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Like Chow Fun

Eric Gilliom
1 disc

1. Like Chow Fun
2. Back to Honopo
3. Guiding Star
4. O Tahiti
5. This Time It's Love
6. Beach Boys and Hula Girls
7. Aloha No Molokai - (featuring Amy Hnaiali'i/Willie Kahaiali'i)
8. Old Hawaiian Songs
9. Never Enough Time
10. Voice of Change
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 41001
Credits

Producer David Inamine; Eric Gilliom
Engineer Robert Breen; Chris Morris; Dave Russell; Ryan Wirthlin; Chris Morris; Paul Erickson
Personnel includes: Eric Gilliom (vocals, guitar); Fred Schreuders (guitar); Dave Inamine (bass); Land Richards (drums); Kevin Ricard (percussion).
Recorded at Hyperbolic Sound, Maui, Hawaii.
Personnel: Eric Gilliom (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Amy Hnaiali'i (vocals, background vocals); Bob Bangerter, William Kahai' Alil (guitar); Michael Ruff (keyboards, background vocals); Land Richards (drums); Kevin Ricard (percussion).
Eric Gilliom's sophomore release is a good deal less idealistic and intellectual than his first was. It's also a bit of a compromise. He seems to have stifled his leanings toward old-school blues and rock, going instead for the musical style guaranteed to appeal the most to tourists. It's a style that countless other island artists before Gilliom have perfected: lilting, gentle, and oh-so-Hawaiian. He even brings in sister and island star Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom as a guest vocalist on "Aloha No Moloka'i." The resulting collection of songs is pretty but predictable. It could easily be played in a coffee shop or clothing store on Kauai, but it would never fly in a mainland rock club or even a blues bar. "Guiding Star" is a melodic, sentimental track, and "O Tahihi" is cool in a vaguely South African way, but "Beach Boys & Hula Girls" is unashamedly island kitsch, while the title track, "Like Chow Fun," makes you wonder exactly what Gilliom was thinking. It's easy enough to guess, though: Like many other Hawaiian musicians, he simply got tired of struggling with the difficult, competitive mainland music market and decided to go for the path of least resistance. ~ L. Katz