"Shower of Hits II" may provide
future hits for Willie K, but don't
mistake it for 1995's "Shower
of Hits," which features a
similar album cover.
IS this album an anthology of previously released obscurities or a collection of new music with a catchy and provocative title?
We're not told, but judged only on musical content it doesn't matter. Just don't grab Willie's 1995 "Shower of Hits" by mistake. It has almost identical packaging and completely different songs.
This is Willie K's best work since leaving Ken Thompson's KDE Records organization several years ago. The albums he recorded for KDE were musical landmarks; this one is too.
Few island artists play hard rock as hard as he does. Few draw on as wide a range of cultural ideas as creatively - Hawaiian, reggae, gospel, country, rap and rock. Willie K celebrates his Hawaiian heritage with beautiful renditions of "Ho'onanea" and "Hanalea," commemorates the struggle of Kalakaua and Liliuokalani to defend Hawaii from alien subversion, and includes a tune that could have been written-to-order for the Hawaii Visitors Bureau. The rhythms and melodies of his pop original include bits and pieces reminiscent of Shaggy, the Temptations and Little Anthony & The Imperials.
Two selections sparkle with kolohe spirit. "Love and Desire" is powered by a catchy arrangement and inspired vocal arrangements; the interplay between Willie and an unidentified bass singer is exceptionally effective. Willie gets increasingly risque as he vamps into the fade-out.
On "Nanakuli Girl" he celebrates the rough-edged attributes of "titas" in catchy and commercial form as well.
A zesty impression of a deep-voiced Afro-Caribbean actor - and deliberate mispronunciation ("yu-ka-lay-lay") - adds a playful ambiance to his ode to the popular instrument. "North Shore Reggae Blues" displays his skill at utilizing Caribbean rhythms without plagiarizing Jamaican culture or sounding like a rasta wannabe.
In short, these 14 songs aren't "hits" in the sense that they all topped the charts and became elevator music, but this album is a great introduction of the music of an amazingly versatile and talented artist.