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"Kulaiwi, My Beloved Homeland"
Faith Ako
(Faith Ako)
Expatriate islander Faith Ako, currently a resident of the Bay Area, excels at doing Hawaiian standards in traditional nahenahe (soft, melodious) style. She does so here with beautiful arrangements of "Pauoa Liko Ka Lehua," "Puamana" and "Poliahu" and introduces three new songs as well.
Two of them are intended for folks who are fluent in olelo Hawaii. The third, "My Hawai‘i," is hapa-haole. It expresses the sentiments of everyone who has lived here and now lives elsewhere and misses the islands. Ako sings it with heartfelt conviction.
The other English-language song on the album is a timely remake of Roy Orbison’s 1963 classic "Blue Bayou" that shows Ako’s potental as a mainstream pop singer. Adding Hawaiian lyrics to it, as Ako and her translator do, is unnecessary but makes their version more than a straight remake.
Ako’s studio musicians — guitars, steel guitar, Hawaiian percussion and occasionally other instruments — are not identified, but they do excellent work on every song.
www.faithako.com
"Rising"
