Japanese Vintage Hawaiian CD Releases
SPECIAL NOTE:
None of the Japanese CDs I have ever heard are LP rips.
These are ALL legit releases that appear to be taken from the original master tapes as the sound quality
is first rate (even for very old recordings).
Last updated: 1-24-08
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"Around The Islands In 80 Shakes" A limited edition release, catalog no. UICY-93133 This is a great Hawaiian Hula album, all instrumentals. |
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"Hawaiian Holiday" A limited edition release, catalog no. UICY93137 and part of the Aloha Smile series. Released in a cardboard sleeve with all the original from and back cover artwork as the original LP. Excellent Hawaiian - Hapa Haole music. |
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"Favorite Selection by Johnny Ukulele" Catalog No. TOCP-70039 While I don't believe this is a limited edition release, it has recently gone out of print. This is a great album. This CD came in a standard jewel case and not a LP-like cardboard sleeve. |
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"Jon Hall Directs Music From Honolulu" Catalog No. UICY-93139 Another of the Aloha Smile series - Limited Edition release in cardboard sleeve with original LP artwork. |
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"Song Of The Islands" Catalog No. UCCU-9024 Limited Edition release (still available as of March '07) in cardboard sleeve with original artwork. This is one of my favorites. A great Hawaiian album, originally released on Coral Records. |
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"Latin Village" Catalog No. TOCJ-66315 Not a limited edition release and still available as of March '07, released in cardboard sleeve with all original LP front and back covers. This is must-have for Denny fans and exotica collectors alike as there is still precious little of Denny's recordings available on CD. |
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"Lure Of The Islands" Catalog No. UICY-93131 Limited edition cardboard sleeve release. One of my favorite releases so far--terrific Hawaiian tunes. Still available as of March '07. |
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"Sondi" Long out of print. Even the LP is rare!! An interesting and, I can't help but think its intentional, stereotypical "Oriental" portrayal Thai singer. LP is much sought after. Includes a haunting rendition of Bali Hai. |
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"Best of Haunani Kahalewai" Catalog No. DMCX-1054 Not a limited edition. This is a Japan-Only greatest hits collection. Haunani was one of the stars of Webley Edwards Hawaii Calls radio show an appeared on many of the Hawaii Calls LP releases in the 50's and 60's. There is precious little of her stuff out on CD at all and this collection is a welcome release. It features 22 tracks. Still available in Japan as of March '07. |
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"Aloha Smile" Not a limited edition release. This CD is a collection of various recordings that have and have not yet been released as part of the Aloha Smile series. All of the Aloha Smile series are limited edition cardboard sleeve releases except for this one. It features a whopping 28 tracks of vintage Hawaiian music, most of which have never been on CD before. Among the outstanding tracks are "Hawaiian Cha Cha Cha" from the super rare and highly collectible "Hawaiian Room" LP and "There's No Place Like Hawaii" from Sterling Mossman's "Live At The Barefoot Bar" LP. I'm usually not a fan of compilations, because the only make me want the albums more. This is a must-have for any collector who seriously wants to have at least one track from these albums in flawless digital format. |
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"Fresca Hawaii" Not a limited edition. This CD compilation is a rather strange one. It appears to be a compilation of Hawaiian Hapa Haole music from Capitol/EMI vaults. Its a rather oddball collection that features a real weird assortment of vintage Hapa Haole- including "Pearly Shells" by Tennessee Ernie Ford! There are a few outstanding tracks of rare vintage LPs that are not on CD such as: "Hula La" by Chick Floyd, "Vana Vana" by Charles Mauu (from the vintage Capitol album "Polynesia"), "Two Ladies In The Shade Of A Banana Tree" by Ethel Azama. But outstanding track, for me anyway, was the discovery of a conteporary artists Lisa Ono. |
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"From Hawaiia With Love" Catalog No. UICY-93136 Limited edition cardboard sleeve with original LP artowrk - stil available as of March, 2007. Not one of my favorites--this one sounds more 70's with electric bass plugged right into the mixing console and more bossa nova versions of Hawaiian songs that tend to sound more like it belongs in a cheesey bar. But still, a worthwhile purchase as it is a vintage LP never before releaed on CD. |
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"Ukulele Isle" Catalog No. UICY-93132 Limited edition cardboard sleeve release, still available as of April, 2007. A great classic LP. THis album would almost be completely at home in a jazz lover's collection. The tunes, although on Uke, feature very jazzy chord progressions and Bossa Nova-like rythms. A much more sophisticated Hawaiian album. |
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"Swing and Sway in Hawaii" Catalog No. UICY-93135 Limited edition, cardboard sleeve - still available as of April 2007. Big band swingy versions of classic Hawaiian songs. An interesting album. |
