Ken Emerson's latest "Slack `n' Steel" effort really suprised me. I knew he had tons of range as an instrumentalist, but he really came through with some awesome vocal performances and some really interesting compositions. This is the full package, folks. To boot, Ken is joined by some real music industry heavyweights including Todd Rundgren, the Grateful Dead's Bill Kreutzmann, and Charlie Musselwhite. Kauai bass whiz Pancho Graham plays on most of the tracks.

Ken is at ease and himself whether playing classic Sol-style resophonic, or contemporary slack key rhythms, or the blues, and with more than a touch of '60s folk-rock sensibility.
The CD is expertly recorded and packaged; you can hear lots of subtle playing effects and trail-offs on Ken's acoustic steel guitar, which generally has a deep tone, shimmering in the upper register, that is different from what you usually hear. Compare the classic Sol Ho'opi'i sound Ken gets on "Feelin' No Pain" and "Sassy Hula" to what he is gets on the rest of the CD. From what I can gather he is playing steel using his slack key guitar on a lot of these tracks by lightly placing his bar on the guitar strings, taking care to avoid fret buzz. And he can switch back and forth between slack key mode and steel guitar mode. A really unique sound.

"Miloli`i Slack Key" is a dreamy composition by Ken that features his slack key and acoustic steel and a beautifully written bridge.

"Nani Kaua'i" is an example of Ken's unique arrangement of a Hawaiian standard, reminiscent of the way Gabby would play with a classic. Rock legend Todd Rundgren joins Kenny on vocals.

Ken sings great on "Lei Nani" and shows how he can use the bar and fret with his fingers in the same measure.

"Sand" is beautifully played and recorded. Ken makes it his own with interesting twists at the end.

"Small Axe" is a slack key remake of a Bob Marley reggae classic. Ken considers this the "true Jawaiian" sound. Well, we wish all reggae-based Hawaiian music were this Hawaiian sounding. Don't worry. You'll dig it.

"0 Akua" is a contemporary tune written by John Lincoln with a plaintiff message about the plight of modem day Hawaiians.

In Santo and Johnny's classic "Sleepwalk," acoustic steel and slack key engage in subtle conversation trad­ing roles back and forth from lead to backup.. You have to hit those harmon­ics perfectly on acoustic steel—electric steel has a lot more sustain—and Kenny does!

"Ulili E" features a kind of rolling slack key jangle with a rootsy Sons of Hawaii kind of feel. Ono! Yet another example of how much musical range Ken has.
"Too Much Kava Kava" is a cool blues tune Ken co-wrote with Charlie Musselwhite, who plays great bluesy harmonica on the track.

"E Lei E" is one of my favorite hulas and Ken shines on vocals, steel, and slack key.

"Endless Summer" is an inter­esting Hawaiian treatment of the theme of the hit surf film of the same name.

On the Noble classic "Manuela Boy," check out the ad-lib verses writ­ten and sung by Ken! I like his modem slack key feel on this track.

"Ka Loke De Mi Corezon" is a Ken Emerson composition almost classical in delivery, a tribute to the influence of Portugal on Hawaiian music. A kind of steel guitar sonata... Very nice

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The final track of the CD, "E Kalihiwai," is an awesome Ken Emerson composition about his home district in Kaua'i. An ethereal explo­ration of textural overlays with a little exotica-meets- `60s-folk-rock-psyche­delia. Well, I tried. You'll have to check it out.

Ken has definitely carved out a niche for himself that is Hawaiian and relevant—that is, not merely retro or nostalgic. He has brought many tradi­tions together to create something new. That's how most great Hawaiian music came about, wasn't it? Major kudos, Kenny. A must-have.

Review by John Ely

Several years ago Ken released an excellent album full of instrumental standards called "Slack and Steel," not to be confused with his latest offering "Slack & Steel: Kaua'i Style." While the former album is unfortunately out of print, the new one has some interesting cuts that make it worth picking up as well.

Ken has moved in various jam, blues and classic rock circles, and brings some of those friends along for the ride on this album. While hearing Todd Rundgren help out on some Hawaiian vocals is an interesting musical oddity, that collaboration is not the main reason to pick up the album. More interesting is blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite's work on "Too Much Kava Kava," which results in a nice blend of the genres. (Note: the two have collaborated before, also to good effect.)

While Ken does traditional tunes like "Lei Nani," and "Ulili E," this is more of an experimental album that pushes beyond the bounds of traditional Hawaiian toward Ken's unique melting pot of world music and folk influences. Along with the above mentioned Harmonica, the song "Miloli'i Slack Key" that opens the CD features some bluegrass style mandolin. While the use of banjo and mandolin is certainly not unheard of in Hawaiian music (Johnny K. Almeida in the early 1900's, for example), it is not often heard in this day and age.

Further reflecting a broader scope is the eclectic song choice of perennial 'island' tunes like "Endless Summer," and "Sleepwalk."

I particularly enjoyed his version of "Small Axe," one of my favorite Bob Marley / Wailers songs.Ken also remains focused on adding a modern island sensibility, expressing the current frustrations with the increased cost of living in his updated lyrics to Manuela Boy.

