Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, IZ - E Ala E
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Free Music Notes for E Ala E
Free Music Review: izrael kamakawawiwo ole
Hit: 4 Stars
I love this man's voice! Great command of instrument. Good sense of humor and love of ancestry evident in interpretation of lyrics. Aged so well. Represents the best of interpretive music. Izrael was being played everywhere I went while in Hawaii.Free Music Review: Rest in Peace Bruddah IZ
Hit: 4 Stars
Another good album from IZ; maybe not quite as good as "Facing Future" but almost--I thoroughly enjoyed it. :)Free Music Review: Hit or Miss
Hit: 3 Stars
Odd that Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (formerly a member of Hawaiian Renaissance band, the Makaha Sons of Niihau, and outspoken vocalist in the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement) would hook up with John DeMello, the son of Hawaiian music's whitest bandleader -- Jack DeMello (the latter of whom orchestrated ultra easy listening records in the '60s). Putting that aside, this album is really hit or miss for me.
When Israel is doing his beachboy-style songs (loose, comedic, played solo on the ukulele or with minimal overdubs) he provides a glimpse of the old Hawaiian spirit so lacking in contemporary Hawaiian music. Which is to say that most present-day Hawaiian music is so serious, that it almost sounds like Contemporary Christian Music. Israel's versions of "Kamalani" and "I Ke Alo O Iesu" are slick, sappy and overwrought with sentimentality. In other words, they are the opposite of the loose, mellow and cool sound inherent to beachcomber cuts like "Tengoku Kara Kaminari" and "Theme from Gilligan's Island."
Yeah, that's right... this strong native Hawaiian voice tackles the theme from Sherwood Schwartz's tacky, '60s go-go, beachcomber television show (starring TV beatnik Bob Denver). But in doing so, Kamakawiwo'ole puts his own spin on the song, first bringing an oceanside humor that was not on the original theme recording for the show's credits. But halfway through "Theme from Gilligan's Island," Israel turns the song into a loose politcal statement, as he reminds the listener that he has no need to come back from THIS island... back to a place where there are cars, pollution and government corruption. In that sense, the song connects on many levels, even though it seems like a silly idea at first glance.
"E Ala E" -- the opening track on this album -- is a fiercly political cry that works as a personal plead for Hawaiian civil rights and sovereignty over their own land. The field recordings of Hawaiian demonstrators marching and chanting in the background gives the song another layer of depth.
All in all, there's enough goodness going on here to get you past the sappy material. But there are better Kamakawiwo'ole albums out there, including his entire back catalogue with the Makaha Sons of Niihau, plus IZ's first two solo albums.
Free Music Review: An acquired taste
Hit: 2 Stars
And I haven't acquired it as a result of this CD. I like Iz's Facing Future CD much better. This one is a one-cut CD (the first cut is good, the rest is dreck).