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Island Mele John Berger |
"Territorial Airwaves"
Various artists
Hana Ola
(HOCD 56000)This perfect anthology is the 20th that Harry B. Soria Jr. has produced for Hana Ola Records, and certainly the closest to his heart. It commemorates the 25th anniversary of his "Territorial Airwaves" radio show and also marks his debut as a recording artist. From the opening montage of vintage radio clips to the final song -- Alfred Apaka singing "Aloha 'Oe" -- Soria has assembled a marvelous cross-section of classic Hawaiian and hapa-haole music.
Most of his picks are from the 1930s and '40s. They include the first recording of "Kauoha Mai" by Lena Machado, and the original version of "When Hilo Hattie Does the Hilo Hop." Andy Cummings' 1946 arrangement of "Waikiki" is here as well, along with other gems by Genoa Keawe, Randy Oness' Select Hawaiian Serenaders, Gabby Pahinui and other acts of similar stature.
Soria breaks in after the track by the Richard Kauhi Quartette to introduce himself and move the "show" into the '60s and '70s with recordings by Buddy Fo & The Invitations, Melveen Leed, Hui Ohana and Myrtle K. Hilo.
Soria's 16-page liner notes booklet completes this fine project with detailed information on the recordings, the artists, the radio show and his family's 70-year involvement with island radio.
www.cordinternational.com
Mpeg Audio Clips:
When Hilo Hattie Does the Hilo Hop
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"Motown Hawaiian Style: Tiny CD 4"
Various artists
Tiny Nitro Tadani
(TNT 2004)In putting together this collection, Tiny Tadani has apparently never heard a remake he didn't like. Still, several of the songs on this, his fourth collection, are worthy of radio play. Aziel does a good job on a basic copy of Stevie Wonder's 1982 ballad, "Ribbon in the Sky," and Tani Lynn puts a sweet, feminine spin on "Got to Be There," the song that introduced Michael Jackson as a solo star in 1971.
Tadani deserves credit for including three Wonder compositions that never made the national singles charts. Reign teams up with élan for a soulful rendition of "Love's in Need of Love Today," and Robi Kahakalau makes a welcome return to the local scene with "Stay Gold."
Now for the bad news. Tadani's catchy new anthem, "'The New' Tiny TV Theme Song" is one of perhaps three songs that has any hint of any so-called "Hawaiian style," and five that have no links to Motown. "The Shoop Shoop Song" is one of them, and Forté's version of it lacks the emotion Betty Everett gave the original 1964 hit.
Chris Carillo does better with Bob Marley's "Could This Be Love" -- but Marley is even farther from Motown than Everett!
Some of the other non-Motown songs aren't even new material. A pointless copy of "Rock the Boat" by Tino & The Rhythm Klub was culled from their 2002 CD single. "Let's Go Dancin' " is from an album by Ellsworth "Ells" Simeona.
But Tadani makes a good choice with a third recycled recording, "The Love You Save" by Five By 5, because the group and producer/musician Carlos Villalobos did it in a way that owes little to the original Jackson 5 hit.
Mpeg Audio Clips:
Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info
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.
