Friday Record Reviews
By John Berger,
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Friday, May 10, 1996
ALMOST any recording artist or producer can recycle a successful sound from one album to the next to the next. It takes much more than that to successfully incorporate new ideas without losing the essence of the original hit formula.The Makaha Sons do exactly that with their new album, "Kuikawa." Guitarist Jerome Koko explains in the liner notes that the title can be translated into English as "special" and that it refers to some of the people who have helped the band develop during the years. He and the other Sons - John Koko and Louis Moon Kauakahi - might be too modest to say so, but the word applies to the contents of the album as well. Officially designated as their 20th anniversary album, it will certainly stand as one of the best and most significant Hawaiian albums of the year.
The Sons have been a major presence in traditionalist Hawaiian music, specializing in precise arrangements, smooth harmonies and Hawaiian-language lyrics. Those traditions are all intact here.
The Sons' previous album, "Ke Alaula" (The Dawning), proved that Makaha could flourish without Niihau. "Kuikawa" proves they can rock Hawaiian-style as well. The first song is an original by Kauakahi; the second a Territorial era classic by Alvin Kaleolani Isaacs. The arrangement has the same instant impact as Peter Moon's superb "Slack Key Boogie Woogie." The Sons' medley is arranged by Kauakahi and opens the album with a dramatic and eminently commercial wake-up call: The Makaha Sons are back and ready to jam!
Other arrangements also successfully juxtapose English and Hawaiian-language lyrics or combine songs from different eras and cultures. "Spanish Harlem/Spanish Eyes/Los Dos" is a perfect example of how imaginative artists and arrangers can blend music from different genres. Presenting the first two as instrumentals accents the Hispanic elements of the pop melodies and provides a smooth segue into the Spanish lyrics of "Los Dos." The Sons' harmonies complete a beautiful arrangement.
Robert Cazimero is the featured vocalist on "My Isle of Golden Dreams"/"Pua Malihini," while cross-cultural creativity also yields dividends in the blending of an Elvis movie hit ("Drums of the Islands") with contemporary Hawaiian rock (Willie K's "Waterfall").
Elsewhere the selections range from nostalgic to romantic to silly. Charles E. King's "The Pidgin English Hula" dates from 1934 and is now a lyric reflection of the stereotypical broken English of an earlier era. The trio successfully negotiates lyrics like "I think so you no likee me no more" but sounds just on the edge of losing it as they go into the finale.
The Sons give traditionalists several numbers to treasure. "Hopoe" is a gem from Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett. "U'i," "Ka Wai 'Olu Waipi'o" and "Kuhihewa" will delight purists and students of the language as well.