Customer Reviews

Legends of Ukulele

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was the first of many uke-related cd's I have bought, and it still stands as the best. A new uke player, I was amazed that the little 4-stringed "hawaiian guiter" could perform such varied musical styles-from jazz to flamenco; from love songs to humor. When do we get "Legends 2"?

Don't listen to the guy from Tennessee. This is a fantastic compilation. Any ukulele player, Hawaiian or otherwise, will tell you that most of the musicians on this CD are the ukulele greats. Ohta-san, Cliff Edwards, Roy Smeck, Lyle Ritz, George Formby and others show what can be done on the tiny instrument that many consider a toy. They show us what a great instrument the uke really is. Cliff Edwards, known as Ukulele Ike, plays and sings with his wonderful voice. Some may know him better as the voice of Jiminy Cricket. Tiny Tim's rendition of Tiptoe through the Tulips is fully understood when one listens to the original 1929 falsetto version of the song by Nick Lucas. (Listen to it here on Amazon.com.) Oh... and there are plenty of Hawaiians on this CD. I recommend it highly.

There really isn't a bad track on the CD. "Making Love Ukulele Style" is one of the best. It's a very good introduction to the ukulele. I only wish I could find more like it.

This is an entertaining CD. It covers a variety of ukulele playing styles and music styles. It shows all those non-believers that the ukulele is something more than just a toy. It truly is a beautiful instrument and a beautiful sounding instrument. This is demonstrated by the performers on this CD. Most of the performers are virtuosos, but the most famous ukulele player of all time, Tiny Tim, technically wasn't very accomplished. Not to say that I don't like Tiny Tim, but his playing is amateurish next to the other performers here. Anyway, this CD covers a lot of different styles and it quite entertaining.

This is a great sampler, while not a Tiny Tim fan, after reading the profile and listening to the track, I came away with a better appreciation. The Otha-San "Little Grass Shack" is absolutely wonderful in fact I ordered the CD from which it was gleaned. Smeck is, well, musically verbious and should be listened to with that thought in mind. All in all, nicely done!

I am disapointed with this CD. This is not Hawaian! It's more like 50's music. Amazon should not have put this in the Hawaian section.