A Cure for the Common Coldness
Okay... Reader's Digest Box Sets have a bad reputation these days. There are several sites (all of which I respect greatly) that go to great lengths to convince potential buyers to Beware the Reader's Digest Label.
In a related entry, the Space Age Pop Music site has this to say about them: "Usually, however distinguished the performers may be, the stylistic effect of the Reader's Digest cachet is deadening. These renditions are almost always performed in a humorously straight-forward manner, avoiding any unusual orchestrations, dramatic attacks, jarring shifts in volume, rhythm, or tone, and individual interpretations. When the box promises a bunch of organ music for people who like organ music, that's what it delivers. A bunch of organ music played essentially anonymously by performers who might as be anonymous for what little personality they are allowed to sneak through."
You can read the entire post here: http://www.spaceagepop.com/rc003.htm
That being said... For the most part the Reader's Digest Sets are deserving of just such trivialization. This particular collection, however, stands out from most of the others in my opinion.
For one thing (and it's an Important one) It's HAWAIIAN MUSIC, for Pete's sake. The music on these records spans the Hapa Haole Spectrum, from passable Exotica to Orchestral Easy Listening. As it was released in 1970 it contains a fair amount of NOW Sound content as well as the more traditional Strings and Percussion. While there is not one single note of Hawaiian Folk or Slack Key Guitar on these five discs, there is an impressive range of musical styles (from Exotica to Easy Listening and NOW Sound Instrumental and Choral arrangements) which possess a tremendous dynamic range and a decent amount of fairly risky originality (check out the included recording of "Bali Ha'i", by Don Kalana & The Tahitians w/ Chorus, which is probably the most upbeat and bouncy rendition of the song that I've ever heard).
In other words... This is one Great Set of Discs!
And, now that it's February, we're probably all suffering from a bit of Cabin Fever (unless, of course, we're in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case we're all runnin' around 'bout butt naked and eatin' ice cream and settling down in the evenings with the Air Conditioners hummin'... You're Time Will Come!!!) and the best cure I've ever found for Dismal Winter Weather is a Tall Cool Rum Drink and Tropical Tunes!
So put on your Aloha Shirts and Muu Muus, mix up a tall cool Zombie or Missionary's Downfall, flip open your copy of "The Book of Tiki" or "Leis, Luaus and Alohas" and give these discs a spin!
Welcome to Hawaiian Paradise!!!
- Hawaiian Paradise - Louie King & His South Sea Islanders
- Forevermore - Kalua Beach Boys w/ Chorus
- The Far Lands - Kalua Beach Boys
- Sing Me a Song of the Islands - Kalua Beach Boys
- Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon - Louis Nunley & Kalua Beach Boys
- Flamingo - Kalua Beach Boys
- Hawaii Calls - Kalua Beach Boys
- Hawaiian War Chant - Louis King & His South Sea Islanders
- The Hawaiian Love Call - Kalua Beach Boys w/ Chorus
- I'll See You in Hawaii - Kalua Beach Boys
- I Want to Learn to Speak Hawaiian - Don Kalana & The Tahitians
- Underneath the Blue Hawaiian Skies - Kalua Beach Boys
- Maori Brown Eyes - Kalua Beach Boys
- Love Letters in the Sand - Louie King & His South Sea Islanders
- Love Song of Kalua - Kalua Beach Boys w/ Chorus
- Sea and Surf - Kalua Beach Boys
- Hawaiian Surf - Kalua Beach Boys
- Sand and Sea - Jack Kai & His Hawaiian Paradise Orchestra
- Good Night, Aloha - Kalua Beach Boys
- Always in My Heart - Don Kalana & The Tahitians
- Our Love and Aloha - Kalua Beach Boys
- You Are Beautiful - Louis Nunley & Kalua Beach Boys
