Big Island collection
well doneThe Best of the Big Island: Various (Hula Records International)
THE K-BIG/Steinlager Big Island talent search ended last year with Mele, Gerald & Co. edging past Donny "Donny B" Bondallian in a runoff for top honors. Hula Records' Donald P. "Flip" McDiarmid III decided both acts had earned a record deal, and included the other three finalists in this recording project.
Remakes must be very popular on the Big Island. The Joe Battery Band is the only act here that recorded originals; "Change Your Mind" is solid original rock, "Pele Is Coming" is a catchy and commercial tribute.
Island Bruddahs add polished traditional renditions of "Kawika" and "Noho Paipai." Georgeann "Georgie Girl" Mahi Murray's treatment of "Ei Nei" is also notable. A bizarre but spirited remake of "The Tide Is High" by Mele, Gerald & Co is oddly appealing as an unselfconscious pop hodgepodge.
McDiarmid and project coordinator Cindy Lance include brief artist bios and inside information (Georgie Girl sang "Valley of the Dolls" because she's against drug abuse; Donny B enjoys both country and reggae; Gerald released a solo album as Gerald Farm Jr. in 1995).
Few of these songs are likely to get much play beyond the Big Island, but all "contest winner albums" should be produced this well!
Fresh Off the Rocks: Opihi Pickers (Pomaika'i Records Hawai'i)
THE Opihi Pickers -- Armando "Imua" Garza, Lael "Hoku" Garza, Diego Morales and Justin "Big J" Mindoro -- are at a critical creative crossroads. The teen-age ukulele players are worth hearing when they stick to uncluttered renditions of ukulele standards like "Stars And Stripes Forever." Three originals, "Fifty States," "Don't Cry U," and "Kolohe Mo'o (Slack-Key from Imua)" also show potential. When they switch to flaccid pop remakes with a small orchestra of synthetic instruments larded on, the magic morphs into weak flavor-of-the-month junk for callow intermediate school girls.
Pseudo Jamaican posing and vapid rap lite posturing is tedious. The bowdlerizing of classic Top 40 hits is even worse. "Opihi Bamba" is Richie Valens' hit minus the words. "Daniel (Imua's 'Ukulele Ska)" and "Lights (Honolulu)" are numbingly bad versions of Elton John and Journey classics. "Hot Fun On Hawaiian Time" rips off Sly & The Family Stone's "Hot Fun In The Summertime" down to the ad libs. Moreover, with the exception of "Na Ka Pueo," singing is very clearly not one of the Pickers' strengths.
The ukulele playing stands out but the pop remakes are barely karaoke bar stuff.
Catingub's debut
sure to delightGeorge Gershwin 100: Matt Catingub (Concord Jazz)
The brilliance of Gershwin, the luxurious textures of live instruments, and several excellent guests, make "George Gershwin 100,"Matt Catingub's debut album, a delight for anyone who appreciates the subtleties of American pop music of the pre-rock era. Those who know Catingub only as the Honolulu Symphony's first-ever pops conductor may be surprised by his commercial appeal as a vocalist and musician. His arrangements are deep enough to appeal to hard-core Gershwin fans but don't distract from the magical complexity of the lyrics. Anyone unfamiliar with Gershwin's music will find this an excellent introduction.
Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein and John Pizzarelli distinguish themselves as guests performers, but Catingub and his band do a stellar job in their own right. This is beautiful work!
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.
