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"Hawaii: Land of Enchantment"

The Jack de Mello Orchestra
(Mountain Apple Company)

Jack de Mello occupies a unique place in the history of Hawaiian music. His expansive symphonic arrangements of traditional Hawaiian melodies took the music outside the familiar context of ukuleles and steel guitars popularized worldwide by the radio show "Hawaii Calls." They were also literally too big for the local recording industry to handle back in the 1960s, so de Mello had to go to Los Angeles and London to find studios large enough and talent pools deep enough to record them.

The music on this album originally released back in 1961 is as beautiful now as it was 44 years ago. A full orchestral string session is the foundation of de Mello's lush arrangements. Flute, harp, muted brass, and the voices of uncredited singers and chanters provide accent points and melodic embellishments. Hawaiian percussion instruments, and a few short lyric passages, remind the listener that these tunes have island ties. In "Ke Kali Nei Au (Wedding Song)," for example, de Mello features harp, violin, and an anonymous soprano amid the gently lilting strings.

Although de Mello's vintage recordings have a timeless beauty, this welcome reissue falls far short of the current standards for Hawaiian releases. First and foremost, composers' credits always should be included on Hawaiian albums, if only to ensure that this essential information is readily available to the discriminating listener. The producer of this reissue, Mountain Apple Company CEO (and Jack's son) Jon de Mello, lists the songs twice and omits the composers' credits both times.

Jon was right to preserve the original liner notes but should also have identified their original author. A little additional information about the Hawaiian performers heard on the album (i.e., the chanter who opens "He Aloha No O Honolulu" and "Closing: Aloha Oe") would've been welcome as well.

On the other hand, Jack de Mello's memories of Lani Custino, the dancer whose hands and arms are featured on the cover, adds an important bit of background information.

Anyone looking for romantic instrumentals will find "Hawaii: Land of Enchantment" a perfect choice, but the history of these landmark recordings should be here as well.

www.mountainapplecompany.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: "Ke Kali Nei Au (Wedding Song)" "Mapuana" "Closing: Aloha Oe" Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

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"Demo"

Bhudahead
(Self-release)

Despite the unconventional spelling, from the first buzz-saw riffs of the opening song, there's no question that Bhudahead plays solid rock. The title of their seven-song album suggests that they have a sense of humor as well. This so-called "demo," currently available at their gigs or through their Web site at www.bhudahead.com, is sufficiently polished to merit play on local rock radio stations.

In keeping with the free-for-all demo theme, the seven originals here run the gamut of political statements, dark odes to relationships, brooding ballads and screaming power rock.

If Bhudahead gets the right breaks, they could become the next rock band from Hawaii to be signed by a major indie label on the mainland. In the meantime, this bare-bones album makes for a suitable calling card.

www.bhudahead.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: "Wake Up" "Make Believe" "Out of Touch" Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info