“THE MAKAHA SONS’ JEROME KOKO”

Jerome Koko (Daniel Ho Creations)

Jerome Koko holds a place in island music history as a founding member of the Mahaka Sons of Ni‘ihau and their successor group, the Makaha Sons. Koko has been keeping the Sons’ legacy going since Louis “Moon” Kauakahi, the last of the other founding members, retired in 2014. He teams up here with Grammy Award-winning producer/recording artist Daniel Ho on a project that takes him outside the group in two significant ways.

First, the Sons were always known for their harmonizing but Koko is a solo voice on most of the songs here. Second, although Koko is a veteran guitarist he isn’t playing. Ho provides almost all the instrumentation — piano, slack-key guitar, ukulele, bass and percussion — a studio guest does the rest. Ho also does most of the backing vocals.

And, as on several of Ho’s previous projects, composer Ho partnered with lyricist Amy Ku‘uleialoha Stillman in writing most of the Hawaiian songs.

Three songs stand apart for various reasons. “Pauoa Liko Ka Lehua,” the only song from outside the Ho-Stillman songbook, is an exquisite and soothing all-American arrangement of a Hawaiian classic; Koko’s expressive voice is supported by Ho on piano, bass and vocal chorus.

“Blue Translucence” is the only English song in the collection, and the only one that Ho wrote lyrics for; it also stands out with its message of contemplation, celebration and hope.

And then there’s “The Spam Song,” a souvenir from Ho’s 2009 Grammy Award-winning album with Tia Carrere, that describes the joy of eating Spam in various local places. Carrere heightens the sense of deja vu as she joins Ho in singing backing vocals for this new remake.

Song lyrics and English translations are available at danielho.com.

“GYPSIES, TRAMPS & THIEVES”

Storm (Tin Idol Productions)

There was a joke going around in 1971 as Cher was hitting the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” that when her husband, Sonny Bono, wrote the song for her, he was referring to his in-laws!

The problem with the joke was that although Bono had written a good number of hits, “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” wasn’t one of them. Bob Stone wrote the song, originally calling it “Gypsies, Tramps and White Trash.”

Forty-seven years later Hoku Award-winning metal rockers Storm step out of their traditional metal rock repertoire with a fresh metal-meets-pop fusion arrangement of Cher’s hit.

Storm vocalist Sandy Essman makes the tragic story her own and the musicians give her powerful instrumental support.

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