Customer Reviews

Kauai On My Mind

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This is the best way to describe the 18 songs on Kauai On My Mind, the brand new recording from Bill Campbell. His love of Hawaiian began when he visited Kauai for the first time six years ago. He played guitar as a hobby but hadn't touched it for awhile. He heard some ki ho'alu, and he has never stopped playing since.

There are some who may believe that slack key guitar is a strong tradition that is passed from generation to generation, but for the longest time it seemed ki ho'alu was dying a slow death. But with an increased awareness of the form, slack key guitar is now (rightfully) respected as one of the great things the Hawaiian islands has to offer. Bill Campbell, originally from the East Coast, is helping to continue, and perhaps enhance, the traditions of this style of guitar playing that all of us have heard and loved for years.

The 18 songs presented on the CD are a diverse choice of songs, not only choosing traditional titles ("E Ku'u Morning Dew", "Puka Shells", Mauna Loa") but composing his own pieces, including "Holly" (for his wife)', "Uilani" (for a lady friend), "Ku'u Kumu Hal" (for his slack key mentor, Hal Kinnaman. His playing at times can sound very bluesy, depending on the song he's playing ("September Song" is a perfect example), while other times he plays with the execution of a flamenco player ("Malasadas", which of course has Portagee written all over it).

But the rest of the time, he plays beautifully and flawlessly, sometimes a bit too clean for my tastes. Sometimes I had wished he would add a bit more 'mmmph" to his arrangements of the older Hawaiian songs, just so we could hear a bit of Bill Campbell. Perhaps in time we will.

Two things will keep him in the public eye for years to come. One, new compositions. There is a continued need for new songs, which will hopefully provide inspiration for other musicians to create their own songs. Two, covering songs that aren't part of the Hawaiian repertoire. There are so many great songs in the world, and most musicians are afraid to touch them. Campbell's approach is simple, we get to hear a slack-key version of a song we might be familiar with, but through his hands it becomes a Campbell original.

This gentle music will have you leaning back, closing your eyes, and imagining a tropical paradise -- even if you've never been to Hawaii. Thanks to Bill Campbell for sharing his love of the music of the islands, pure and sweet, without the tacky commercialism that is so often presented to tourists.

If you're hankering for a trip to the Islands, but haven't the time and/or money, let Bill Campbell's lovely music take you there. The first (and subsequent) songs invoked images of turqouise waters lapping up onto white sands, and the gentle sway of palm fronds, stirred by an afternoon breeze. Bill's music is simple, unadorned, yet deeply rich, probably due both to his talent as a musician and composer, but also the ki ho 'alu sound itself. Like Bill states in his CD liner notes, this music produces a "distinctive Hawaiian sound." Mahalo, Bill, for your wonderful music!