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HANAPEPE DREAM
(TONE-COOL/ARTEMIS)
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Somewhere down the line, Taj Mahal swung by Margaritaville, spent years living in Hawaii, and came out a devotee of the easy rhythms of the Caribbean and the Pacific. There’s not much of the straight-ahead blues he’s best known for among the ukuleles (bass, tenor, and the six-string Liliu) and swaying rhythms on Hanapepe Dream. But his roots, in the both the blues and the ’60s, remain at the heart of everything here, as does his charming voice — raw, scratchy, and sweet as a thicket of sugar cane. He offers island-style takes on the mainland staples "Stagger Lee" and "Blackjack Davey" as well as a Caribbean blues interpretation of Dylan’s "All Along the Watchtower." The disc has plenty of guts and island integrity, though the carefree feel of a couple of tracks — especially the few on which Mahal doesn’t handle the vocals — borders on cruise-line cheesy. Perhaps the best blend of Caribbean and blues is on the bonus video clip, which reprises "New Hula Blues," a track from Mahal’s first foray into the Pacific in 1998, with masterful Hawaiian steel-guitarist Fred Lund.
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