Island Mele
POSTED: Friday, October 31, 2008
”;I Am What I Am”;
Joey
(no label)
Joey Caldarone wears many different hats. He's known as a singer, actor, interior designer, real estate developer, fashion and skin care maven and entrepreneur. This collection of Broadway hits and pop standards is his official debut as a recording artist (after guest appearances elsewhere). Packaged in nostalgic black-and-white, and beautifully produced in partnership with Pierre Grill, it is an excellent calling card that shares an important message as well.
Caldarone and Grill create a personal and informal mood by utilizing only acoustic piano for the singer's accompaniment. The result is an album that sounds like Caldarone could be singing in a cocktail lounge—or in your living room. It also proves that he doesn't need studio enhancements to sound good.
The two songs that are neither Broadway hits nor pop standards have personal significance: “;Torna Sorrento”; describes (in Italian) an area near his father's birthplace; “;Waikiki”; is now his home.
Two medleys of inspirational Broadway hits, followed by the title track, close the album on an uplifting note.
”;Torna Sorrento”;
”;The Way You Look Tonight”;
”;I Am What I Am”;
”;Best of Aloha Festivals
Falsetto Contest Winners”;
Various artists
(Hula)
Maybe its the economy, maybe its bad karma brought on by the ill-advised dismissal of Frank B. Shaner, founder of the Frank B. Shaner Hawaiian Falsetto Contest, in 2005. Whatever the reason, the Aloha Festivals falsetto contests seem to be on the wane. Hula Records' latest festival album is an anthology that contains no winners beyond 2005.
The good news is that the recordings capture perfectly the beauty of Hawaiian falsetto singing, by women as well as men. A “;bonus track”; features Kehau Tamure singing a song she wrote in the 1990s for one of the early male contestants.
Add informative liner notes and this is a perfect introduction to an important genre of Hawaiian music.
”;’Ulupalakua”;
”;Kalama‘ula”;
”;I Kona”;
”;Where I Belong”;
Raiatea Helm
(Raiatea Helm)
Raiatea Helm's latest single, available only in special production boxes of Hawaiian Host candy, is an introspective, bittersweet ballad that expresses her love of Hawaii in eloquent style. Co-written with expatriate local boy Johnson Enos, it also speaks for anyone who is away from Hawaii.
Chocolate lovers get a bonus because the disc contains one song each from her Grammy-finalist albums, “;Sweet & Lovely”; and “;Hawaiian Blossom.”;
”;Hawaii's Keola & Kapono Beamer”;
Keola & Kapono Beamer
(HanaOla)
This is the album that introduced Keola and Kapono Beamer as “;Hawaii's youngest legends”; in 1975, and, although they have both been successful solo artists for more than 25 years, it is very welcome as a re-issue.
The brothers' commitment to perpetuating their family heritage is found in their beautiful rendition of “;Keawaiki,”; a classic by their great-grandmother, Helen Desha Beamer, but the album is probably best remembered for two hapa haole numbers—“;Mr. Sun Cho Lee,”; by Eaton “;Bob”; Magoon, and the duo's own highly controversial hit, “;Sweet Okole.”;
Updated liner notes alongside producer Sonny Burke's original annotation complete the project.
”;Keawaiki”;
”;Mr. Sun Cho Lee”;
”;Sweet Okole”;
