"The Propheteer"

Doug Dragon
(Doug Dragon)

Maui resident Doug Dragon and his brother, Dennis, are the core of this album. Doug is the songwriter, lead vocalist and one of three keyboardists. Dennis sings, plays drums/percussion and is the producer and engineer; he also mixed and mastered the project. A talented squad of studio musicians completes the roster. It is an album Hawaii can be proud to claim as the work of a resident artist.

Doug Dragon apparently is into early Steely Dan. The guitar riffs on "Prophetic Blues" and the vocal and instrumental arrangements on "Hear the Truth" are particularly close to that vintage Steely Dan sound. That general impression is reinforced with "Funky Monkey," a smooth blues number in which he proclaims "the blues ain’t nothing but some funny changes changing hands."

The mood changes when guitarist Jesse Kennemer sits in on "Radiation Blues," playing in a style closer to classic Canned Heat than Steely Dan. It is a nice bit of variety and shows Dragon is into other genres of vintage rock.

"Beetle Bailey" is puzzling. It has no apparent connection to the well-known comic strip character and appears to be about a parasitical insect. Whatever it’s about, the band’s horn and rhythm section parts are reminiscent of Wilson Pickett’s original hit version of "Mustang Sally."

There are other interesting details — the keyboard work that adds spice to the bridge of "Obese Nation," the muted horn that percolates through "Prophetic Blues" and the female voices that chime in on "Doctor Soul," for example.

As the spelling of the album’s title suggests, Dragon is an observer of American society. On "My Uncle Sam" he surveys a shopping list of political issues and prominent personalities from Kim Jong Il and the "useless game inside Iraq" to Hamas, the two-state solution for Palestinian self-determination "and what about Gitmo?"

He also addresses political issues in the final song, "Recession," which is arranged and sung as a stereotypical country-Western parody. "I think there’s recession/That’s why Congress stays in session," he sings with a twang. At least someone is paying attention to the problem.

www.douglasdragon.com

"Prophetic Blues"

‘Atomic Infamy’

DJ Rayne
(DJ Rayne)

DJ Rayne celebrated his 34th birthday, First Friday and the reopening of SOHO Mixed Media Bar with the release of this deejay mix CD in July. That might seem like an eon in some pop circles, but from that perspective his hard electro-house tracks can be said to have "stood the test of time." It is certainly great music for late-night freeway driving. On the other hand, the subtleties of the mixes are best appreciated while wearing headphones and without distractions.

And beyond his command of the beat — the foundation of his work — he also makes good use of lyrics. Recent hits by Sarah McCloud ("He Doesn’t Love You"), Dirtyloud ("Needle") and Electrixx & Alex Mind ("No Discussion") bring vibrant lyric images to the experience.

Anyone who remembers "old skool" and "prehistorik skool" music will also give DJ Rayne props for including the Beach Boys’ 1966 hit "Good Vibrations" — a song several decades removed from his target demographic — and then adding the vocal hook from the Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch hit with the same title. It’s a good fit and an imaginative blending of songs from two long-gone pop music eras for the entertainment of dancers in 2011.

"Atomic Infamy" was released at SOHO.

www.soundcloud.com/josephrayne

"No Discussion"