‘Sea of Love’
Raiatea Helm
(Raiatea Helm)
Raiatea Helm has had a remarkable career since the release of her debut album, "Faraway Heaven," in 2002. She’s received several Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, been a Hawaiian music album finalist twice at the Grammys, and enjoys international popularity as a concert performer and recording act.
She’s established herself as the most visible female Hawaiian falsetto singer of her generation and has occasionally revealed glimpses of her potential as a mainstream pop vocalist. Her new album contains no surprises but is a beautiful addition to her discography.
Helm puts her vocal stamp on an apparently random assortment of 20th-century Hawaiian, hapa haole and American pop songs plus one that may be of more recent vintage, "Ka Beauty Mahiehie," which was written for her by kumu hula Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett. The author of the album’s liner notes, Harry B. Soria Jr., mentions a musical genre he calls "Hawaiian Club," but there is little in any of these beautiful arrangements that is reminiscent of Hawaiian nightclub music — not the hapa haole big-band nightclub music of the ’30s and ’40s, not the hapa haole/pop sound of Don Ho & the Aliis at Duke Kahanamoku’s in the ’60s, or the retro "lounge music" of Don Tiki. However, whatever type of "club" Soria has in mind, it is one many people will want to join.
Soria’s annotation includes a brief overview of seven selections. Here’s info on the other four: R. Alex Anderson wrote "The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai" in 1934 for a party honoring a visiting Hollywood actor (there was no real-life mayor of Kaunakakai). Lloyd Longakit’s "The One They’d Call Hawai‘i" was a winning vehicle for his son, Loeka, whose recording won a spot on Ron Jacobs’ "Homegrown ’97" album. "Sea of Love" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the composer, Phil Phillips, in 1959 and was a hit for the Honeydripppers in 1985. "Moonlight and Shadows" was written by Leo Robins and Frederick Hollander for the 1936 film "The Jungle Princess," and recorded by the film’s female star, Dorothy Lamour, in 1937.
Helm opens with a pair of Peter Kai Davis compositions, "‘Aina ‘o Molokai" and "Nani Hanalei." The first, sung with delicate sweetness and to the iconic lilt of the Hawaiian steel guitar, establishes the Hawaiian theme of the album. The second includes a beautiful demonstration of her vocal capabilities — yes, she certainly can hold a note!
Executive producer Guy Sibilla surrounds Helm with a solid group of studio musicians: Noel Okimoto (drums/vibraphone/ marimba), Stacey Tangonan (drums), Jeff Peterson (guitar), Bobby Ingano (steel guitar), Kit Ebersbach (piano), Dean Taba (acoustic bass), Bryan Tolentino (ukulele), Lopaka Colon (percussion) and Sharene Taba (harp). Ebersbach is also the primary arranger of the project, but Tolentino arranged "Sea of Love," Wailau Ryder arranged and plays guitar on "The One They’d Call Hawai‘i" and Sean Na‘auao is the arranger/guitarist and backing vocalist on "Ka Beauty Mahiehie." Whatever Sabilla’s reasons for making those assignments, they pay off well.
Ryder’s solo guitar is all that’s needed to make Helm’s intimate take on "The One They’d Call Hawai‘i" a worthy reworking of the original. Appending Hawaiian lyrics to "Sea of Love" is the equivalent of gilding a hibiscus blossom — Tolentino’s ukulele and Helm’s seductive rendition of the original English lyrics are sufficient. Ebersbach updates "Moonlight and Shadows" with an arrangement reminiscent of the orchestral Hollywood hapa haole sound of the ’50s and early ’60s. He closes it with Helm holding her final note in soothing romantic style.
If we still had a separate Grammy category for Hawaiian music, "Sea of Love" would represent Hawaii well in 2012. As it is, Helm should be a strong contender in the female vocalist category next year at the Hokus.
www.raiateahelm.com
"’Aina ‘O Moloka’i"
