Faceless peerless
among pop crowdFaceless: Faceless (Hobo on the Hill)
FACELESS member Roni (pronounced "Ronnie") was an original member of Matt Young's Bad Boys Club. BBC was later renamed The New Generation (TNG) and signed to a national deal by Warner Bros. Roni went on to be a partner in two local nightclubs, and produce the enigmatic solo debut album of BBC/TNG veteran Maestro last year. This disc marks Roni's return as a recording artist. Maestro contributed, as did BBC/TNG vets Freddy Von Paraz and Nito Larioza. Faceless is continuing on the course TNG set in the early '90s, but Roni has a talented new crew.
Roni and Lawrence are imaginative record producers (All four members affect single names: Michael and Rick are the others). They use synthetic instruments skillfully; the arrangements compare well to the national hits getting play on I-94. Most are soft and slow. "Feels Like Rain" is a conventional "slow jam" ballad. "Skin Deep" is one of those bragging songs in which a guy tries to seduce the object of his desire by boasting of his sexual skills.
Faceless' skill at rearranging Top 40 oldies is impressive. The group's fresh perspectives on the Commodores' 1981 hit, "Oh No," and Elton John's "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" should inspire other pop producers to become more creative.
"Lonely Hearts" is best of all because it breaks free of the basic local pop/urban format. This group can sing commercial mainstream rock too! Faceless sounds like more than a one-in-a-dozen urban pop act.
Kanikapila! (Let's Play Music!): Peter Moon (MGC)
PETER Moon's latest project finds him shelving the Peter Moon Band and working with a menage of guests on a track-by-track basis.
Jennifer Barber and Gail Mack alternate as vocalists. Todd Adamski, David Choy, Roy Hamada, Dwight Kanae, Gordon Kim, Steven Min and Freddy Von Paraz are the studio orchestra.
This could easily be a hodge
podge, but producers Moon and Choy generally maintain a sense of continuity. Barber and Mack succeed in personalizing potentially lame remakes of "Love Is A Rose" (Barber) and "Colors of the Wind" (Mack). Barber's wistful interpretation of the Shirelles' 1960 hit, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," is masterful; she sounds like she already knows that the answer will be negative.
Moon's virtuosity sparks most of the arrangements; Choy gets a well-deserved showcase number. Hapa-haole and Hawaiian-language standards and a couple of Hispanic songs add variety and deepen the feeling of time and place.
What's lacking is information about the performers. Many listeners won't have a clue.
See Record Reviews for some of John Berger's past reviews.
See Aloha Worldwide for locals living away.
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.