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"On The Shores of Waikiki" Catalog No. UICY-93138 Limited edition cardboard sleeve - still available as of April 2007. A much have or Jerry Byrd fans. This is a mono release that has that Hawaiian vintage sound. A great listen. |
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"A Musical Portrait of Hawaii" Not limited edition and still available as of 4/15/07. Mono. What can I say, a great sounding reissue of a very old classic. |
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"Cast Your Fate To The Wind" Out of Print as of Jan. 2008 Same exact album as "Live At The Crescendo". Released by Crescendo Records here in America, but appears to be out of print here and only available in Japan. A must-have for Lyman fans. A great album! |
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"Hawaii's Greatest Hits" Not limited edition, still available as of 4/15/07 An interesting and quirky sounding Hawaiian release. A fun listen, fully instrumental tunes with tons of steel sliding guitar! STEREO |
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"HULA" Not limited edition, stil available as of 4/15/07 MONO - once again, another great reissue from Japan of a classic Hapa Haole LP. Sound quality is great as usual. I have this one on rather heavy rotation at my place! |
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"My Hawaii" Not limited edition, still avail. as of 1/24/08 |
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"The Exotic Sounds of the Spice Islands" Not limited edition, still avail. as of 4/22/07 STEREO--Ed Kenney had quite a career as a vocalist in musicals on Broadway and by releasing numerous Hawaiian LPs. While obviously classically trained and sounding less Hapa Haole, this album is quite nice. |
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"Blue Hawaii" Limited edition, mini LP cardboard sleeve |
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"Aloha" Out of print - very rare. |
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"Great Hawaiian Hits" Out of print - very rare. Mini LP Cardboard sleeve A lovely album of relaxed, swigin' Hapa Haole. |
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"R.S.V.P." Out of Print |
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"Make Mine Hawaiian" Limited Edition cardboard mini LP sleeve The well known organist's 1962 attempt to cash in on the Polynesian craze of the era. Cheesy but fun. |
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"Hawaiian Wedding Song" still available as of 1/24/08 Very syrupy strings and choir--even to sweet for my tastes. More like a Muzak album for sure. |
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"The Exotic Sounds of The Hawaii Kai" Still available as of 1/24/08 - not a limited edition During the Polynesian craze of mid-century, many "restaurant records" were released by artists. Most of which were only studio recordings with the sponsoring eatery's name on the cover. Such is the case with this release. However, it is a great smooth Hawaiian album. Many of the tunes have a more sophisticated Bossa Nova feel to them. |
HAWAII CALLS from Japan
This next batch of CDs are real prizes (at least as far as I'm concerned). There is a very interesting story about these releases. For a long time I was under the impression that there simply were none of the vintage Hawaii Calls LPs available on CD. Then I one of the CDs below in the used bin at a record store in Los Angeles. Needless to say, I snatched it up instantly. Later, after some internet investigating, I found that there were several of the old Hawaii Calls classic LPs released only in Japan. Sadly by that time, they were all out of pint. However, they are still listed in the catalog on Amazon.com. In time, I came across a few others, used and long out of print, but I found some. The Hawaii Calls records are excellent albums of classic Hawaiian music. If you've ever heard them you know. For a complete discography of Hawaii Calls LPs, click here |
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"Hula Island Favorites" Out of Print for quite some time as of March '07. This is the first Hawaii Calls Japanese CD I found in the used section. Whoever the person is that didn't like it enough to keep it, I thank you and have to ask: What Were You Thinking?!?!? But thanks anyway! Additionally, the liner notes on the CD are extensive-although almost totally in Japanese. The one jewel is a complete listing of ALL the Hawaii Calls LPs and their release years. Click here to see the list. If anyone reading this has one of these rare CD's, please contact me, I would love to trade copies! |
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"Fire Goddess" Long out of print and devilishly rare One of the best covers in the business. This LP is primarily traditional Hawaiian chants, definately not the easy listening Hapa Haole Hawaiian swing stuff. Very nice. |
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"Hawaii Calls At Twilight" Long out of print and exceedingly hard to find. An exceptional album of lazy Hawaiian standards. The album was originally recorded and released before Stereo was widely used. |
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"The Young Hawaiians" Recently out of print. Although this album was released in the late 60's/early 70's, it bears the "Hawaii Calls" mark on the cover and was produced by Webley Edwards. Most of the album is pretty classic Hapa Haole stuff, but a few tunes like "Young Hawaii" has a definate flower power sound. Groovy Baby! |
Definitely more to come.