Customer Reviews

Mauna Kea - White Mountain Journal

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Keola Beamer, like fine wine, just gets better and better with age. He manages to make even the most complex guitar work seem effortless. This album should be in the music library of everyone who loves acoustic guitar...Hawaiian, or not.

I have never had a reason to put forth my opinion on any recording but this cd is forcing me to make an exception. I recommend it highly as a look at a musical art form as purely emotional and beautiful as any in the world. For musical travellers, this is a good first trip to slack key. It will not be your last.

This is definitely Keola Beamer's best cd out of many fine efforts. I have all of his music, and believe me, it's hard to choose one and say that about it. This is music for those of us who love life, have a generally positive outlook, and appreciate music that reflects that attitude. This is music to celebrate all of the best life grants us, music to play when you're reading, eating, resting, being contemplative, getting a massage, working, playing, or all of the above. His strictly instrumental pieces are smoothly crafted, ( with great sound quality, by the way....not tinny like many slack key guitar cd's can be), original, and not particularly ethnic. the best part is that you won't tire of it. It's timeless, beautiful, and unobtrusive. Highly recommended!

A neighbor who knew of my interest in slack key and traditional Hawaiian music loaned me his CD of White Mountain Journal and I had trouble giving it back until I owned my own. I have collected many such works but got tired of CD's with 3-4 good traditional Hawaiian tracks then several cuts of noisy raucous junk - this is good music all the way. Well done performances assembled by people who understand listening pleasure. A Must Have for Hawaiian music fans.

We have had this disk for about a year. Over this time we have listened to it too many times to count. My daughter takes it sometimes too. Bedtime is our favorite time to hear it. It is beautiful at any time!

Keola Beamer calls to the very essence of my soul in this, one of his best albums. There is a wonderful sense of familarity upon first hearing his music that can be a mind altering experience. But the interesting thing is that over time, the music seems to grow in intensity. Instead of becoming old and tiresome, Keola's music can evolve into a special spiritual feeling. I most highly recommend this album.

Excellent slack key. When Keola did this, his mind must have been in a very peaceful place. It evokes the peace that is the Pacific Ocean. For guitarists interested in adding some slack key to their repetoire, the liner notes give the tunings and with a bit of listening, and aloha, some nice pieces can be picked up. Keola's web site and taropatch.com will offer some help. Enjoy!

This album has been my favourite since I first heard and bought the CD six months ago while on vacation in Hawaii. At the time, I was searching for guitar music like that played by George Kahumoku on "The Sounds of Hawaii" (part of the National Parks series by Orange Tree Productions), which I had picked up on my last trip to Hawaii while visiting Haleakala National Park on Maui. I played every local instrumental guitar CD that Borders in Ward Warehouse (Honolulu) had on their playing stations and picked Keola Beamer for one simple reason -- his guitar playing style did not include as much "squeaking" as the rest, and I found the squeaking distracted me from the music itself.

But, playing it at home, I instantly began to appreciate the quality of the music and, by extension, the artist. Giving up on words to record things that happen in his life, Keola Beamer turned to music. "I longed for a better way to convey what was in my heart. Music has since become my way of communicating these feelings."

There is not a bad song on Mauna Kea - White Mountain Journal. My favourite is "For Sweetheart Grandma", which Keola wrote for his great grandmother, Helen Desha Beamer. She passed away right after he was born, but "she speaks to my heart with her music. I try to speak to her with mine. It's the best we can do." Anyone who misses a grandmother that loved them, will appreciate this song.

Each song on the CD is different -- about half are written by Keola and all are instrumentals. They are played on one to three nylon string, electric and steel string guitars, each tuned specifically for the song. The producer and occasional accompanist is George Winston who already had a jazz career before pioneering New Age music in the mid- 1980s.

If you like Leo Kottke, you will probably like Keola Beamer. If you like acoustic guitar, do not let the electric guitar scare you away. This is a kinder, gentler electric guitar that you would associate with Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton.

With this CD, I have come full circle. When I was nine years old, a Hammond organ salewoman asked me to name my favourite song and instrument. "Three Blind Mice" and "Hawaiian Guitar" were my answers. A few months later (February 9, 1962), I started listening to rock and roll and it took me until now to rediscover slack key guitar.

Jon E. Pearkins Software Specialist, Writer and former Radio Announcer President Adiant Corporation