guidance and material. The range of material is similar to Barboza's album; so are the arrangements.
Synthesizers are prominent. Natto and St.John-Payne use other instruments along the way but the many arrangements are too close to karaoke for comfort. An album of midtempo ballads with no immediate melodic hooks faces an uphill battle when it comes to getting airplay or sales.
Natto's "Take Good Care of Yourself" is promising, but the arrangement simply doesn't kick. "Can't Be With You," credited to "unknown," is a country song likewise waiting for a knowledgeable country arranger and proper instrumentation.
But then there's "Tonite," co-written by Jane and Chazz Lyons, the dynamic drummer and showman of the original Bernadette & the Sunshine Company; it breaks the ballad format with an uptempo rocker.
Natto's final contribution, "Got to Be Close to You," also finds Jane stretching beyond the karaoke bar format and closes the collection on a promising note.
Give Jane, Natto and St.John-Payne credit for generally going with originals.
LOCAL pop music doesn't have to be bland and soulless. Singer-songwriters Kevin K. Saito and Anthony I.R. Solis prove it with their first full-length album.The duo followed up on their initial cassette-single by signing with Niho Mano and recruiting a squad of major local studio players for the project. Both moves paid off.
Saito and Solis write well. The unidentified arranger does good work too. The arrangements are distinct and nicely textured. The high-pitched synthetic string section drone that defines local pop is generally absent. A single Hawaiian-language song, Palani's Vaughan's "He Pua Wahiwa" adds diversity.
Saito's "Close To Me" is particularly catchy. Solis' "Together" will satisfy the local pop market and almost certainly appear on a future Kid Leo "Island Love" anthology. "El-Shaddai (Medley)" is more impressive; a beautiful musical creation by the duo and its studio musicians that could help take local pop to a higher level.
MANGO was originally Ken Makuakane and Carl Villaverde. They introduced themselves with "Mango Season" in 1984. Makuakane went on to become a Hoku-winning recording artist and producer; Mango is now Villaverde and his brother, Thomas. They play in a Big Island hotel."Mango Season" was filled with originals written or co-written by Makuakane; the current duo's album is a collection of songs that are apparently popular with Big Island tourists: "Yellow Bird," "Little Brown Gal" and "Koko Ni Sachi Ari." Composers' credits and song lyrics aren't included, but the stream-of-consciousness liner notes say that the title song was written by the brothers' father.
Both of the brothers sing and play several instruments. It isn't clear how many of the other musicians heard on the album play with the brothers at the hotel.
As a musical snapshot of what's being played these days for tourists, "My Paradise, Hawaii" offers a well-focused souvenir. The brothers' rendition of "Kamakani Ka'ili Aloha" offers more than that - it's beautiful, and merits local airplay as well.
Producer-performer Lester Gantan and composer-performer Cory Oliveros wrote all but three songs on "Feel It," an 11-song sampler by Cory, Lokelani & Travis.Gantan knows the local pop market. Oliveros' "Hold On" and "With My Love" should do well here. An alternative "bonus track" mix of the latter song shows Oliveros has the talent to grow beyond local pop.
Lokelani (Mitchell) distinguishes herself as a featured vocalist. "Hey Local Boy" should be getting play on I-94; it's similar to the local pop sound of I-94's Lori Salvatera but more romantic. "Let's Live for Today" is less of a "kids'" song and beautifully sung. Her voice is the stuff of male fantasies, and she could become a major local artist with luck and the right material.
The high-pitched drone of a synthesized string section defines the music as soft local pop, but a straightforward rendition of "Ikona" adds diversity.
Pseudo-reggae doesn't work.
THIS debut album will appeal most quickly to diehard "Jawaiians" with a taste for remakes. Sham-rasta accents percolate through several selections on B.B. Shawn's recording. Caribbean rhythms predominate.
The album opens weak. "I Shot the Sheriff" was a white man's indulgence when Clapton cribbed it from Bob Marley 22 years ago. Aside for a few references to "ragamuffin deejays" Shawn offers no new insights either.
The most interesting songs aren't identified with a particular artist. "Henehene" and "Why Walk When You Can Fly" offer cultural diversity and a hint of Shawn's range. So does a straightforward treatment of "Vaya Con Dios."
The important thing is that Shawn has a good voice. He's at his best singing straight, without the sham accent. He also has a creative and imaginative mentor in producer Henry Kapono. The strengths of their collaboration outweigh the album's weaknesses.
