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"Rise Up"
The Crossover Project
(Ghost Docta Enterprise)
A powerful mele kue (song of resistance) and a whimsical tribute to a place named Wailua are two of the best numbers on this musical calling card from the Crossover Project. Two guys who go by the stage names Doc Ralston (saxophone) and Ghost (lead vocals, guitar) are the nucleus of a 13-person collective that includes two drummers, three keyboardists, four additional guitarists, several other musicians and a backup vocalist.
The album’s title song is a raucous, hard-rocking mele kue. Ralston, Ghost and guitarist Larry "Yame" Low share the mic in calling on Hawaiians to "Rise up! Take back the land!" because "no one can own what they don’t understand." It’s an effective and catchy slogan, and a worthy addition to the list of contemporary Hawaii protest songs.
A reggae-derivative remake of "Nothing Compares 2 U," written by Prince and remembered by oldies fans as a 1990 hit by Sinead O’Connor, reinforces the feeling that the Crossover Project is a Jawaiian act. Be patient, give them some time to get into the song, and Ralston and Porlas lead the group in coming up with a respectable alternative to O’Connor’s hit.
However, the Jawaiian remake of "About You" is the nadir of the project. First, because the song is one of Cecilio & Kapono’s biggest hits and no one can interpret the lyrics Cecilio Rodrigues wrote better than he does, and second, because almost any attempt to improve on the original arrangement is equally futile.
Several original songs show the writers’ appreciation of the classic soul and funk music of James Brown, Tower of Power, Sly & the Family Stone and War.
Flute, Latin rhythms and hints of Caribbean steel guitar bring elements of other tropical cultures to "Wailua," a hapa-haole place song written around the phase "Wailua, there’s so much to ya." Are they singing about Wailua on Kauai or Wailua on the Big Island? Or maybe the old Wailua Mill in Waialua? For now all those places can claim it.
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"Rise Up" is available at Jelly’s and Hungry Ear. For information see www.ghostdocta.com.
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