These Trails "These Trails" 1973*****

This is another album I hadn't heard in many years. When I took this out for a spin, I thought "I remember this, it's a good one - native American acid folk". Close enough: it's really Hawaiian, but there really is a crucial native element here, as the music and lyrics are steeped in that island country's tradition and inspired by its tropical landscape. Maybe the font used on the cover played tricks with my memory, as it reminded me of old Western movies. The songs are mainly the work of a local couple: singer/guitarist Patrick Cockett was a native Hawaiian and student of traditional music, while singer-songwriter Margaret Morgan was a Hawaiian-born white girl from an old and distinguished family of sugar plantation owners. She was away studying in California, but they met at Hanalei beach in Kauai island during her college break, bonding over music, and ended up living together in a rural Hawaiian setting for a while. Her vocals are one of the most defining elements of the album: fragile and dramatic, reminiscent on occasion of Kate Bush or maybe Joni Mitchell, but with a pronounced vibrato often compared to Donovan. The songs initially only featured Margaret on lead vocals and dulcimer, with Patrick on vocals and acoustic guitar, using both traditional Western strumming and the Hawaiian slack key style. They must have already sounded quite nice in a folky kind of way, but it's when they took the songs to the "big city" (in this case, Honolulu) that magic happened: At Sinergia studios they were introduced to Dave Choy, sound engineer and ARP synthesizer pioneer, whose experiments with electronic music turned out to blend unexpectedly well with the couple's acoustic pastoral sounds. Another important element was Uruguayan composer/guitarist Carlos Pardeiro who joined the band in the studio, as did their friends Eric Kingsbury on guitar and Ron Rosha on the ipu, a percussion instrument made from gourds, commonly used to provide the beat for hula dancing. Last (and, from a musical point of view, probably least) of the contributors mentioned in the liner notes is Boogie Kalama, a surfer friend of the couple. He's credited with "feet" - no he doesn't stomp his feet or anything like that on record, it's just his feet that we see on the front cover photo. Opener "These Trails" is a short acid folk tune strongly reminiscent of Incredible String Band. "Our House In Hanalei" celebrates rural island living, and has a more definite Hawaiian feel, with soft percussion and beautiful harmonies. The use of the melodious pidgin dialect makes it even more charming. "Of Broken Links" is an atmospheric piece with multi-tracked harmonies while "El Rey Pescador" is a Spanish language track written by and sung with Carlos Pardeiro, who also adds some nice sitar textures. South American, Pacific, and Indian influences blend remarkably well here. "Psyche I" is an acoustic guitar instrumental that segues into "Share Your Water". The combination of ethereal female vocals and electronic effects reminds me of a 60s psychedelic band called The United States Of America. If you're not familiar with their work, you should check them out. It's followed by "Hello Lou", a delicate folk duet with string and synth orchestration reminiscent of Robert Kirby's work for Nick Drake. "Rusty’s House" is an unadorned folk tune segueing into the more cosmic and richly orchestrated "Lost in Space" with ARP simulating the sound of ocean waves. "Psyche II" continues from where "Psyche I" left off, adding more synthesizer sounds. "Sowed a Seed" is another experimental track with weird synth sounds and dulcimer, followed by the more conventional folk of "Rapt Attention". "Waipoo", named after the waterfall in Waimea Canyon, is full of naturalistic imagery and lush strings, and closer "Garden Botanum" is a quietly exuberant celebration of flowers and nature, full of arpeggios and synth washes. All in all, this timeless album resembles nothing else I've ever heard: yes, the words and vocals have this twee 60's hippy flower power element, but then the traditional Hawaiian instruments give it an ancient earthy feel, while the experimentation with early electronic music has a retro-futuristic effect akin to witnessing 2001:A Space Odyssey. These Trails is a singular album. Eccentric as hell, yet approachable and utterly enchanting. It's really a time capsule—an intimate snapshot of two musicians (and their circle of friends) channeling their surroundings into music. The record is credited to These Trails, but there was never a band as such; it was a title chosen by Choy because the record had to have a name. There were never any public performances of the music, and no follow-ups. Under pressure from her family, Margaret returned to college never to record music again; she didn't even stay long enough to listen to the final form given to her songs. Patrick has sometimes appeared playing alongside folkies Taj Mahal and Buffy St. Marie. The limited pressing of this LP sold out pretty quickly, for it to gradually became one of those rarely heard legendary collectors' items. Of course original copies are beyond the reach of most of us, but even reissues aren't easy to come by, so if you come across a copy, don't hesitate to grab it.

***** for Of Broken Links, El Rey Pescador, Share Your Water, Hello Lou, Lost in Space, Our House in Hanalei, Waipoo 

**** for These Trails, Sowed a Seed, Rapt Attention, Garden Botanum

 *** for Psyche I, Rusty’s House, Psyche II

Various Artists "Festival Of The South Seas" 1961***

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)

Ry Cooder "Chicken Skin Music" 1976****

Ry Cooder is probably best known as a soundtrack composer, producer and serial collaborator. The story of how he discovered the Cuban veterans of the Buena Vista Social Club and brought them out of retirement and into international stardom, well that's the stuff of legend. We'll get into the details when we present that record. His own recordings showcase his deep knowledge of American history and roots music as well as his instrumental prowess, most notably on slide guitar. As usually happens with his albums, "Chicken Skin Music" reads like an encyclopedia of American traditional music, incorporating the sounds of Mexico and Hawaii. He opens and closes with a couple of Leadbelly songs. Often an inspiration for Cooder, Leadbelly was certainly a larger-than-life character: A folksinger and brawler, he spent a big part of his life incarcerated and was discovered and recorded in the infamous Angola prison camp in Louisiana during 1933/1934 by the archivist Lomax brothers. His good behaviour and winsome ballad "Goodnight Irene" moved the notoriously hard governor enough to grant him early release. "The Bourgeois Blues" is an anti-racist song written from personal experience, warning black people about the harsh treatment they can expect in northern cities, where they flocked in great numbers during the recession. It won him lifelong friends in the American Communist Party and lifelong enemies in the FBI. In his own fine version Cooder accompanies himself on bottleneck guitar, bajo sexto, mandola and French accordion. It's followed by traditional "I Got Mine", a jug band-style song embellished with horns and "Always Lift Him Up", a country song he mixes with the Hawaiian tune "Kanaka Wai Wai" (with Cooder on Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar). The old country hit "He'll Have to Go" and the classic "Stand by Me" are transformed by Flaco Jimenez's accordion into great Tex-Mex mariachi ballads. "Smack Dab in the Middle" is a rhythmic R&B number, followed by country ballad "Yellow Roses" and guitar instrumental "Chlo-e". Especially for those last 2 songs Cooder flew all the way to Honolulu to record with Hawaiian guitar legends Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs. "Goodnight Irene" closes the album with another Mexican flavoured performance with Jimenez and his band. All in all, a solid album exhibiting Cooder's instrumental talent, expertise in all styles of American roots music and penchant for unusual and exotic sounds which would culminate with his forays into African and Latin American music in the 90's onwards...

**** for The Bourgeois Blues, He'll Have to Go, Smack Dab in the Middle

*** for I Got Mine, Always Lift Him Up/Kanaka Wai Wai, Stand by Me, Yellow Roses, Chlo-e, Goodnight Irene