Though traditionalists might be more pleased with his previous "Slack and Steel" album, this CD takes some risks and succeeds. Overall, an interesting album that will not leave fans of Ken disappointed.

Review by Santa Cruz Live

This is a collection of recordings by one of the world's most eminent slack key players. "Slack key" is a term referring to the detuning of the guitar from standard setting to one that results in a harmonic chord, usually G minor, when played open string. We all know what happens when one tunes down: pitch shifts and a more ringing atmosphere arises. Ironically, ethnomusicologists have noted that the guitar was introduced to Hawaiians by Mexican musicians who showed them how to play then left the natives to do with it as they would. What the Hawaiians came up with is inevitably evocative of the slow sultry balm of that most famed island chain on Earth. This particular body of music has been around for about a century but only recorded in the last 50 or so years, with Gabby Pahuini leading the emergent sounds.

Much of the sonority is a fusion of European and Hawaiian elements, particularly regarding hula and its accompanying mele (chant). Though most of the cuts on Slack & Steel are instrumental, Emerson included several in the lazily beautiful mele process. The listener can't help but become ensnared in these lullbye-ish atmospheres, as the two aspects (rich detuned chords and wafting vocals—often with backing parts) are lush and soporific.

The immortal Sleepwalk is presented, a generous fistful of less-known songs classic to the genre, a cover of a Bob Marley tune, and an original or two. Bill Kreutzman, Todd Rundgren, and Charlie Musselwhite sit in on a few tracks, and Emerson has toured with such luminaries as Pablo Cruise, Boz Scaggs, Jackson Browne, and a generous host of others. The cut with Musselwhite, Too Much Kava Kava, demonstrates how easily blues and slack key musics find common ground, sitting side by side, one never yielding way to other, happy and complicit in a natural fusion.

The elastically lazy sound of slack key is its chiefest feature, making ample room for clever play, and Emerson, especially in Feelin' No Pain, introduces tons of humor, a drunken loopiness, and quite a few musical diversions singular in their odd plays on orthodoxy and heterogeneity. Having heard a number of them previous to this, I've never run across a slack key CD so friendly to the ear. While there's very little flash or exhibitions of hyper-complexity, Emerson's gift is a knowing hand that imbues the songs with a glow and deft cleverness unusual to world music, especially that latter trait. Before long, newgrassers are going to lay ear to his work and catch a boatload of inspiration.

A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
by Mark S. Tucker

HAWAIIAN TANGOS, HULAS AND BLUES

Your knowledge of Hawaiian music might be like mine, pretty much limited to Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles" and "Aloha Oe." If so, "Hawaiian Tangos, Hulas & Blues" (Hana Ola Records CD) will be a revelation, as well as a fine introduction. Ken Emerson covers many styles here with various guitars and ukuleles.
On many tracks he overdubs himself with guitars and ukes to emulate Hawaiian string bands. For example, on "Hilo Hanakahi" he plays a 1928 National Style 1 tri-cone steel guitar, a 1930 Martin style ukulele, a 2001 Amistar style 4 tri-cone steel guitar and a 1999 Superior steel guitar.
I do not mean to imply that Emerson takes an academic approach to his music. He appreciates tradition, using many local chanters and traditional vocalists, including Darlene Ahuna.
As it should be, however, the music has an easygoing vibe. It is intricate but mellow. All the songs have only string instruments and vocals, some of the latter by Emerson himself. Most of the tracks include a string bass player, and a few include guest players on fiddle and mandolin. "Ulupalakua" features Todd Rundgren on backing harmony vocals.
The 16 cuts, some written by Emerson, go beyond traditional Hawaiian folk to include "Sitting on Top of the World" done in a country-blues style, ska/reggae ("Natural Fact"), tango ("Tropico Pacifico"), jazz/blues ("Kalihi Blues") and even "The Third Man Theme."
If you think that more information on the CD sleeve increases both your understanding and enjoyment of the music (I certainly do), you will find it here. Besides listing and describing the instruments, he includes a biography, and short histories of both the Hawaiian steel guitar and the Hawaiian slack key (alternate tuning) style of playing.
One song, "Moonshadows on Coconut Grove," celebrates the hotel where Elvis sang "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" in the film Blue Hawaii. Songs like that killed many people's desire to hear more of the islands' music. Now with Ken Emerson and his friends, it is time to return.

- Rambles
written by Dave Howell

SLACK & STEEL

A HOT SAMPLER - Of new 'oldies', "Slack & Steel" (Liko Records CD LRCD 2002) reintroduces Ken Emerson in an acoustic treat. As the title implies, Emerson immerses style and soul into slack-key and steel guitar, and what a soothing excursion this is. Still remembered from his '70s-'80s stint with brother Phil as The Emerson Brothers, Ken Emerson is back with a very relaxing and resourceful sampler of Hawaiian standards reminiscent of the early 1900s.

