Benitez does everything
right for albumMother Of The Sea: Darren Benitez (Fat Katz Productions)
DARREN Benitez and co-producer Sean Na'auao do everything right with his second album. Most of the songs are originals. Those by other writers serve well as vehicles for his beautiful falsetto. The arrangements are clean and uncluttered. Benitez's debut album won him a Hoku as Most Promising Artist in 1996. This one is better.
"So Lonely" is a Benitez original that stands as a perfect blending of Hawaiian, country, and Puerto Rican music. "El Burro Socarron" recalls local Puerto Rican traditions and is cleverly done. "Flight 303" is a tearjerker with a twist that reveals another side of Benitez' personalty. "I'd Rather Have Jesus" closes the album with a beautifully done testament of Christian faith.
Pictures of Benitez, and a photo of "The Benitez Family acting pupule," add other facets to the collection.
Believe In Love: Ben Vegas (Island Groove)
THE instrumentation in Ben Vegas' CD-single is mostly synthetic but the emotion is 100 percent real as the multi-talented Vegas steps forward with an original song written in support of Operation O.U.C.H. and PREVENT Child Abuse Hawai'i. The priority of maintaining funding for anti-abuse programs as the local economy crumbles is obvious. A strong performance by Vegas, a catchy pop arrangement, and effective support from the Vegas Gospel Choir, make this fund-raiser more than just another buy for a good cause.
Knocking On Heavens Door: Tony Mangra (Neos)
TONY Mangra's first album, "Gotta Give Love A Chance," was partly recorded here, partly in Jamaica. This one is all local and features Justin Kawika Young as computer sequencer and background vocalist. Liner notes don't specify Mangra's origins but Guyana is apparently close to his heart when he does Bob Dylan's 1973 hit for Guyanan political figure Cheddi B. Jagan who died in 1997.
Mangra's arrangements and vocal style suggest either passionless detachment or world weary ennui. An exception is a song in which various animals explain why they are more civilized than mankind. He evidently enjoys the irony.
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.
