Malani Bilyeu, D.J. Pratt, Gaylord Holomalia and Kenji Sano are carrying on the Kalapana tradition (Bilyeu and Pratt are founding members). Original member Kirk Thompson returns for a keyboard solo on the instrumental "Black Sand."

Missing, of course, is Mackey Feary, who died in 1999, so the group has carried on with Bilyeu doing vocal leads on Feary's signatures, "The Hurt," "Moon and Stars" and "Nightbird."

Lest you forget, Bilyeu carried much of the lead anyway, with his originals such as "You Make It Hard," "Naturally," "(For You) I'd Chase a Rainbow."

Whoa, what memories. "Juliette" is softened and refined with splendid choral effects.

If you recall that Kalapana's tunes were linked to surfdom, you'll applaud the revival of "Many Classic Moments" and "Velzyland."

Guests include Michael Paulo, whose saxophone work is easily recognizable; Zanuck Lindsey, background vocals and acoustic guitar; and Pali Ka'aihue and Mark Kawakami, of the group Pali, background vocals.

The arrangements are classic Kalapana, flashing back to the 1970s and '80s with rich, velvety vocals topping the silky instrumentation typified in "Naturally," as good and classic as it gets. And the liner booklet with lyrics is an enhancement for newbies discovering this class — and classic — act.

One quibble with the disc's title: Shouldn't it be "Kalapana Plays Its Best" — to be grammatically correct?

Lee's original, "E Ola Ke Ali'i," is a beaut, rendered in Hawaiian; Randie Fong's "Christmas in the Islands" is a fresh no-snow-in-Hawai'i ballad with fond Island memories; "Mele Kalikimaka Ia Kakou/Be Not Afraid" is a medley fusing a Hawaiian classic with a Hawaiian spiritual, rendered in Hawaiian — the latter another Fong creation, with an English verse, too.

Like vocals? "Glory to the King," "Mary's Little Boy Child" and "White Christmas" are inspirational and reflective holiday fare.

Like instrumentals? Na Kama puts its stamp on "Adeste Fideles," "Winter Wonderland" and "Hawaiian Santa." Which means you can sing along to your heart's delight.

The tracks have been previously released in similar assemblies; this one lets you scan and score and pick your own winner. From Lawrence Pau's "Pua Lilia" to Ronnie Kaohelaulii's "'Ulupalakua," from Kaniala Masoe's "Kalama'ula" to Kamaka Fernandez's "Haleakala Hula," you'll enjoy the best of the high-note troupers.