"Let's Ride"

Cover art showing two clean-cut bikers sitting on cute little pastel bicycles sets the mood for this impressive debut by Jay Soares and Marco Catracchia. The Road Rebels are serious, hard-core rockers, true, but they've got a sense of humor. Soares is the lead voice, Catracchia the guitarist. David Kauahikaua (keyboards) and Chris Luke (drums) are their supporting musicians, and the Rebels' wives, Roslyn Catracchia and Kim Soares, provide backing vocals.

The Rebels' personality emerges with "Pushin' 40," which expresses the guys' awareness of aging with defiant comic panache and hard-driving rock -- every "middle-age adolescent" will relate. "I Ain't Nobody's B#@%*!" serves rowdy notice they won't wear anyone's logo unless they're paid to do it.

The Rebels aren't all hard rock and attitude. "What Did I Say?" ponders the errors that drove a woman away. "Walkin' Up That Hill" taps into a darker electric blues vein for another tale of failed romance.

There's nothing Hawaiian here, but these island rebels rock!

Mpeg Audio Clips: Let's Ride Walkin' Up That Hill Pushing 40 Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

"Hana Hou"

Acoustic purity is the key on this welcome third album by Keoki Kahumoku and Herb Ohta Jr. Kahumoku plays slack-key guitar and sings. Ohta, a second-generation ukulele virtuoso, lets his partner handle the vocals.

They open with "Five More Minutes," an earnest homespun tune about how time can fly when a couple is together. The arrangement is an excellent introduction to the crisp interplay between Ohta's ukulele and Kahumoku's guitar.

"Waikiki Hula" and "Ho'o Kupa" display Kahumoku's strength singing traditional Hawaiian material. "Days of My Youth" shows him equally adept at tapping the emotion of English lyrics. Ohta's work in defining the melody in some spots, providing a counter-point to the vocals in others, makes "Hana Hou" a multi-faceted musical delight.

Mpeg Audio Clips: Five More Minutes Waikiki Hula Days of My Youth Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

"The Hawai'i Classic Series
Vol. 1 Vintage"

Who buys an album without knowing who the performers are? Clueless tourists souvenir shopping for generic "Hawaiian music" may be the intended market for this semi-anonymous project by Nathan Aweau. It takes a keen eye to find his name amid the small print on the back cover.

The 11 songs are hapa-haole standards that date from the 1930s through the '70s.

Aweau's reworking of "Blue Hawaii" as swinging cocktail lounge music works beautifully, but "Tiny Bubbles" would be better without the synth tracks he uses as sonic filler.

"Hawaiian Wedding Song" is a nice showcase for his voice despite the faux string section. The expansive karaoke-style electronics on "Honolulu City Lights" actually work OK, but can't compare to Keola & Kapono Beamer's original. Aweau's singing is better than the instrumental arrangement.

"Talk with Me, Waikiki" shows off his falsetto range and closes the album on a wistful romantic note.

Mpeg Audio Clips: Lovely Hula Hands Blue Hawaii Honolulu City Lights Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info