There are hints of a jazz and blues inspiration here and there; the repertoire is a flashback to the time when the steel would "sing" where normally there were lyrics. The motif and manner are very much in the "dated" 78 rpm style, but with all the modern clarity that technology now provides. Emerson also experiments, creating what he calls "slack/steel", applying ki ho 'alu techniques to steel guitar. Result: an oldie-sounding newie that's a real hoot, a stroll down memory lane for some, an avenue of discovery for others. From a jaunty "Hanalei Medley" that alludes to the joy of Kauai, to the knock-'em-dead blues imprint on "Hula Blues," this is a very affectionate performance of a much-admired time, when plain was better than fancy, and a good instrumental lick was all that mattered.

Naturally, there are some lovely standards, like Leonard Kwan's "Moana Chimes,' and the beloved Sol Ho'opi'i classic, "Radio Blues". Happily, Emerson writes songs with that nostalgia bent that seems to have leaped up from eight or nine decades ago, including "Hotel Street Blues", "Wai Lehua" and "Ua 'Kea," all with another-time, another-place nuances. Plain, precise, powerful stuff here.

-Wayne Harada, Honolulu Advertiser

PICK OF THE PICKERS. Hawaii's top steel players all figured they knew one another - it's a small market after all - until Ken Emerson and his brother Phil came chiming out of nowhere back in 1978. The Emerson Brothers beat out 500 other groups for a track on a homegrown album, subsequently produced discs of their own and later backed isle recording star Moe Keale.

Now back after years of touring with artists such as blues great Charlie Musselwhite, Hilo's Liko Records showcases Ken Emerson's consummate steel work in this handsomely packaged and fastidiously recorded CD. "Slack & Steel" is to vintage music fans what a John Kelly print is to Hawaiiana collectors.

Hawaii's principal export to the world of music, the steel or "Hawaiian guitar" is credited to Kamehameha school student Joseph Kekuku, who in 1884 emerged from metal shop class with a cylindrical steel fret bar. He used this to coax otherworldly glides, twangs and pings from his guitar strings.

Kekuku's invention has enriched a century of Hawaiian, Hillbilly and country western music, and it took notable encores in the territory band and "swing" jazz heydays of the 1920s - 1940s. "Slack & Steel" pays homage to all these styles, honoring 1920's composer Alfred Alohikea ("Hanalei Medley"), Johnny Noble and Sonny Cunha ("Hula Blues"), Hawaiian steel guitar immortal Sol Ho'opi'i ("Radio Blues"), and contemporary slack key master Raymond Kane ("Punahele"). Emerson is confident enough to add five of his own compositions to a lineup that boasts Joseph Ae'a's classic "Hilo March", the traditional falsetto standard "I Kona" and an interesting twist to the time-honored chant from the Hanalei area, "Ula No Weo".

The "Slack & Steel" label is no shibai: Emerson thumbpicks the bass strings of his steel guitar while playing melodies with the other fingers and uses slack key tunings like open G (taro patch), F sharp minor (wahine) and other various other tunings. If you love steel guitar-or Hawaii's musical heritage, "Slack & Steel" is for you.

-Tom Stevens, Haleakala Times

SOUTH SEA ISLAND MAGIC - MOE KEALE

"South Sea Island Magic", by Moe Keale, featuring the acoustic sounds of the Emersons, Mountain Apple Co. MACD 2059

It doesn't get any more Hawaiian, or better, than Moe Keale's CD, which is an acoustic excursion back in time. Originally released in 1980, with The Emerson Brothers (Ken on steel guitar and Phil on various vintage guitars) providing the core of the musical support, and kokua from Roland Cazimero and Terry Paulo on bass and Robert Cazimero on backing vocals, Keale takes a splendid waltz down memory lane. Each tune is familiar, yet fresh, because of its uncluttered vision and performance. It's like encountering an old friend but embracing a new one.

The title song is a hapa-haole tune from yesteryear, but there are nuggets of delightful and authentic Hawaiian fare, meticulously hand-'picked' and re-interpreted in Keale's winning style. "September in the Rain" isn't Hawaiian, but in Keale's embrace and with an ukulele solo, it takes on a very likable Island glow and Mana'o (spirit). Listen to that backyard, swing tempo party-hearty spirit. Contagious.

And in keeping with the current retro craze, Duke Ellingtons' "Swingtime in Honolulu" is hip and hot, with Keale putting tongue slightly in cheek in delivering this wicky-wacky-hula tempoed winner. You can envision the swishing cellophane skirts. Speaking of hula, "Haleiwa Hula", the adorable Johnny Noble classic, retains that swing fling that characterizes the Emersons' steel and guitar work. "No Ke Ano Ahiahi", a tune Keale must have played a number of times while with the Sons of Hawaii, is a charmer in the upbeat mode. On a romantic note, Carlos Andrade's "Limahuli" sounds like a quick favorite. And the traditional "Ua Mau" is revived with all the solemnity expected of a tune about Josanna.

"Makaha", a newer composition by Roland Cazimero, is the most "modern" of the tracks - a place song with a powerful blues undercoat. "Scotch and Soda", the old Kingston Trio hit (Dave Guard wrote it), is predictably smokey - and hypnotic.

-Honolulu Advertiser, Wayne Harada