Oceania - Oceania II
The long-awaited follow-up to 1999’s stellar self-titled album sees Oceania - vocalist Hinewehi Mohi, Killing Joke alumnus Jaz Coleman, and an assortment of other players - staying on course, mixing native Maori instrumentation and poetry with modern musical styles. And if the fact that I can’t seem to stop listening to it is any reliable indicator, this second album is even more compelling than the first.
Oceania II features wistful, emotional numbers such as Hawaiki, Niniwa and Kurupana, and hypnotically ethereal club tunes such as Rongo and Tauararai (the latter two of which are possibly my two favorite songs on the whole album). There’s a rather experimental number, Akonga, in which Hinewehi Mohi trades off verses with a recording of her great uncle which dates back over 30 years. Some of the shorter tracks are instrumental interludes with more traditional instruments; many of the full-length songs, however, have a decidedly modern feel to them.
As mentioned before, Tauararai and Rongo are highlights of the album, along with the soaring coda “Mana”. Unlike the first album, there’s no booklet of helpful Maori-to-English translations; you’re on your own in interpreting the lyrics. If you don’t speak a word of Maori, you’re still in for a treat - you can focus fully on the gorgeous vocals and the relaxing feel of the whole thing. Very, very highly recommended.
- Koauau Pongaihu & Ku (0:40)
- Hawaiki (4:40)
- Akonga (5:36)
- Kurupana (4:14)
- Nguru (0:56)
- Tuhira (4:22)
- Niniwa (4:40)
- Taurarai (6:26)
- Hue Puruhau (0:42)
- Rongo (3:44)
- Pukaea (0:20)
- Haka (1:51)
- Pukaea (0:24)
- Mana (4:55)
- Koauau Pongaihu & Ku (1:43)
Released by: Toi Iho
Release date: 2002
Total running time: 45:13
For the follow-up to 1983’s reasonably successful Information, rocker Dave Edmunds turned once again to Jeff Lynne not just for production help, but for the ELO frontman’s unique songwriting style. The result was Riff Raff, a 1984 album which further pushed Edmunds into a more modern style. Kicking off with a Lynne-produced cover of the Four Tops’ “Something About You”, Riff Raff is a bit of a mish-mash, veering back and forth between different songwriters (Edmunds himself only penned one song, while Lynne wrote and produced “Breaking Out”, “S.O.S.” and “Far Away”). Somewhat surprisingly, with Edmunds producing the tracks that Lynne didn’t produce, the “sound” is fairly consistent from song to song. Within that context, though, Lynne’s songs fare the best, again sounding very Secret Messages-era due in no small part to the presence of keyboardist Richard Tandy, with “S.O.S.” being the best of the three.
All in all, a nifty double-shot of vintage Edmunds; Riff Raff didn’t quite manage to be as acclaimed an album as Information did, despite the effort to revisit so much of what made Information a success, but the inclusion of the live album sweetens the pot enough to make this a solid three-star CD.