Carole King - "The Carnegie Hall Concert, June 18, 1971"

This legacy edition of this 1971 concert was not released until 1996. But it is a little gem.

Performed for a sold out crowd shortly after the release of King's landmark "Tapestry" album that was climbing up the charts and her song "It's Too Late" had hit number one on the charts the morning of this concert.

The audience is incredibly excited between songs and in sheer respectful awe when songs are sung. The audience is so quiet during some songs you can hear her voice bounce of the walls. King is obviously nervous as evidenced by her stage chatter, she does get more comfortable as the show progresses and as noted at this point in her life she had terrible stage fright.

While the songs are largely from "Tapestry" there are several excellent renditions from her forgotten debut album "Writer" and songs from her at the time unreleased  album "Music." For the majority of the concert King is alone with her piano giving even the famous songs a different spin. It is almost as if King is in your living with a grand piano, that is how intimate this concert sounds. Sometimes her voice is shaky as she was not really a performer at this point in her career. Well known California session guitarist Danny Kortchmar appears on a few songs; There is also a special appearance by James Taylor who duets with King on some of her old hits like "Will you still love me tomorrow" and of course "You've Got  a Friend."

The liner notes are excellent as is the sound which is usual for Legacy releases. This is a great companion piece to the classic "Tapestry" album and a warm nice listen for a late cold night. Recommended for fans of King and "Tapestry."

Israel Kamakawiwo`ole - "Alone in IZ World"

Easily the best of the many IZ studio albums released after his death in 1997. This is really a compilation of alternate performances and remixed/overdubbed songs from his previous albums. There are a handful of "new songs" one of which, a version of Nat King Cole's "Mona Lisa" is an outtake with IZ cracking jokes part way through. It is a nice insight into the man like he is talking to you. Most of the tracks are unplugged IZ and his ukulele which is wonderful and soothing.

There are several orchestral, wall of sound style remixes that work very well, "Starting All Over Again" and "In This Life" becoming big hits in these redone versions. Overall the album works very well because it picks some lesser known songs in the musicians catalogue and presents them in simple but pleasing ways. Also released after the massive success of "Facing Future" and IZ's untimely passing the album became a huge hit and a popular addition to many listeners libraries. Most original copies of the disc come with a Quicktime special version that plays some candid personal photos, press clippings, and a screen saver.

Note: the version of "Over the Rainbow" presented here is not the famous version, see IZ's album "Facing Future" for the famous "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World" medley.

Israel Kamakawiwo`ole - "Facing Future"

Israel Kamakawiwo`ole is one of the most popular Hawaiian musicians of all time and this album is his most successful. This is the first Hawaiian music album to be certified Gold and eventually Platinum.

Bruddah "IZ," as he is affectionately called, first gained fame as a member of the Makaha Sons of Ni`ihau with his brother Skippy and Moon Kaukahi, Jon and Jerome Koko.
Skippy, who also had a weight problem, died of a heart attack at 28 when the group was gaining their fame in the early 1980s.

In the 1990s the remaining four members became one of the most popular bands in Hawaiian Music but IZ wanted to take the music in a more contemporary direction while the other three members wanted to keep things traditional. IZ left the group after their biggest success with the hit song "Take a Walk in the Country."

He made several solo albums but "Facing Future" released in 1993 was his biggest success. Mixing traditional Hawaiian songs with modern arrangements and contemporary songs. Of the contemporary songs "Hawaii 78" became a Native Hawaiian anthem. A Hawaii-ized version of John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Road" changing some lyrics to make the song about Hawaii instead of West Virginia is a catchy winner. The epic Jawaiian style "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man" is funny. catchy and educational all at the same time, it was one of the hits off the album. A solo acoustic version of "White Sandy Beach" is also a beautiful lamenting winner.

The most popular track is the ukulele led medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World." This song has been used in TV shows, Movies and Commercials. The song's success is really the reason this album is the first Hawaiian music album to be certified Gold.

"Facing Future" is a winning record and the best example of all IZ's abilities and styles.

Kalapana - "Blue Album"

Sorry for the long break in posts everyone, got a little side tracked but now I am back on track.

This is the last album of new material Kalapana has released to date. Released in 2002 it was something of a phoenix story for the band.

In 1999, Mackey Feary, one of the band's founding members committed suicide after a long battle with substance abuse. Kalapana performed a tribute concert in Waikiki in early 2000 but stayed out of the music scene until the release of this album in 2002.

"Blue Album" is the band's best album in years. They have written a strong batch of songs and have also found an excellent medium between their Jazz Fusion/Pop/Rock/Folk style of the 1970s and their more electronic sound of the 1980s and 90s.

Malani Bilyeu dominates the album with the excellent and super catchy "Another Lonely Night," "Ten Years After (featuring the group CHANT)," "Keala," "Lost Love" and "Coming Home to You."

Maurice Bega, a friend and former bandmate of Feary's, provides lead vocals on two songs and back up on all the others. Bega also performed Feary's vocals at the Kalapana performance in 2000. Gaylord Holomalia is great on keyboards and as engineer gives all the songs a great sound. DJ Pratt has some killer guitar solos.