The songs aren't hymns in the traditional sense but contemporary celebrations of Christian faith. Almost all are originals. "I Will Follow You" and "My God" are particularly strong.
"Dare To Be a Daniel" examines the challenge of holding on to your religious beliefs at the risk of losing friends who may think God is corny.
Roslyn displayed her talents as vocalist and composer on her underrated 1992 debut, "The Wishing Tree." David Kauahikaua, her arranger and primary musician, returns in the same roles here. Considering his contributions to "Stepping Stones" he deserves a Hoku for this album too.
The event was recorded in the spring of 1974. The performers are a who's who of the grassroots stars of the first Renaissance: Gabby Pahinui, Sonny Chillingworth, Genoa Keawe, "Atta" Isaacs and the Sunday Manoa.
Originally released on vinyl as a double-album, the 21 songs fit easily on a single disc. Concise liner notes put the event in historical perspective.
DAVID Kawika Kahiapo and producer Pierre Grill have done everything right on " 'Alana." The disc is a celebration of love, family, religious faith and Hawaiian heritage, and their choice of material, arrangements, use of guest artists, annotation and album art all help create a sharply focused musical portrait of the artist.Most of the songs are originals; the significance of the others is explained in the liner notes. The arrangements showcase Kahiapo as singer and musician; he plays all the string instruments while Grill shows commendable restraint on the synthesizers.
Chinky Mahoe is the featured voice on one of Kahiapo's Hawaiian-language originals, but the other guests remain in the background.
Controversy erupted when the Board of Education prohibited "Friends" at high school graduation ceremonies because it mentions "the Lord." An instrumental/"karaoke version" minus the trio's vocals has been added here.
THE karaoke circuit is spawning one new recording artist after another, but Jennifer Barber and her production team have created an album that's far above those thinly mixed karaoke-style efforts or the bland synthetic sound of generic local pop.First of all, Barber has a vocal presence that doesn't come from singing languid ballads or overwrought tear-jerkers in a karaoke bar. There's a deep sexy smokiness to it that hints of women who have had major national chart hits but she doesn't sound like she's trying to copy them.
Barber writes memorable lyrics in a comfortable range of styles. "Whisper to Me" and "Where Are You Today" are two of the best songs on the album; she penned both.
Some of the tracks would benefit from greater texturing, but overall the album is a beautiful calling card. If talent and commercial appeal count for anything Barber is going places!
JUSTIN (full name Justin Kawika Young) is a promising young singer and composer.He wrote six of the 10 songs here, and will be a composer to watch in the future. His originals are as good as the two pop songs that he didn't write - "One Year Together" and "Now I'm Free." Two Hawaiian songs by other writers - the traditional "Ikona" and "Pau'oa Liko Ka Lehua" by Emma Bush - show that he can go beyond local pop.
"Ikona" showcases a fine falsetto. On the debit side, "One Year Together" is a good lyric concept squandered on a generic Jawaiian arrangement and lame imitation-Jamaican rapping. Even with that misfire, Justin should prove to be more than a "flavor of the week" local teen vocalist.
Cord's series is rightly known for its high quality. The work here is excellent. Soria's annotation puts the recording in historical perspective; Mel Masuda's original 1977 liner notes are included as well and capture the spirit of the era.
The selections are almost all Hawaiian. A few hapa-haole classics add variety. Picking highlights from 24 selections is difficult, but "Kalama'ula," "Waikiki" and "Kauoha Mai" are certainly among them. Helm's brief on-stage comments add a sense of the original live setting to the collection.
Helm received an unofficial posthumous Hoku Award in 1978. This album will be eligible for "Best Anthology" in 1997. Expect it to win.
Barboza could have done an entire album of standards, but the originals are arresting, expository pop ballads rather than tight four-bar Top 40 songs. The one exception, "Feel Like A Fool" shows that she can handle uptempo dance music too. In short, this is one album by a karaoke "graduate" that's of interest to more than the artist's family and friends.
The songs are all Broad originals; several have Hawaiian lyrics by Henry "Wongie" Kanahele. How welcome to hear the living language of Hawai'i in an American jazz format!
And the arrangements will delight local jazz fans. David Choy, Bruce Hamada and Tennyson Stephens are among the talents who bring the year's first significant local jazz album to life.