Amy Hanaiali'i's latest CD, "Friends & Family of Hawai'i," arrives in a challenging economic climate.

Record sales are way down; artists get minimal or no radio airplay; downloading is rampant.

This is the new normal.

But there are folks who still believe in the hold-in-the-hands-and-feel-the-product tradition. They still buy CDs.

However, a "hit" album now may log paltry sales of 1,800 to 2,000 units, when 20,000 was the norm.

Thus, dealers and artists alike are watching the performance of Hanaiali'i very closely. Is this Mountain Apple Co. release going to make a difference? Will it play from Hilo to Hanalei?

Hanaiali'i renders 16 duets with male singers — all local, iconic Willie Nelson being the lone oddity — to showcase the diverse nature of her catalog and vocal style. Indeed, with so much variety, both artistry and commerce are setting sail to see if this one can up the ante at the cash registers while still doing what Hanaiali'i does: stretch the boundaries of Hawaiian music by exploring shades and textures that expand the mind, if not the geography, in outside-the-box risks.

I believe "Friends & Family of Hawai'i" has the potential to become one of those albums where everyone knows every track on the disc by the end of the first month or two of release.

The last time this happened locally was in 1994, when Keali'i Reichel's landmark "Kawaipunahele" became a sensation, with local stations airing different tracks, when folks had different favorite Reichel cuts — making the Maui kumu hula a star to reckon with.

Hanaiali'i, of course, is an established pro whose complexity makes her difficult to pigeonhole.

Matt Catingub's arrangements and orchestrations provide surround-sound vistas; the sweeping whirlpool occasionally is overpowering, when a simple guitar might have done the job. But grandeur is the m.o.; and with most songs more than three minutes long, running time may thwart radio play (stations like 'em short and crisp).

Herewith, a track-by-track glimpse: