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Island Mele John Berger |
"The Perfect Harmony"
Na HokupaNa Hokupa is successfully perpetuating the musical legacy of Buddy Fo & the Invitations with this beautiful collection of Hawaiian and hapa-haole standards presented with smooth four-part harmonies and clean instrumental arrangements. While leader-arranger Paul Martinez incorporates Latin rhythms in a song or two, the group maintains a nostalgic Hawaiian ambiance.
Moon Surfer ProductionsAn opening brisk rendition of "Nanakuli Medley" showcases the quintet's falsetto voices, as well as its smooth Invitations-style harmonies. The song is a great opener, but the four-part vocal arrangements that follow are the thing that makes this group most interesting ("Kimi's Song," an original slack-key instrumental, is a radical break with the album's overall sound).
Since Na Hokupa clearly desires to carry on the Invitations' musical legacy, it's unfortunate that the album lacks any annotation that shares that history.
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"Nanakuli Medley"
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"Island Classics"
Various artistsProducer John Iervolino has several prior anthologies and compilation albums to his credit, but this one is something special. Rather than continue recycling recent local recordings ad nauseum, Iervolino has gone back to the music of the 1970s and '80s, and assembled an impressive retrospective that includes major hits by the two biggest contemporary local acts of the day, Cecilio & Kapono and Kalapana.
Quiet StormC&K are represented by "About You" and "Goodtimes Together," and Kalapana by "Naturally" and "Nightbird." Add "Hawaiian Eyes" and "Hawaiian Soul" by Jon & Randy, and Audy Kimura's biggest hit, "Lovers & Friends," and the album lives up to its title, despite some material by several second-tier acts of the era.
Erudite liner notes by Ron "Whodaguy" Jacobs share the history behind these classics and add the final essential piece to this first-class anthology.
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"Hawaiian Style 3"
Various artists"Jawaiian Style" would be a more appropriate title for this hodge-podge compilation of hits, misses and obscurities by an eclectic cross-section of acts that range from Baba B to K2 -- Kua'ana. A majority of the songs utilize the formula reggae rhythms that have come to define Jawaiian music, and a couple sound like the products of one single marathon recording session.
Neos ProductionsThe most substantial contemporary entry is Pati's imaginative rearrangement of "Gotta Get Away." Cecilio & Kapono's "Friends" is the biggest hit here by far but an odd selection, considering it's almost 30 years older than the other songs.
Since there's a lack of information included about any of the artists on this "recycling project," I can tell you that's Augie T joining Kapena on "Okie Dokie Makou" and that Reality, the duo of Marja Apisaloma and Shivon Ines, once seemed poised to be the next big "girl group" in local music.
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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.
