1927

There are some box sets that seem like overkill, beyond the pale for all but the very most hardcore fans, and others - a little more obvious in their justification - that never achieve much currency beyond the ranks of the serious fans and as easy Christmas ideas for their relatives. And then there are the ones that, based on the sheer credibility of the artists involved - Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra - become practically standard-issue for any serious music listener; you expect to find at least one, and more likely two of them on a lot of shelves. The Classic Years 1927-1940 ought to fit into the latter category, despite the fact that Blind Willie McTell never had a hit record in a recording career lasting nearly 30 years - he also didn't make Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of the twentieth century, even though he could play circles about three-fourths of those who did…

Kalama's Quartet - Early Hawaiian Classics 1927-1932 (1993) {Arhoolie 7028}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 241 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 174 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 31 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1927-1932, 1993 Arhoolie Folklyric | CD 7028
World / Folk / International / Vocal / Hawaiian / Oceanic Traditions

26 tracks recorded by Kalama's Quartet (in both its quartet and quintet phases) between 1927-1932, as well as a 1935 recording attributed to Mike Hanapi. Varying in approach from folk balladry to uptempo jazz and hillbilly-flavored numbers, it's ebullient music that's most distinctive when the steel guitars are to the fore. The group also varied their vocal arrangements, but are most noted for the numbers featuring sweet falsetto vocals, such as the Hawaiian standard "Wahine Ui." It not only embodies some of the best attributes of vintage Hawaiian music, but also contains clear seeds of a high, pining sound that would be echoed by such later country and pop singers as Roy Orbison and Marty Robbins.

This 24-CD box, which dwarfs even most Bear Family sets in scope, is essentially everything Ellington cut for RCA-Victor over a 46-year period. There are gaps, especially after 1946 when he jumped to Columbia, but otherwise, this is all of it. One quickly discovers that, by virtue of its leader's taste, combined with the good sense of RCA-Victor's recording managers, this was a band that did little, if any, wrong on record…