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Island Mele

By John Berger

Friday, September 17, 1999

Strong songs of faith
from Dunham

Voices Of The Kingdom:
Ron Dunham (Helping Hands Outreach Ministry -- HHM001)

MANY local Christian albums consist of earnest testament and forgettable music. The timeless popularity of songs like "Amazing Grace" prove that Christian music need not be insipid.

Ron Dunham succeeds in crafting interesting melodies for 10 originals here. He opens with one of his strongest numbers, "Dancing For Jesus," and uses pop and jazz idioms elsewhere before returning to an electronic gospel sound for the finale. Several arrangements reflect the input of producer Kirk Thompson; the use of synthetic strings recalls his early work as a hit-making member of Kalapana.

Some lyric images will be most relevant to those who share Dunham's Pentecostal roots, but listeners of all faiths will find his songs substantial as music as well as honest statements of Christian faith.

Mpeg Audio Clips: Dancing For Jesus In The Garden Fire Quicktime | MPEG-3 info

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Enjoy The Ride:
Rushpack (Sudden Rush Productions -- SRP 81154)

RAP "dawgs" run in packs. Rushpack is a collective of artists with ties to the Big Island -- Sudden Rush, T. Moki Cho, Pomai & Loeka Longakit, and Devotion (formerly Tenderoni, and now related by marriage to the Longakits). The title song on this four-song EP features the entire crew on a faux-Jamaican commercial for a local surf shop. The other three are from Cho's 1998 album, "Tatee," and display his versatility as writer and vocalist working with Devotion and Pomai Longakit. Cho's "Blue Lights" still stands out.

Mpeg Audio Clips: Enjoy The Ride It's Smoothie Try Wait Blue Lights Quicktime | MPEG-3 info

Sudden Rush Productions - P.O. Box 6708 - Hilo, HI 96720

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Folk Songs of Hawaii:
Nohelani Kanoho Mahoe & The Leo Nahenahe Singers (Tradewinds -- TWCD9901)

"NAHENAHE" translates as "sweet, gentle, melodious." All three words describe the 15 Hawaiian and hapa-haole songs awaiting rediscovery on this anthology. From "Ei Kiele" to "My Island" and "Holu Nape" this is a lovely sampling of the music of the later Territorial Era.

Annotator Mazeppa Costa explains their significance but fails to say when these beautiful acoustic recordings were made or what became of the nahenahe group that made them.

Mpeg Audio Clips: Lei Kiele On The Beach My Island Quicktime | MPEG-3 info

Tradewinds Records - P.O. Box 37624 - Honolulu, HI 96837

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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.