The album is dedicated to Feary and it is a winner. It does, however, lose steam in the last four tracks but that does not diminish its excellence. After this album Kalapana was touring almost constantly with new member Zanuck Lindsey filling in on guitar and Mackey Feary vocals. Since 2008 the band's performances have become very erratic, particularly Bilyeu's stage antics and weakening voice. A proposed anniversary concert in 2009 was canceled and the band has since vanished from the music scene.

If this does turn out to be their final album they went out on a good note.

Kalapana - "Back In Your Heart Again"

So after 1978 Kalapana disbanded with each member going on to do a solo project. Mackey Feary had been moderately successful with The Mackey Feary Band. DJ Pratt and Alvin Fejerang stayed in Japan and formed a new group that they misleadingly called Kalapana and released a couple of Japan only albums ("Hold On" and "Live"). Kirk Thompson formed the Jazz Rock band Lemuria and had a hit with their self titled debut. Michael Paulo continued his Saxophone excellence working on a number of jazz and Hawaiian projects. Malani Bilyeu really hit is big with his 1980 solo debut "Islands" which featured the huge hit "Moloka'i Sweet Home."

In 1982 Hawaii concert promoter Tom Moffatt convinced Feary, Bilyeu, Thompson, Fejerang and Paulo to reunite for a sold out concert that was released as the album "Reunion." They then went on a tour in 1983.

In 1986 and 1987: Feary, Bilyeu, Pratt, Paulo with new members Kenji Sano (bass) and Gaylord Holomalia (Keyboards/production) recorded "Hurricane" and "Lava Rock" which were fairly successful, especially in Asia. Their tours of Asia, Hawaii and the Pacific were big successes.

So in 1990 came this album with the same line up as those 1980s albums. The music here is geared more toward a Japanese audience with breezy tropical pop that sounds really good while it is playing but is largely forgettable once the album is finished. The best song is "Fireside Blues" a solo acoustic tune by Bilyeu. The album also features some old songs "Blacksand" and "Julliet" and a new recording of "Many Classic Moments." A fine cover of "Here, There, and Everywhere" is also included.

The sound is closer to smooth jazz than the groups Rock/Pop/Fusion sound. Not a bad release but certainly not essential except for the above mentioned songs. This album is completely omitted from any hits compilations though so this is the only place to hear these songs. It is also something of a rare recording because it is no longer in mass production.

Kalapana - "In Concert"

A live double album recorded during four sold out shows, two in Japan and two in Guam.

The band is in good form.  It is the same line up from their two previous albums Malani Bilyeu, DJ Pratt, Kirk Thompson, Randy Aloya, Alvin Fejerang, and Michael Paulo. For these concerts Hiroshima keyboardist Kimo Cornwell joined the group.

Most of the tracks come from the albums "Kalapana II," "Kalapana III" and "Many Classic Moments." Most of the performances do not differ greatly from the studio versions aside from more energy, or changes in instrumentation.

Some of these performances, however, are pretty killer including the opening medley of "Jamaica Farewell/Banana Boat Song/When the Morning Comes," the jamming on "Nathen's Lament" and the jaw dropping guitar work by Pratt on "Can you See Him." This is a great time capsule as Kalapana disbanded shortly after these concerts. This is also the only live recording from their heyday, the other two records/videos are from later in their career. This shows how popular they were because very few Hawaii artists have the popularity to release double albums without losing money. Kalapana could do it. Finally many of these songs are no longer in Kalapana's live repertoire so it is neat to hear them in a concert setting.

Like their two previous studio albums this one is only available as a Japanese import CD. I got it as a Christmas gift one year. It is not entirely essential especially considering the import price but it is nice to have for the die hard Kalapana fan. Long live Kalapana.

Kalapana - "Many Classic Moments"

Kalapana's final studio album (discounting the Japanese "Northbound") before breaking up in 1979. Released in 1978 this is the soundtrack for the surfing documentary of the same name (the movie was recently released on DVD for the first time after never being put on VHS).

The same group line up from "Kalapana III," Malani Bilyeu, DJ Pratt, Kirk Thompson, Randy Aloya, Alvin Fejarang and Michael Paulo, are present on this album. They continue the Jazz Pop fusions that they started on the previous album.

The title track is a winner one of the finest songs Bilyeu ever wrote. "The Ultimate" is a pounding instrumental that makes the listener feel like they are inside a wave. The closer a cover of Batdorf and Rodney's "Can You See Him" is a seven minute acoustic guitar solo with three minutes of lyrics. DJ Pratt's guitar skills are on ample display and show that he is one of the great guitarists out there. "The Water Song" has some poor lyrics but soars on excellent music and Bilyeu powerful vocals. "Sunny Days" is Pratt going for a Mackey Feary vibe and doing a pretty good job. "Uptown Country" and "Down By The Sea" are enjoyable but they take a few listens to really get into. The album is short with only eight tracks (one of them being "Naturally" from their first album) so really there are only seven new songs. Nevertheless this is another winner from Kalapana and will certainly please their fans.

Some of these songs appear on Kalapana's "Best of Vol. 2" collection but most are only available on this album. Like their previous album, "Kalapana III," this one is something of a collectors item. Originally released on Vinyl everywhere but when CD's came around this was never released on CD in the United States. It is only available as a super expensive Japanese Import. My great friend Laurel lived in Japan for a while and sent me this CD, which I treasure.