The Best of the Brothers Cazimero

Album Review

Ten years and 17 albums into their career, the Brothers Cazimero made their first greatest-hits album in 1987. With the huge amount of steady recording done prior to the compilation, however, there was an overabundance of songs to choose from for the purposes of the collection. As such, there are a number of omissions from their catalog which were, in large part, later included on other compilations. The sound quality of the tracks is decent, although there's a good bit of ambient noise present here and there due to the use of location recordings in many of the albums. The instrumental aspect of the collection is relatively simple, providing accompaniment for the vocals and not a huge deal more, except the occasional contemporary acoustic run for a fill. The vocals of the duo is really the focus of the album for the listener, as the brothers progress through song after song of relaxed ambience, almost entirely in Hawaiian. The tone stays largely to the stereotypical Hawaiian sound in the song structures (although it's a contemporary version of it), but there are a couple of exceptions. "Tropical Baby" presents a bouncing bit of simple vocal jazz given a bit of a Hawaiian feel and, more notably, "Rainbow Connection" provides a translated version of the work from the classic The Muppet Movie, with only the slightest of modifications beyond language. Both work quite well, bringing the brothers a bit out of their element, but staying close enough to let them stretch out comfortably. The whole of the album really does just that: stretch out. It's a relaxed affair and doesn't attempt to move beyond that. This is a nice example of Hawaiian contemporary music.