Please support our very first Starbulletin.com advertiser!
Island Mele
Friday, September 22, 2000
MacDonald drums
up Latin mixREVIEW
Pan-A-Cabana:
By Greg MacDonald (no label GMM-2000)GREG MacDonald has succeeded Frank Leto as Hawaii's most visible exponent of the Caribbean steel drum. His third album is a group project with his wife, Junko, Pierre Grill and Cecilio Rodriguez among musicians joining him.
Most of the songs follow the Latin mix theme. Liner notes reveal how "Mack The Knife" and "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" fit in and explain MacDonald's strategy in using steel drums as core instruments in a "world music" project. Steel drum fans and curiosity seekers alike will enjoy his work.
Email: gmacd@aloha.net
Mpeg Audio Clips:
Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info
By Culture Boyz (West Maui Recordings WMR 6297)The cover shows a sextet but the credits list 10 members plus two "additional players," one of the Boyz is obviously a woman, and there's little trace of the members' Polynesian culture in their music. Local reggae fans probably won't even notice as the Los Angeles-based band introduces itself with a powerful collection of local-style reggae originals. Almost any of these songs could be a hit here.
Solid riffs and catchy hooks drive the Boyz' songs of life in the Polynesian diaspora. One speaks frankly of growing up with "Dad on the pipe." Most of the others are love songs or party tunes addressing such topics as the popularity of the Boyz' music and "popcorn popping on this woman's booty." The guys generally sing straight although they occasionally affect Jamaican accents or old-skool rap cliches. The group's female "boy" adds another strong and appealing voice to the mix.
http://www.westmauimusic.com
Mpeg Audio Clips:
Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info
By SLK (DMC Records DMC1213-2)SLK features expatriate islander Sonya Lee who returns home with a CD single preview of an upcoming album (Faith, pictured at right, is no longer with the group). Her voice is one of the sounds in the mix as producer Danny MacArthur works over the Eurythmics' 1984 hit.
MacArthur's team offers remixes that will mesh seamlessly with those of countless other acts. He and Lee should study Tony C's "TC2000" album for insights on creating a distinct aural identity and making SLK something special.
http://www.dmcrecords.com
Mpeg Audio Clips:
Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info
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.
