Sweet & Lovely (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Raiatea (ukulele); John Ka'imikaua, Keali'i Reichel (vocals); Hoku Zuttermeister, Horace Dudoit, Jeff Rasmussen, Bryan Kessler (guitar); Casey Olsen (steel guitar); Dave Tucciarone (strings); Kit Ebersbach (piano, keyboards); Steven Dale Jones (upright bass); Noel Okimoto (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Dave Tucciarone.

Recording information: Audio Resource Honolulu; Seventh Wave Studio.

Unknown Contributor Roles: John Ka'imikaua; David Kuhn.

Arrangers: Dave Tucciarone; Horace Dudoit; Kit Ebersbach.

A solid sophomore album from Raiatea Helm, a young artist in the revival of classic Hawaiian music with a nice ukulele ability and a stunning falsetto. The fare is largely from the basic songbook of classic, early tourist-era Hawaiian music, with ukulele, steel, and guitars. All of the instrumentals are well performed, with Raiatea generally playing the ukulele in the somewhat easier pieces, and other members taking over when she has more demanding vocal parts to take care of. Guest vocalists lend a hand as needed as well, with Keali'I Reichel and Auntie Genoa Keawe being the most notable. For those looking for classic Hawaiian music, some of the classic stars may be the first choice. Nonetheless, Raiatea commands a beautiful voice and can rival some of the classic recordings (with better sound quality no less). A nice addition to the collection. ~ Adam Greenberg minimize