- Hello, Aloha! — How Are You? - Kalua Beach Boys
- King's Serenade - Don Kalana & The Tahitians
- Lani (Heaven in Hawaii) - Kalua Beach Boys
- Paradise Island - Jack Kai & His Hawaiian Paradise Orchestra
- Bali Ha'i - Don Kalana & The Tahitians w/ Chorus
- Hawaiian Sunset - Hanuani Lei & The Serenaders
- An Island Calls to You - Kalua Beach Boys
- My Isle of Golden Dreams - Louie King & His South Sea Islanders
- Trade Winds - Jack Kai & His Hawaiian Paradise Orchestra
- Tropic Trade Winds - Jack Kai & His Hawaiian Paradise Orchestra
- Waikiki - Kalua Beach Boys
- Here (In This Enchanted Place) - Don Kalana & The Tahitians w/ Chorus
- Indian Summer - Kalua Beach Boys
- White Silver Sands - Louie King & His South Sea Islanders
- Hawaii - Kalua Beach Boys
- Hawaiian Christmas Song - Kalua Beach Boys
- Hukilau Song - Don Kalana & The Tahitians w/ Chorus
- There's No Place Like Hawaii - Kalua Beach Boys
- My Hawaiian Souvenirs - Hanuani Lei & The Serenaders
- My Hawaiian Song of Love - Kalua Beach Boys
- Farewell (For Just a While) - Don Kalana & The Tahitians w/ Chorus
- I Will Remember You - Kalua Beach Boys
- Across the Sea - Louie King & His South Sea Islanders
- For You a Lei - Kalua Beach Boys
- Silver Moon - Hanuani Lei & The Serenaders
- I'll Weave a Lei of Stars for You - Hanuani Lei & The Serenaders
- Hawaiian Dreams - Kalua Beach Boys
- Sweet Someone - Hanuani Lei & The Serenaders
- Ka-Lu-A - Hanuani Lei & The Serenaders
- One Paddle, Two Paddle - Don Kalana & The Tahitians w/ Chorus
- Let Me Hear You Whisper - Kalua Beach Boys
- Honolulu Eyes - Don Kalana & The Tahitians
- Hawaiian Memories - Kalua Beach Boys
- Magic Is the Moonlight - Kalua Beach Boys
- You'll Never Go Home - Don Kalana & The Tahitians
- On Treasure Island - Kalua Beach Boys w/ Chorus
- I've Found a Little Grass Skirt - Don Kalana & The Tahitians
- Beyond the Rainbow - Kalua Beach Boys
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22 comments:
Thank you so much for Hawaiian music, especially the whole set, and in ZIP too. Now I can listen to it right away iknstead of waiting a month until I get home. The computer I am using now will not allow me to install any software such as WINRAR, etc.
Bassooner.
Great to hear you're happy with it, Bassooner! I've more wonderfulness (some of it even Hawaiian in nature) headed your way.
Thank you very, very much for this excellent post!
And yes, yes! Please more of such wonderfulness.
Do you have an old TOPS record from the 1950's titles HAWAIIAN FAVORITES? It was one of the better TOPS records, using actual working hotel groups. Bassooner.
Hmmmmmm... I'm not sure, Doug. I know I don't have it on vinyl, but I do have most of TOPS L-1517 (the famous Cheesecake cover), featuring Akona Lani and His Islanders on Side 1 and Danny K. Stewart and His Aloha Boys on Side 2, as Mp3s at 192kbps. I downloaded it from another sharity site back in 2005. It's missing Huki Lau (by Akona Lani) and Fort St. Rag (by Danny K. Stewart) but sounds pretty decent otherwise. Check it out at http://www.bsnpubs.com/pri/tops1500.html and let me know if this is the one you're looking for. If it is I'd be happy to post it for you :-)
i'm lissnen the hell out of these here records - thanks a milluyn bro!
j$
Glad you like it, Johnny$! I've got another 4 disc set very similar to it. I'll probably put it up in a couple of weeks. Make sure you've got plenty of orgeat! ;-)
Glad for sharing this. I just inheirted my late Father's record collection which includes about 10 Reader's Digest Box sets. I for one love them, and actually see nothing whatsoever wrong with them. I mean they are a compilation of songs from dozens of favorite artists of the day. What can be so wrong with that. I don't see one single box set in the bunch that is NOT done by the original artists.
