Customer Reviews

20 Years of Hoku Award Winning Songs

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The Cazimero Brothers, with a career spanning thirty years and three dozen Hawaiian albums, turn their talents here to the Hoku Award-winners of the past twenty years. Given for the best Hawaiian pop song of the year, the Hoku Award celebrates new music and, often, new talent, though some of these songs have, by now, become so well known that they now belong to the Hawaiian Songbook--almost as popular as the traditional Hawaiian songs.

Representing a tremendous variety of styles, this CD ranges from the soft, slow, romantic ballad, "Come to Me Gently," from 1982; to the dramatic and pulse-racing "Cane Fire," of 1983; the slack key blues protest song, "Brown Man Blues," from 1993; and "Uwehe 'Ami and Slide," a rock and roll-style hula song. As always the Cazimeros record their songs in multiple tracks, creating dense and unusual harmonies, as their voices range from high falsetto to deep baritone. The accompaniments include fine slack key guitar, drums, percussion, and on "Morning Dew," a lovely piano (or keyboard).

The Cazimeros give unique twists to these familiar songs, including more changes of keys, harmony, and rhythm and more chromatics than are heard on the original albums, to the point that in some cases it's even a bit difficult to recognize the original song. Totally professional and possessed of consummate musical sense and creativity, the Casimeros give fresh interpretations to songs created and originally sung by other performers. This is a fascinating album for those looking for a twenty-year survey of new Hawaiian music. Mary Whipple

If you like close harmony, smoothing music,or Hawaiian music then you will like this CD. Out of all the Cazimero Brothers CD, I listen to this the most. A must have.

I'm not sure why 20 years of Hoku Award-winning songs includes only 17 tracks and not all 20 winners, but what's here is great. The annual Hoku Awards, the Hawaiian equivalent of the Grammys, reward excellence in Hawaiian music. The Brothers have been around a long time and know their way around a good song. Together this is an excellent review of contemporary Hawaiian popular song and leisurely, melodic listening. Enjoy it and support America's overlooked native music, too.

I have all of their music on CDs. I listen to this 20 years of Hoku the most. I love it. I also love Some Call It Aloha...Don't Tell