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Island Mele
Friday, November 17, 2000
Folksy country
from CordellThey've gone country/Just look at those boots" was country star Alan Jackson's chart-topping comment on refugees from other genres who expect a cowboy hat to revive a lagging career, but Keith Haugen's first "country" album isn't a career move. It turns out that he has been a country fan for years and always wanted to record a country album.Cordell Country: By Cordell (Island Viking IVCD 100)
Long respected as a Hawaiian music stalwart, Haugen has adopted the persona of "Cordell" and, like Garth Brooks recording rock as Chris Gaines, is following his dreams.
The songs include familiar pop and country hits, obscure favorites, and several originals. He presents them in an acoustic country-folk style that predates the rise of modern country music in the 1950s. The sound is most likely to appeal to fans of modern cowboy-folk artists like Don Edwards and Red Steagall.
Steel guitarist Greg Sardinha adds textures not always heard in cowboy-folk. Adding Hawaiian lyrics to the English and Spanish lyrics of "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" is also imaginative.
Haugen/Cordell makes no claim to being a contemporary country artist, but the folksy ambience of songs such as "The Winner" could click with cowboy-folk fans.
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Email: CordellCountry@aol.com
ANY anthology worth buying includes information on the artists whose work is being recycled for further profit. By that criteria this is the best anthology to date from either of Tom Moffatt's labels. The artwork featuring Miss Teen USA-Hawaii 1999 Liana Green also tops the usual low-budget computer art or line drawings.The contents are the usual potpourri of true local hits, old obscure stuff and recent releases. Most reflect the local music scene's continuing fascination with reggae rhythms and pop chart remakes. Prime picks include Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's punchy 1990 remake of "Sea Of Love," Kapena's 1990 remake of "Come Sail Away" and Crazy Finger's imaginative "Haleakala" with its interpolation of "Let The Sunshine In," and "One Look" by Taz & The Spy Da Man.
Other cuts display the pseudo-Jamaican affectations of Na Wai Ho'olu'u O Ke Anuenue and the Oceanside Band, the evolution of Moke Boy beyond traditional Hawaiian falsetto, the reggae-roots integrity of true rastafari THC and the commercial appeal of Jawaiian hitmakers Ho'onu'a and reggae-rappers B.E.T.
Na Kane Nui's "Just Six Men" is a welcome digression into more traditional Hawaiian music.
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See Record Reviews for some 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 Today
section on Fridays for the latest reviews.