Dave
Just picked this up for 99 cents at the local Goodwill store, were I find many mint condition Hawaiian LP's. This collection is near mint, and sounds so amazing on my turntable, with my new stylus. It seems that these were a considered a bit of a novelty in their time. So much of the Hawaiian LP's are in very good shape with very little wear, because they were so rarely played, or perhaps treasured by some. A great find for the collector. Thanks for posting these gems for others to enjoy. If I had more time, I would blog these too.
I've got plenty more of it, Edwin! Keep checkin' back and I'm sure I'll be posting more of it down the road.
I'm glad these links still work.
I'd found this at a thrift shop, but one of the LPs was missing.
Thank you for posting the whole set.
You're Welcome, KL!
Yep. Back in the Old Days, links didn't remain up more than a few weeks in some cases. The expanded capabilities and capacities of the File Sharing Services have improved, however, and I'm really happy with how it's working out.
Glad these were still here when you found 'em!
No now days Vic you just have some busy body ratting ones music sharing files to the File Services that get them deleted. I had to totally give up renewing the links on all 3 of my blogs as I had a Trollish individual who took it upon themselves to make sure all of my files got deleted as soon as I renewed them.
Dave W.
You are correct, Dave!
As a matter of fact, I've noticed an recent upsurge in both Troll Attacks and those carried on by Official Organizations (who are, actually, not).
Several Blogs have been shut down, recently, by Google/Blogger, because of complaints from an organization representing Copyright Holders who the actual Copyright Holders of the Music Posted on the Blogs had NEVER HEARD OF! As a Matter of Fact… The Copyright Holders had ASKED THAT THEIR SONGS BE POSTED ON THE BLOGS IN QUESTION!!!
WTF!?!
TV,
About a year ago, Thrift Store DJ was getting harrassed by what seemed to be different "official" groups (They left comments on several old posts and sent him an "official" cease and desist e-mail).
He sent me copies of what he got and I was able to trace it all back to one organization in Belgium that first began fighting piracy from The Netherlands. Their website claimed to have other chapters throughout Europe.
I'm sorry that I never saved that info because there's been a lot of trouble lately. But I thought you'd like to know.
KL
Yes. I believe that anyone that is going to harrass an individual blog owner is NOT going to be from an Official group. Official piracy groups have more official methods of fighting piracy than harrassing people online. Although I have heard that the RCAA has instigated such behavior to be carried out by indivduals and non-official groups. Unfotunatelyy web companies are not in a position to be able to take the chance that such compliants AREN'T official. So I understand why music hosting sights and Blogspot do what they do about taking down files. I still just believ that it is BS though.
Dave W.
A good deal of the trouble I'm seeing lately is being generated from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). It's based in London, but is linked to regional offices in Brussels, Hong Kong and Miami. It "represents the recording industry worldwide" in legal issues and recently won an important judgment against LimeWire in the US Supreme Court.
The only run-in I've had with them resulted from my posting of an out-of-print record from the 80s on a Major Label.
I think that if we keep it limited to more obscure artists from labels that no one cares about anymore we're pretty safe, but you never can tell.
I also bought this set a few years ago in mint condition. Are you aware it's sort of a follow-on to an even better set? It was called South Sea Island Magic, released in 1968. I got RD's very last copy, which they sent me from their library, gratis, to use on our travellog slide show of Hawaii. This was about 20-25 years ago. There are quite a few copies available on Amazon, mostly in good condition. I have the whole thing on my MP3 player, and I'm working on ripping Hawaiian Paradise (but may use Tuna Melt's version instead!). Stumbled upon this site while seeking more info on the artists.
Thanks for the comment, Anonymous!
I posted a link once to a blog that had "South Sea Island Magic" loaded up, but the blog has, sadly, since shut down. I may get around to ripping my copy one of these days.
Good luck digging up more info on the artists. I've tried that before myself and have never had much success.
All of the download links to rapidshare.com are dead links. :(
Hi, thanks so much for posting this. I realize this is an old post but any chance you can re upload the links? I'd LOVE to have a digital copy of this set!
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