'Drive On'

Dorothy Betz & Les Adam
(Doorless)

Less than a month after the release of the Kings of Spade album, “;Crave,”; comes another local project that falls well outside all the usual local musical genres. Maui-based singer/songwriters Les Adam and Dorothy Betz build these 12 original songs around her guitar, his keyboards and their well-worn voices. With an assortment of guests adding percussion, mandolin, sax, violin, etc., the duo draws on the American musical traditions of acoustic country, country/gospel, folk music, the blues and the “;string bands”; of the early 20th century.

The lead-off song, “;The Beach Bum's Tango,”; compares the joys of living a bum's life here to surviving the mainland rat race. The others describe the all-American experiences of being in love, surviving bad times, facing death with as much courage as possible, and striving to make the world a better place.

“;An Old Woman's Tale”; is a chilling account of child abuse and the tragic tendency of young victims to feel that they are to blame for the abuser's acts. “;The Day Ray Charles Died”; closes the album with a rousing gospel number.

  ”;The Beach Bum's Tango”;
”;The Day Ray Charles Died”;

”;Kimo-Therapy”;

Kimo
(no label)

James “;Kimo”; Delgado is remembered by some veterans of the local entertainment scene as a member of the hard-rocking Delgado Brothers band, but—surprise!—he plays steel guitar as well. The liner notes reveal that he also digs the related tradition of slide guitar; hints of that that all-American genre are also heard here.

Delgado opens with a deftly played rendition of “;Hawaiian Wedding Song”; that presents the well-known melody in a softly rocking arrangement. The rhythm section provides dancer-friendly backing that gives the hapa-haole standard the romantic feel of a pop-chart “;slow jam.”; Delgado reverses the sense of inter-cultural exchange later with Hawaiian-style arrangements of “;Venus,”; the Frankie Avalon chart-topper, and “;Deep Purple,”; best known to people under 60 as recorded by Nino Tempo & April Stevens. “;Deep Purple”; in fact dates from the late 1930s; Delgado plays it as a seductive hapa-haole instrumental.

Delgado applies the same vision and imagination elsewhere. He interprets several hapa-haole standards as danceable Latin pop or romantic guitar rock, He also includes a new take on Jorgen Ingmann's instrumental signature, “;Apache.”;

www.kimohawaiiansteelguitar.com

  ”;Hawaiian Wedding Song”;
”;Venus”;
”;Blue Hawaii”;

”;Waltzing With Bears”;

Cordell Keith Haugen
(Island Viking)

Keith Haugen has been known for years as a singer/songwriter whose main area of interest is Hawaiian music, and then more recently as Cordell, an acoustic country/folk artist. He built on the latter side of his repertoire earlier this year with his remake of Sheb Wooley's “;Trucker's Lament (I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore),”; and continues here with a second “;fun song,”; this one G-rated, “;Waltzing With Bears.”;

Studio musician/engineer Pierre Grill creates the sound of a German-style polka “;orchestra”; as the instrumental foundation for Haugen's whimsical tale of a man who prefers dancing with the titular omnivores to socializing with humans. All Haugen needs to do is translate the lyrics into German and he'll have a perfect new number of Oktoberfest season.

“;Walzing”; is available by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

www.hawaiiansong.com

  ”;Waltzing With Bears”;