HERE's a charming album. The sisters, their mother, and an assortment of friends and relatives have a diverse repertoire. They approach everything with zest - even the oddities.
Hawaiian and hapa-haole is their forte. "Evening in the Islands," "Healani Hula Aloha," "Naupaka" and a medley of songs about Kaua'i will delight anyone who misses the old-time music. Sisters Beverly, Lovey and Dorna play guitar, ukulele and/or piano. Other ohana members add steel guitar, bass, drums, percussion and more guitars, ukuleles and pianos. The pianists (Dorna or Auntie Lawaina Gonsalves) add delightful embellishments to many of the arrangements. The harmonies are likewise beautiful.
Lovey takes the lead on "Na U'i O Kaua'i" and directs solos by various band members.
Selections include a Filipino number and "Hukilau" sung in Japanese. Also two popular barroom tearjerkers - "For the Good Times" and "Crystal Chandelier" (known to many as "All I Have to Offer You Is Me").
The oddest selection is a word-for-word cover of "Just Hang Loose" with Lovey singing about how she thought she "had it made" when she picked up a girl on Hotel Street - only to discover the "girl" was a transvestite. It certainly gender bends the scenario of composer Ron Tish.
Overlook that and other oddities and the ohana has an album to be proud off. Lyrics, translations and information about the family complete the package.
JAPANESE vocalist Masami Satou teamed up with Maui-based steel guitarist/producer Henry K. Allen to record 12 of her favorite Hawaiian and hapa-haole standards on Maui.
Satou has a beautiful voice. Allen's steel guitar and his minimal use of synthetic instruments adds luster to the authentic old-time sound of the arrangements. Fans of Territorial era music will enjoy this international collaboration.
Yes, hints of an exotic foreign accent are heard in Satou's singing, but that's nothing new. Hawaiian has been rendered in foreign accents for over 200 years!
THREE words probably will suffice to sell this album: Chucky Boy Chock. This isn't his first album, but this is a masterpiece, and one of the most interesting albums of the year.
Chock is the resident composer and an engaging vocalist; his songs cover topics relevant to contemporary Hawaiians - water rights, kupuna, language, culture. Others honor cultural heroes. A single English-language song, "My Tropic Island Beauty" is catchy, romantic and perfect for island music radio stations.
The arrangements are an easy listening amalgam of Hawaiian, European-American folk and acoustic rock. Guitars, ukuleles, bass, and Polynesian percussive implements predominate.
Most interesting aspect of all is the language. Na Molokama sings Hawaiian as it is spoken on Niihau and in some areas of Kauai rather than the form standardized by the missionaries and their successors. Chock mentions in his section of the liner notes that people from Niihau "are discouraged from speaking a language that has been spoken for many generations." This album - beautiful music, extensive annotation - should help change that.