Sweet & Lovely

Artist: Raiatea Helm
Label: Raiatea Helm Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 761268851826
EAN: 0761268851826
ASIN: B0006N4ZIY

Release Date: 2004-12-07

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Listmania:

48th Grammy Award Nominees, Best Hawaiian Music Album

Tracks:

Ka Loke Polena
Ku'u Lei Pua Kukui O Kamakou
Maile Swing
Pakalana
'Alika
Kahealani
Pua Mae'ole
Hu'i E
Leiana Kiele
Ku'u Wa Li'ili'i (Hupe Kole)
Kalama'ula
Ku'u Home Aloha
Haole Hula
At Last

Similar Items:

Hawaiian Tradition
Kamahiwa: The Keali'i Reichel Collection
Some Call It Aloha...Don't Tell
Ke'Alaokamaile
Maui

Customer Reviews:

We were unable to listen to it..........2006-07-11

Considering the limited amount of artists singing in native Hawaiian, it is not an easy to find new productions standing up to the standards set by one Keali'i Reichel or Dennis Kamakahi. In our search for something new, we listened merely to one song sample from Raiate'a CD in one of the Honolulu stores, and we took the CD. We broke our own rule to listen to each song before adding an album to our collection! Maybe because we just came back Tahiti, where we enjoyed on Huahine a magnificent sunset with a tropic thunderstorm over Raiatea and Taha'a! This was a magic moment, and the word "Raiatea" jarred our memory. And yes, she looks sooo sweet.

Once we begun to listen to the entire CD, we realized how mediocre is its artistic value. Seemingly the producers and/or parents were more fascinated with Raiateas high-pitch voice than with Hawaiian melodic traditions, or with musical arrangements. In one of the songs she emits a very long high-pitch tune for a duration of over one minute. Probably a proof of her lung capacity mistaken with artistic expression. I thought at first that something was wrong with the car, there was a warning beep! "Do you hear this squeak?" I asked my wife. Fortunately our car was in order, this was Raiatea! We were relieved as she finally run out of air and stopped squeaking.

Her high pitch voice was making us so uncomfortable, that we were unable to listen to any of these mediocre songs to the end, maybe with the exception of the first "Ka Loke Polena." Each time we became highly irritated or bored, and we advanced to the next song in a search for any favorite. We found not a single title, to which we would like to listen to again.

In one of the songs she is accompanied by no one less than Keali'i Reichel. I think that this is the "Haole Hula," sung in English. This song is of an atrocious banality, their voices disharmonic in duet. We could not help ourselves to express our mutual astonishment that someone with a format and experience of Keali'i Reichel would sink that much in his artistic choice and presentation.

Beware of this CD! However, as differing human taste might be, you might still like it despite our opinion! Of course! Based on our experience, we recommend you to listen to each song before taking this album into your collection. After all, Raiatea still looks so... sweet on the cover.

Incredible voice !!!!!!!!.......2006-04-11

This youngster is going to go places in the music world! It is rare to hear such a refined voice in one so young, let alone to be so blessed as to record with Aunty Genoa Keawe and Kealii Reichel. Raiatea is a beautiful example of hawaiian living and her voice is equally as lovely as the island she grew up on. "Sweet and Lovely" is as good a description of the woman as it is of her music. If you love good music buy this album, you will not be disappointed.

Unbelievable Female Vocalist!!!.......2006-01-31

Raiatea Helm is right up there with my best and favorite female vocalists....like Nora Jones, Diana Krall, Anita Baker, Joss Stone, Sade, Alicia Keyes, Rickie Lee Jones, etc.

I like ALL the songs on this album. This doesn't always happen. As mentioned by Alexandra below Raiatea's first album 'Far Away Heaven' is a very good first effort but this, her second album, is much better. But, I'm saying this for a different reason than Alexandra.

Raiatea's voice and singing on her first album is every bit as good as on her second album...but, it's the producing, arrangements, and engineering that aren't as good. Her first and second albums are produced, arranged and engineered by different people.

The first album's mixed with too much electric bass. It's way too bass heavy. Also, and more importantly, Raiatea's voice on the first album isn't as forward as on her second album. 'On Far Away Heaven' it sounds like she's singing *behind* the band. Also, there's too much reverb on her voice. It sounds like she's singing in a cave. Still, her first album is worth getting. My favorite song on 'Far Away Heaven' is track #5 "Kauoha Mai".

On 'Sweet and Lovely' Raiatea not only sings but plays the ukulele too! Something she didn't do on her first album. In fact, as I understand it she took up the ukulele before she took up singing. On the upbeat "Ālika" and the lilting "Kalama'ula" she holds notes longer than I can hold my breath! And her singing on 'Ku'u Home Aloha'...all I can say is WOW! Her duet with Aunty Genoa Keawe (Keh-Ah-veh) on "Hu'i Ē" is simply classic...a passing of the Hawaiian music torch from the older generation to the younger...

Another beautiful album!.......2005-08-18

With this collection of Hawaiian language and hapa haole songs, Raiatea Mokihana Maile Helm of Moloka'i takes her vocals "one whole step higher." For those of you who are musical, the highest note she sings is the A above high C. If you listen to "Far Away Heaven" and then this one, you'll definitely hear a difference in her voice. On this CD, it's much deeper, louder, and more mature. Highlights include "'Alika," the Aunty Genoa Keawe hit, "Kalama Ula" with her father Zachary Helm, "Hu'i E" with Aunty Genoa herself, "Haole Hula" with Keali'i Reichel, and a cover version of the jazz standard "At Last." A recommended CD for fans of Raiatea and other Hawaiian musicians, especially female falsetto singers!

Stunningly beautiful, facile voice .......2005-07-27

I was on vacation on the Big Island in July 2005, and her song Kalama 'ula came on the radio. I called the radio station the next day and garbled my way through what I thought her name was. I also mentioned when I'd heard the tune. They checked their log and said something like, "Oh, yeah. It was Raiatea. She's awesome." I thought so too and bought the CD the next day. I'd expected her to be much older than she is given the maturity of her voice and phrasing, but she looks about twenty on the cover photo. I should mention that I've never owned Hawaiian music before and know next to nothing about it -- I was simply bowled over by her talent and still am after listening to the whole CD several times now. The purity of her voice and the seemingly effortless way she guides it over the undulating terrain of Hawaiian words and melodies are remarkable. That said, my one criticism of "Sweet and Lovely" is that a number of the up-tempo songs sound very much alike to my ear. That's probably just because up-tempo Hawaiian tunes are built similarly -- the way rock was built on 1-4-5 chord progressions over a 2 and 4 backbeat. But that's a minor criticism and in no way changes the real reason to buy this CD, which is that magnificient voice of hers.

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