Ernie Cruz Sr.
sings of life and love
A Time And A Season: Ernie Cruz (Lilikoi/Round Cenco Music)
CRUZ clan patriarch Ernie Sr. reintroduces himself as an island recording artist with this collection of old-style country songs. Many are actually new songs written by Cruz or others close to the album with an old-time, grass-roots ambiance. There's no slick ,"hat-act" country show-biz stuff here!
Cruz sings simply of life, love, death, faith and family. "Ballad of Rodeo" celebrates the helicopter rescue of a beloved dog during a recent flood, "Molokai Cowboys" salutes paniolo camaraderie, and "Why I Need You Most Of All" is a relationship gone wrong song inspired by a friend's tragedy. The title song is one of Cruz' originals, and one of several that unobtrusively gives testament to his Christian faith.
Cruz sings throughout with an unpretentiousness that comes only with years of living
The use of banjo, mandolin and fiddle adds to the old-time textures in his music. His youngest daughter, Connie Faye Cruz, stands out as guest vocalist on "A Heart That Will Never Break Again." This is one talented
family!
To Progress ... : Ne'emua (RVR Records)
NE'EMUA leader Greg "Kalani" Amantiad is the son of Diane and Bradley "Kimo" Amantiad of Diane & Da Boyz. It's not surprising then that his group's first album builds on that musical legacy. The prevalence of Jawaiian remakes and reggae lite rhythms also suggests many hours spent listening to Kapena, Island Rhythms, Na Wai Ho'olu'u O Ke Anuenue, and Ho'aikane during its nadir as pseudo-rastas.
The good news is that Amantiad and his partners, Brian "Nanea" Abuel, Doug "Pohaku" Burgo and Joel "Kana" Burns, have a clean, local reggae-lite sound that should endear them to young Island Rhythms fans. Amantiad and Burgo also write; four of the selections are originals and two others are identified as coming from friends. In time perhaps Ne'emua could outgrow Jamaican affectations and define an original style.
A slack-key instrumental and a Hawaiian/Samoan medley add further diversity; so does the work of multi-talented Pierre "Petelo" Grill in adding keyboards and drums to the arrangements.
Friends Who Rode the Waves: Various artists (Shell Records)
THIS 10-song hodgepodge of "Hawaiian hits inspired by the ocean" is mislabeled twice over. At least one song was never a "hit" and several others weren't inspired by the ocean. The producers failed to credit the composers, but those familiar with local music know that Malani Bilyeu was inspired by George Helm, not the ocean, when he wrote "Molokai Sweet Home."
The songs that best fit the nominal theme are Kalapana's "Many Classic Moments" and Keola & Kapono Beamer's recording of the title song. Both are solid, surf-related local hits; both are beautiful. Henry Kapono's "Underwater Boogie" is also welcome since the landmark "Dreamerboy" album it comes from has been out of print for years and never released on disc.
Two or three others also have nautical themes; almost all have been previously rereleased on Bluewater or Paradise Records anthologies. No information is provided here about the artists or the significance of the selections.
John Berger, who has covered the local entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Home Zone section on Fridays for the latest reviews.
See Record Reviews for some of John Berger's past reviews.
