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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 10, 2007

ISLAND SOUNDS
Shimabukuro no longer just Jake's bro

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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"Bits and Pieces" by Bruce Shimabukuro; Hitchhike Records

  • Genre: Adult contemporary.

  • Distinguishing notes: Bruce Shimabukuro may be Jake's kid brother, but this six-song CD compilation (Bruce's second album) shelves any brotherly comparisons. One sibling has influenced the other over time, but Bruce, who taught uke when Jake had an 'ukulele studio, is also a guitarist in a contemporary, light-rock mode, and he's now truly ready for his close-up. (Still, Jake makes an appearance on the CD and also produced it.)

    Bruce shows several styles and dispositions here — the medium-tempoed rock tune "If I Could Fly," the rockaballad "You Could" and the "down" moment of "Bits and Pieces," which is a reassuring example of how life's experiences can be channeled into a song. "I Lied," a melancholic ballad about the pangs of separation, is easily the mini-CD's best track, with inevitable real-life connections for listeners.

    The Brothers Shimabukuro make the finale, "Tokada," an instrumental 'ukulele jam, with the swift fingerings that have hurled Jake into uke superstardom. Though the uke is not Bruce's primary instrument on the CD, this track is a viable candidate for his all-uke product down the line.

  • Our take: Bruce comes into his own and out of the shadows.


    Sample song: "You Could" by Bruce Shimabukuro

    "Before 3003: Peace and Tranquility" by Lyle K'ang; Human Tribe Productions

  • Genre: Eclectic, with folk, pop and blues elements.

  • Distinguishing notes: I first met Lyle K'ang in the late 1960s and early '70s, when he was selected to portray Claude in the then-controversial and innovative love-rock musical, "Hair."

    This CD, curiously, is his first; the songs play like fragments of his life, written over the past three decades, with a heavy dose of the hippie movement-suggested folk, rock and blues idiom. K'ang tackles a spectrum of themes and see-saws from reflective to reactive, mostly to better the world. His Island ties are the basis for " 'Til the End," where the shores, skies and more remain a positive memory; "Darling" is a flashback ditty about love found on Maui and the Big Island; "By the Sea" infers that children are our future; "Little Boy Joe" is a dark lament ("stop the killing").

  • Our take: Hard to categorize this one. If you remember K'ang, you'll get a bang out of his serenades. Claude, updated, perhaps?

    Sample song: "Immediate Situation" by Lyle K'ang

    "Kahauanu Lake Trio at the Halekulani Hotel" by the Kahauanu Lake Trio; Hula Records

  • Genre: Traditional Hawaiian.

  • Distinguishing notes: Kahauanu Lake, widely known as K-Lake, has been a vital source of authentic Island music. What's different now is that his sound, his artistry, his resourceful shows are no longer anchored at a Waikiki hotel. This reissue, part of Hula Records' Legendary Classic Series, captures his timeless presence — a 1965 recording retrofitted for a 2007 audience, complete with enhanced liner notes jammed with lyrics and translations, a roster of achievements and awards from the mid-1980s till now, and a bonus track, "Na Mamo Ali'i."

    The trio, of course, features Lake on his trusty left-handed baritone 'ukulele; his brother, Tommy, on bass; and Al Machida, on guitar. All three sing in alternating registers, from falsetto to baritone.

    The tunes are like hand-picked fruit from a tree laden with ripe mangos, composed by some of the stellar old-time pros like Maddy Lam, Alice Namakelua, Mary Kawena Pukui and Charles E. King. "Pua Lililehua" (a Lake collaboration with Pukui) is a classic that still resonates with a delicate and distinctive delivery; "Hu'i E" is a vintage hula fave with a measure of swing; " 'A'ole La" and "Pili Me 'Oe" are still other examples of K-Lake's inimitable interpretations.

  • Our take: If you've got this album on vinyl, now's the time to get the CD update — you'll relive the glorious past.


    Sample song: "Pua Lililehua" by Kahauanu Lake Trio

    Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.