Pop Matters Review by Rob Caldwell 4 January 2016
http://www.popmatters.com/review/var...awaiian-music/
Various Artists
Hulaland: The Golden Age of Hawaiian Music
A thirst for anything Hawaiian took America by storm in the early 20th century, precipitated by musicians from what was then a U.S. territory (not yet a state) touring the mainland, and the improved accessibility to the islands provided by commercial airlines. In the rush to cash in on (or, less cynically, to extoll) the music, everyone from Dorothy Lamour to Louis Armstrong and Slim Whitman were recording Hawaiian flavored tunes. Many of the tunes captured the romance quite well, many were novelty songs, and many of the performers probably never even set foot on Hawaiian soil (as Edward F. Cline’s brief spoken word comedy bit, “Hawaii Calls”, on disc 1 goes: “How can you write such lovely songs about the lonely shore, the whispering palms and the moon when you ain’t never seen ‘em?” Answer: “That’s why…because I ain’t never seen ‘em.”)
A case in point,
Fleetwood Mac’s classic instrumental “Albatross” is played here in a Hawaiian style by a Dutch guitarist (Wout Steenhuis). But does it really matter for us, the listeners? It’s a beautiful rendition, regardless. And that’s the point of this collection. It’s not trying to be a serious musicological study of traditional or “authentic” Hawaiian music (whatever that is at this point). Rather, it’s a sampling of music both from the Islands and music influenced by the Islands. It’s a collection “for the tourist, not the purist”, as the liner notes say.