Kekaula takes gigantic
step as musician
Daddy's Little Girl: Robert Kekaula (RAK Incorporated)
ROBERT Kekaula's 1994 debut album, "Kanak Attack," sufficed to introduce him as a recording act, but sounded thin, rushed and low-budget. His new album establishes him as a talented recording artist, not as a popular television guy with an album. It's an impressive giant step forward for him as a singer, musician, composer and artist.
When a formula local remake of "The Candy Man" is followed by a similar take on "Paper Roses" it seems for a moment that he and producer Sean Na'auao ran out of original songs and original ideas before finishing the project. Not even! Marie Osmond's handlers pillaged the old Anita Bryant hit in 1973 to launch Osmond as a solo artist. Kekaula and Na'auao are more imaginative. They morph the song into a showcase for Kekaula's wife, Jeri, and talented daughter, Tiera. It's nicely handled.
Daughter and Dad team up to make "Manu Kapalulu" a beautiful snapshot of family togetherness. Tiera is also the subject of the title song, one of five written or co-written by Kekaula. A second salutes Honolulu's hard-working opala crews. A third commemorates a three-man search-and-rescue team killed in a helicopter crash.
"Local Boy In Vegas" comes courtesy of Star-Bulletin columnist Charles Memminger. The lyrics are light but philosophical: What is life without opportunity, hope and the freedom to make choices? The thousands of Hawaii residents who make the pilgrimage will certainly relate.
Michael Grande joins Kekaula and Na'auao as the band. The arrangements are as diverse as the selections; they have a much more substantial sound than that heard on "Kanak Attack."
Kekaula and his production team are just as professional with the paperwork. They include lyrics and translations of the originals, numerous family photos and a cover showing Dad proudly surveying photos of his little girl.
Quiet Village/The Enchanted Sea: Martin Denny (Scamp)
SCAMP continues its superb series of Martin Denny re-releases with this disc, containing the entire contents of two vinyl albums. The original late-1950s liner notes and album art are augmented with extensive annotation written by Denny for the series. There are also numerous photos from his archives.
No one has matched Denny in creatively incorporating "exotic" instruments and unconventional rhythms into mainstream American pop music; he defined "Exotica" as a musical genre in the '50s. These beautiful cross-cultural instrumental arrangements are as striking now as they were then.
Given that "Quiet Village" was his biggest-ever Top 40 hit (No. 4 in 1959) this disc is a perfect introduction to his music and a must-buy for knowledgeable fans worldwide.
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.
See Record Reviews for some of John Berger's past reviews.
