GABBY

Gabby Pahinui | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 1991)
• Original Release Date: July 12, 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: PANINI RECORDS, INC.
• ASIN: B000008NUP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,748 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #7 in Music > World Music > Pacific Islands > Hawaii
  • #9 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > General
  • #10 in Music > Indie Music > World Music > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No ka oi! One of THE most important Hawaiian albums ever, November 6, 2001

By 

J. Book "music's biggest fan" (Pasco, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GABBY (Audio CD)

In the early 70's, Hawaiian records were powerful. Not only was the impact felt in Hawai'i, but among many transplanted Hawaiians who would come home and bring this back to California, Oregon, or Washington. Gabby had already had years of recordings behind him when this album was released in 1971 (in fact the album begins with a brief snippet of his rendition of "Hi'ilawe" taken off of a 78 rpm recording he did in the 40's). While musicians in other genres would have been comfortable in his legacy, Gabby was far from over. Like many of his albums from the 70's, he unites sons and friends for an hour of great music. The playing on this is top notch, and while Pahinui wasn't the perfect singer, he sang like a bluesman and you can feel it in "Hame Pila". It was this version of "Hi'ilawe" that made it a mandatory part of every hula halau, beer party, and baby shower in the 70's. Even as I think of how "Hi'ilawe" segues into "Aloha 'Oe", where Pahinui plays one of the most mournful slide guitar solos ever heard, it makes me want to cry. This is as beautiful as it gets, and there are only two words you can say once he reaches those final notes at the end: hana hou! Known by many simply as "The Brown Album".

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sergeant Pepper of Hawaiian recordings, August 27, 2000

By 

Robert H. Command "Bobby" (captain cook, hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GABBY (Audio CD)

In one word, a masterpiece. Along with the first albums of Olomana and Kalapana, Peter Moon's "Tropical Storm," "The Extraordinary Kui Lee," and the Makaha Sons' "Hoola," This album has to be one of the top 10 collections ever produced by a Hawaiian artist. Very little music produced by today's so-called Hawaiian artists reaches the depth of the "Brown Album." It is a benchmark and a landmark that transcends the fact that only three words on the entire album "Royal Hawaiian Hotel" are sung in English, besides the understatement "That was good" after one track.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The guy who started it all., March 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: GABBY (Audio CD)

I was introduced to music by Gabby Pahinui on a trip to Hawaii. I needed a cassette for the rental car and bought one of Gabby's recordings at a convenience store. I was hooked immediately and have since bought most of Gabby's recordings (CDs these days). This succinctly titled disc is one of his two best, in my opinion (the other is "Gabby Pahinui with the Sons of Hawaii") because it contains a nice mix of moods and styles. It is obvious every time I listen to this beautiful music, and the inspired performances by Gabby, that he was a gentleman as well as an innovator and entertainer. It makes me kind of sad to think that, like a lot of ground-breaking talents, he died before his fame really took off. He was loved and respected at the time, no doubt, but by far fewer people than today. Anyone who has discovered the great collection of Slack Key Guitar recordings on Dancing Cat Records (including discs with music by his sons) needs to buy this disc as a glimpse of how it all began. Besides, he is still the best. If you're listening from up there, Gabby, thanks for what you did.