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I have been familiar with the music of John Keawe for quite some time, but amazingly did not have any of his CD's in my personal collection. I was very excited when his new CD arrived the other day. For those of you that have not had the pleasure to hear his music, John Keawe is a master of the slack key guitar and won a 1994 Na Hoku Hanohano award for his slack key album Ho'onanea.
I have been enjoying his new CD since I first put in on. The opening song Where are the Children is a touching mele dedicated to the people of Kalaupapa, the remote Moloka'i peninsula where Father Damien ministered to Hawaiian's inflicted with Hansen's disease (leprosy) in the 1800's and that is still the home to several patients living there today. If you love the relaxing sounds of slack key, there are a couple of instrumentals that you will enjoy including Encantada (Enchanting) and Kalaupapa's Prayer. When I first heard Love of My Life John's voice reminded me of another popular singer who I could not place at the time. After a while I figured it out. Some of vocals on the song sound similar to B.J. Thomas (remember Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head and Hooked on a Feeling?). Maybe I'm a little crazy, I'll let you decide. In any event, Love of My Life is a very nice song that you are sure to enjoy. Honomakau Hale is a catchy tune that you'll find yourself tapping your foot to. It's about good times on Sunday afternoons where you talk story and "you eat 'till you can eat no more, then you rest and you eat some more"! I cracked up when I heard those lyrics. One of my favorite mele's on the CD is Slack Key Heaven which is a tribute to Gabby Pahinui, Atta Isaacs, and Sonny Chillingworth. These 3 slack key masters had a major influence on the rise in popularity of Slack Key Guitar. At the tail end of the song, John plays popular guitar rifts from each of these artists that you will instantly recognize if you are a big slack key fan. Most of the lyrics on this CD are in English.
I'll tell you one thing...after listening to this CD, I am going to add some more John Keawe CD's to my collection very soon! To learn more about John and his music, visit the John Keawe Website. Since this review is being written in December, I should let you know that John Keawe has a wonderful Christmas CD titled Christmas Is. I just noticed that our friends at Kaleo's Music put this CD on their recommended list of Hawaiian Christmas CD's. Check our Sources of Hawaiian Music page to order CD's from John Keawe or any other Hawaiian artists.
> The CD contains the following:
This is a 4 coconut CD, an excellent addition to your Hawaiian Music collection.
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5 Coconuts - These CD's are must have CD's that every Hawaiian Music fan should have in their collection. They are classics that you will play over and over for years. The quality of the music is excellent. |
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4 Coconuts - These CD's are highly recommended. Although they are not necessarily classics, most Hawaiian Music Fans will really enjoy them. |
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3 Coconuts - These are CD's that some people will love, but others will not care for as much. Overall, though, they contain good quality music and are a nice addition to your collection. |
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2 Coconuts - These are good CD's, but won't appeal to everyone. |
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1 Coconut - These CD's would only appeal to a small percentage of people... like the artist's auntie ;-) |
Because a large percentage of our e-mail are requests for CD recommendations, our reviews will typically focus on CD's ranked 4 and 5 coconuts, with a few 3 coconut CD's sprinkled in.