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Island Mele John Berger |
A sticker promises "80 Minutes of Music," and that turns out to be the main selling point for this recycled project by Daniel Ho. A slack key album he recorded with George Kahumoku Jr. won a Hoku award in 2000, but Kahumoku's name doesn't appear in the credits here, even though the cover art proclaims this as "the Complete Collection." What you get isn't all slack key, either. "Hawaiian Slack Key
Daniel Ho
Guitar Collection"
Daniel Ho CreationThe thing that makes this collection interesting as mood music is the diversity of the arrangements. Some display Ho's technique as a slack key guitarist. On other tracks, his guitar playing is subordinated to other instruments in a sound closer to Muzak-like jazz. While no information is provided on Ho or his music, folks who do pick up this CD will get an hour's-plus worth of soothing product for their money.
www.danielho.com
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"Kanaka Wai Wai"
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Keola Beamer's new album looks back at two types of local music that became popular here in the 1970s. Traditional Hawaiian-language songs were being rediscovered as part of the Hawaiian Renaissance, even as a new form of contemporary music was being created for the mainstream audience by Cecilio & Kapono and Kalapana. There was little crossover between the two then, but Beamer accomplishes that here with new arrangements of songs ranging from "Kawika" to "Sunflower." "Mohala Hou"
Keola Beamer
'Ohe RecordsBeamer's stature as an artist is so well known that his arrangements of the non-Hawaiian songs are the most interesting. They represent the greatest artistic stretch for him, and the original hit versions are still widely accepted as definitive.
J.W. Junker shares credit with Beamer in the liner notes, filling in the stories behind the songs, along with Beamer's memories of the artists that made them hits 30 years ago.
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Anyone who can't get enough of Jawaiian music will find that no one does it better than the Ka'ala Boys. Their new album comes complete with run-of-the-mill reggaefied island rhythm music and two unremarkable remakes that offer no new perspectives on the original hits. "Can't Get Enough"
Ka'ala Boys
Neos ProductionsThe originals are more interesting. Four of the guys write, and they address the usual topics of love and lust with earnest eloquence. The interplay between Keoki Van Blyenberg on ukulele and guitarists Paul Dunlap and Rodney Bejer also add bright melodic textures to their music (Drummer Kaleo Kapua and keyboard studio musician Rikki Lepule complete the line-up). "Fireman's Hula," a glorious detour into Hawaiian falsetto, probably belongs on another album altogether, but shows that the Ka'ala Boys have the potential to do more than this basic commercial music.
www.neosproductions.com
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See the Columnists section for some past reviews.
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. Contact John Berger at jberger@starbulletin.com.
