OK, so that's an album I bought purely for the cover. Well, not completely true, I was also curious as to what I would listen, I mean I hadn't heard any music from Fiji or Tahiti before, but mostly for the cover. I have these frames I hang on my wall where I put vinyl covers on display, different ones every month, usually with a theme. So I thought I'd buy this cheap LP (it only cost me €2,5) and frame it alongside some other exotic themed cover e.g. Les Baxter. I was surprised to find it was a collectible item, mostly because it was among other worthless pseudo-world albums from the 60s e.g. anything from mambo to balalaikas. Usually these were supposed to make local traditions palatable to Western audiences rather than portray folk music as it is. But some of this stuff sounds quite authentic to my ears. Apparently this LP was recorded live "in The Town Hall" (not sure of which town, but somewhere in New Zealand) on June 6, 1961 at a concert sponsored by, among others, TAEL (Tasmanian Empire Airways Ltd). Different Polynesian nations are represented. None of the artists was familiar to me, but after some searching I found out that things aren't exactly as represented. Daphne Walker, for example, the one here who sounds most like a professional entertainer, was born and raised in New Zealand, but she's included as a representative of Hawaii. Her three entries ("Sophisticated Hula", "Little Brown Gal", "Ukulele Lady") are among my favorites, English-language 50's swing with a Hawaiian theme and great Hawaiian-style steel guitar. Possibly the guitarist is Bill Sevesi, the other "Hawaiian" act here, but in reality another New Zealander. A steel guitar virtuoso, he adds two great swing instrumentals "Tiger Shark" and "Twelfth Street Rag" - the latter's highlight is a Django-on-ukulele-style solo. As for the Samoan Surf Riders, they are Samoan (although some of them are of German descent), but, again, based in New Zealand. "Malie E" features mostly percussion and choral vocals, while "Minoi" has a country swing flavor - I suspect the guitarist is again Bill Sevesi. Eddie Lund And The Tahiti Nui Club, on the other hand, are real Tahitians. They play on 3 tracks: "Introduction/Orea Dance" and "Drums Of Tahiti" are percussion-dominated, while "Te Manu Pukarua" is a catchy little dance number. Last -but not least, as they say- country represented here is Fiji. The Pacific Teenagers' "Bulu Makau = The Bull Cow Song" is a charming song with female harmonies that sounds to me similar to Hawaiian hula music; very different from the Fujian group doing their "War Chant" with the accompaniment of some castanet or maracas-like percussions. On the whole, I'd say the more Polynesian-sounding tracks were more interesting/authentic sounding, but the Hawaiian ones (even though played by New Zealanders, they sound very similar to real Hawaiian music in my collection) sound more pleasant to my ears. Listening to this LP made me want to travel to Polynesia, which is literally half the world away, and the cost of travelling is prohibitive to me. But never say never... One thing's for sure: if I ever get there, I'll try to pick up some records by local artists, and share my impressions with you. Also: I'm enclosing a spotify link here for those who want to listen to the album, but be aware that the tracklist on spotify is wrong: if you want to know who performs each song, you should read the title of the one directly above it.
*** for Sophisticated Hula (Daphne Walker), Tiger Shark (Bill Sevesi), Little Brown Gal (Daphne Walker), Bulu Makau=The Bull Cow Song (Pacific Teenagers), Minoi (Samoan Surf Riders), Kaahi (Daphne Walker), Twelfth Street Rag (Bill Sevesi), Te Manu Pukarua (The Tahiti Nui Club), Ukulele Lady (Daphne Walker)
** for Introducing Eddie Lund and Otea Dance, Dance Song (The Tahiti Nui Club), Malie E (Samoan Surf Riders), Drums Of Tahiti (Eddie Lund And The Tahiti Nui Club), War Chant (Fijian choir)
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