'Song Writer'

Peter Apo & the Rainbow Nation Band
(Mamo)

Peter Apo made an important contribution to the evolution of modern Hawaiian music in 1990 when he produced “;Hawaiian Nation: A Call for Hawaiian Sovereignty,”; the first full-length album addressing the issues spawned by the overthrow of the Hawaiian government almost a century before.

The album was too “;hot”; politically to get local radio play or win any Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, but Apo continued on as a member of the Hoku Award-winning duo Apo & Beazley, as a solo artist and as a member of his namesake group, Peter Apo & the Rainbow Nation Band.

Apo wrote 10 of the 13 songs here; several are performed as contemporary country-rock, others as light but topical blues (”;Paradise Blues”;) or full-throttle rock (”;New York City”;). The latter song makes it clear that the sextet can play serious rock 'n' roll as well as softer genres.

Apo shows his imaginative side with whimsical tales of mermaids, shipwrecks and time travel.

www.peterapomusic.com

”;Seasons Change”;
”;Aqua Dreams”;
”;May the Sun Follow Your Days”;

'Songs of the Sleeping Stone'

Steve Kramer
(Dolphin's Song)

Local music historians remember Steve Kramer as a member of Cooper's Still and thus as one of winners of Ron Jacobs' first “;Homegrown”; song competition for KKUA-AM 690 in 1976. Kramer has been better known in recent years as a Hoku Award-winning engineer but has been active as a writer as well.

No one can interpret a song with as much knowledge as the composer, and that makes Kramer's work an important statement. It's almost a one-man project, but he makes good use of guests to embellish individual arrangements.

In short, this is not, repeat, not, a songwriter's demo—it's a finished, ready-for-the-big-time album.

On some selections, Kramer sings in a somnambulant style. Other songs have a more energetic feel. Guitar, synth-track percussion and steel guitarist Greg Sardinha are key components in “;Tell the Islands I'm Comin' Home,”; a zesty, up-tempo number that expresses many a resident's feelings about returning home. With “;I'm Sorry”; he tells someone who broke his heart to stay away and let him heal in peace; here, too, is a song that will speak for many.

Kramer distinguishes himself with “;Forest for the Trees”; as he calls for restraint in further exploitation of Hawaii's fragile ecology. The melody almost sounds cheerful, but he reveals in the liner notes that the bird heard singing is the last Kauai o'o—one of the many species of Hawaiian birds that became extinct due to human greed, indifference or ignorance.

www.sleepingstone.com

”;My Island Home”;
”;Do It All Again”;
”;There Is A Storm Approaching”;

'Live at Ward's Rafters'

Stephen Inglis
(Aumakua)

Singer/guitarist Stephen Inglis combines the traditions of contemporary folk music and Hawaiian slack key with this collection of originals recorded last fall at Jackie Ward's controversial Kaimuki neighborhood performance venue. There's a bit of audience applause at the end of the tracks, but each cut is distinct from the others. Except for Inglis' narrative introductions, there is no particular sense of this being a “;live”; performance.

Not that that's a bad thing. Who needs to hear intrusive room noise or drunken chatter? Inglis' instrumentals deserve to be heard without such clutter, and his lyrics are worth a listen.

Inglis speaks to many Americans of a certain age with “;Ain't That the Way,”; recalling the joys of what seems to have been a better time to be a kid—back when it was safe to play outside, back when kids were free to organize their own activities, and back when there was more to entertainment than playing video games.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann would be well advised to take note as Inglis rebuts critics of Hawaii's only urban metropolis with “;Honolulu City.”; No, there's no political slant; it's a love song to the city from a guy who's still proud to call it “;home.”;

Inglis' slack-key instrumentals showcase the other side of his repertoire. All are pretty—as good slack key always is—but “;Makapu'u Moonrise”; especially catches the ear with its haunting, soothing tones.

www.stepheninglis.com

”;Ain't That The Way”;
”;Honolulu Song”;
”;Redwood Slack Key”;