Putumayo Kids Presents: Hawaiian Playground

I have about 5 from this collection and we love them. Especially the French and African ones but I have to say this is really bad. This can't possibly be representative of the Hawaiian culture and it's music. Was this honestly the best they could do???

I love the Playground series from Putumayo and this, their newest release, is lots of fun too. Kids may like it but adults will too! Though three of the 10 tracks are more reggae than "hula", Willie K's track has a cool 30s swing arrangement and Joe McDermott (an Austin, Tx singer who's never been to Hawaii!) starts off his track with added surface noise to replicate an old 78rpm record! The Moonlighters (another non-Hawaiian group - they are from New York City) have a doo-wop sound.

One highlight - at least for me - is the track by Raiatea, which has a melody that will make you hit the "Repeat" button and a great extended solo on the slack-key guitar.

That said, the real disappointment is the CDs length. The 10 tracks fill less than 30 minutes! Surly Putumayo could have licensed tracks for performers like the young uke player Jake Shimabukuro (check him out on You Tube), or added a historic recording by the great Sol Hoopi. It's because of the length that I downgraded my rating. Otherwise it's a fun disc for kids and adults alike.

One additional gripe: The liner notes try to teach children how to pronounce unusual words and, in this case it's the word "ukulele". Though SOME Amwerican's pronounce it "YOU-Ke-Leh-lee", the proper Hawaiian pronunciation is "Oo-koh-leh-lee". Someone slipped up here.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

I purchased this with the hopes of staving off some late winter blahs (influenza with toddlers trapped in the house, anyone?). I can't say it really recalled that serene feeling that I had on our honeymoon. The tracks were authentic but came over as flat and similar with no real upbeat songs.

Probably exactly what it was supposed to be, just not the kind of album I will play over and over, unlike Putamayo's "Animal Playground" "Folk Playground" and "Latin Playground." I also recommend They Might Be Giants, Father Goose, and the Hipwaders for kid-music.