'Pure' takes listeners into history of Island music

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

Just when you thought the compilation thing has become a mere convenience to repackage mundane retreads, along comes this powerful, invigorating, innovative collection of 18 tracks that run the gamut of Island artistry. Simply put, there are no throwaways here.

A stash of forgotten classics is revived in this special edition, along with some bona fide hot biscuits from top-of-the-charts artists. Further, there are three chants, for diversity.

Clearly, "Pure Hawaiian" looms as a blockbuster and a terrific introduction or rediscovery of some of the best talents here.

You want Gabby Pahinui? He's heard on a 1972 rendering of his signature "Hi'ilawe," which projects his one-of-a-kind delivery, fused with the traditional "Aloha 'Oe." You thirst for Bruddah Iz? His "Hawai'i '78," performed live at Hank's Place with the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau, returns with chicken-skin fidelity; he's gone, Hank's gone, but the track remains an indelible reminder of the act's greatness.

"Kawaipunahele," the romantic endeavor that started it all for Keali'i Reichel, also is here. Ditto, one of Sistah Robi Kahakalau's pupu, "Keiki O Ka 'aina," with all its original sass. And the Sunday Manoa's "Kawika" (yep, with Peter Moon alongside Robert and Roland Cazimero) also is a goldie that adds luster to the disc ... and begs a question, when (if ever) will there be a reunion?

Of the more recent acts, Pai'ea's "Pai'ea" and Maunalua's "Ku'u Lehua" are among the gems. Lei'ohi Ryder, joined by Uluwehi Guerrero, is a steadfast recent fave on "La'amaomao."

Then there's Steve Ma'i'i's and Teresa Bright's good-fun "'Uehe 'Ami Slide," with its contagious refrains that make you want to get up and dance, alongside Ledward Ka'apana & Ikona's "12th Street Rag/Sweet Georgia Brown," which swiftly and smartly take on uncanny Hawaiian charms.

The list goes on and on: chants by Charles Ka'upu; selections by I Kumaumau, the Pandanus Club, Lorna Lim, Sonny Chillingworth, the Peter Moon Band, O'Brian Eselu yield a jukebox jammed with jewels.

The enhanced disc, produced by John and Debra Iervolino, boasts 18 images for each of the tracks (especially effective if you're an out-of-towner) and a liner booklet providing lyrics that (in most instances) weren't on the original recordings.

Add a stunning hula-posture cover photo by Kim Taylor Reese, and you've got a surefire winner.

This is classic Caz, a flashback to 1985, when Robert had hair (and it wasn't blond) and Roland had a beard; when long-playing albums were fading and cassettes were the emerging format. Happily, the Brothers' style and form have withstood the test of time; these musical gems are as fresh as the day they were recorded.

So what's here? Plenty! The title tune medley, combining "Sea" with "Diamond Head;" the piano-accompaniment "E Ku'u Lei;" the atmospheric "Old Plantation" place song about the Ward Estate; the shuffle-beat "Pupu A'o Ewa" (a jazzed up rendering of "Pearly Shells," with an intro evocative of the more recent "Kawika" in the duo's repertoire); and the evocative chant, "Kalei'alalokelani."

In short: A timeless capsule of the source that has been a force in shaping and defining the sound of Island music for more than a quarter of a century.