When Cecilio & Kapono received the Hawai‘i Academy of Recordings Arts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for lifetime achievements as a duo, it was an honor well deserved, but Henry Kapono has an equally impressive record of lifetime achievements as a solo artist.
The list includes his first solo album in 1981, “Kapono” (the first of three albums with that title) and its hit single, “Stand in the Light.” There’s “Dreamer Boy,” his rock ‘n’ roll/children’s album with Rap Reiplinger, and his Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning single, “Broken Promise,” which addressed long-festering problems in the Hawaiian Homes program. There’s his Hoku Award-winning rock album, “The Wild Hawaiian,” which demonstrated the possibilities of playing Hawaiian standards as mainstream power rock.
With his newest album “Welcome 2MY Paradise,” Kapono’s list of lifetime achievements continues to grow. He explains in the liner notes that the songs — all 10 are original — are a celebration of everything that is part of his personal paradise.
The title track describes the most obvious “paradise” — Hawaii in general, and Waikiki in particular, where young Henry grew up surfing alongside beach boys whose feats are now legend, and where aloha is the spirit of the islands and awaits visitors able to receive it. “America” is a heartfelt love song to the many landmarks and attractions spread across the nation, from the Statue of Liberty to Alaska and Waikiki.
Kapono described both the joy of playing music and watching people having fun early in his career with two of his C&K hits, “Friends” and “Someday.” He gives the subject a nice update with “Long Train.”
Kapono has never seemed more romantic than with his love songs here. “Everything” is a beautiful description of the wondrous feeling of being in love. “4 Ever and 4 Always” describes the wonder of being in a strong and secure relationship. A third, “Love You Forever,” sounds as though it was written specifically for his wife and business partner, Lezlee Ka‘aihue. With a fourth, “Forever Man,” he speaks for many men who want to be a special woman’s “forever man.”
Visit henrykapono.com.
“WELCOME 2MY PARADISE”
Henry Kapono
(Kapono Records)
