Lazar’s debut serves
polished bit of romanceMario Lazar: Mario Lazar (Icon Recordings)
MARIO Lazar's debut album has the polished look of a national release. His model looks and teen heartthrob style have already earned him fans here. This album should launch him internationally.
Lazar is the latest island resident to become a protege of producer Matt Young.
(Young's credits include national record deals for New Generation and Tenderoni; his connections with local radio go back a decade to when I-94's Alan "Da Cruzah" Oda and Xtreme's Jimmy Da Geek were recording song parodies on one of his other labels).
Young's senior partner on this project is Maurice Starr of New Edition and New Kids on the Block fame. Lazar proves worthy of their attention.
The songs are mostly well-crafted originals by Starr or Young. The arrangements smoothly embellish synthetic pop dance tracks with live instruments. The overall mood is soft and romantic, but uptempo dance remixes and a bilingual rap number with Hispanic rappers Triple Alliance display Lazar's range.
Lyrics, translations, and eye-candy photos for his teen female fans complete the package.
Hawaiian Roots: A Tribute the the Son's (sic) of Hawaii: Walter "Waltah Boy" Tavares (Waiakea)
WALTER "Ace" Tavares Jr. was one of the original members of Ho'aikane and recorded three slack-key albums for Ken Kahanu Post in the 1980s.
The band morphed into local rasta wannabes when Post's label folded and they signed with John Kahale Chang. Tavares recorded several Jawaiian albums for Chang, then changed labels again and began exploring a more original Jawaiian-local rap sound. That phase of his life is apparently over.
Tavares' first solo album, "Waltah Boy! All In One Package," was an ambitious effort but found him still into Jawaiian pseudo-reggae remakes. Two notable exceptions were an original, "Hawaiian Breed," and "Hawaiian Passion Party" by Hoku-winning composer Craig Kamahele.
The new album finds Tavares focused as both artist and producer. The opening song, "Son's (sic) of Hawaii," is his tribute to the Sons of Hawaii. His band does well at playing in the Sons' style; Tavares himself avoids trying to mimic the Sons' vocalists.
Lyrics and English translations, or a synopsis of the meaning and significance of the songs, would add to the album.
Tavares has evidently shed the Rastafarian posing of his Jawaiian phase and embraced Christianity. A beautiful gospel song was a highlight of his first solo album. "Ke Alo O Iesu," featuring an unidentified female guest, is a highlight here.
See Record Reviews for some of John Berger's past reviews.
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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.
