Track Listing

1. Calypsonians
2. Coconut Man
3. Sacred Island (Moku La'a)
4. Betty and Dupree
5. New Hula Blues
6. No Na Mamo
7. Mailbox Blues
8. Kanikapila

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88840 in Music
• Released on: 1998-04-07
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
After decades as a bluesman, Taj Mahal has earned his place in the pantheon of American music. But this takes him to a slightly different place: Hawaii, where he made his home for a number of years. He's always had a relaxed approach to music, and the Islands must have been a perfect fit for him. But Mahal has also had a long interest in the music of the Caribbean, so it's interesting to hear him adapt Toots's ska classic, "Monkey Man," to his style, on the tropically flavored "Coconut Man." Whatever he tackles, however, the blues is at the basis of everything he does; it's part of his soul now. But there are, as he shows, as many ways to approach the blues as there are bluesmen. His experience and innovation have made Mahal one of the great second (or possibly third) generation blues figures. It's nice to know he hasn't stopped pushing the envelope. --Chris Nickson

Entertainment Weekly
Hula Blues is just what its title suggests: Taj Mahal filtering his down-home blues sensibility through the indolent strains of Hawaii. . . .

Customer Reviews

This is get-down, funky, beautiful, soulful, Taj at his best
From the very beginning, the Calypsonians, this CD grabs ahold of you. I listen to it in my car but I mainly listen to it while I stretch out and do yoga after I walk in the mornings. The 3rd cut, Sacred island, is a particularly haunting and beautiful instrumental that combines slack guitar, ukelele, kalimba, flute and saxophone in the most natural way. I can barely describe the effect this CD has on me every time I listen to it. I've always been a Taj fan (since I saw him in San Francisco in 1971 at the Boarding House where he sang to my fussy baby (now 28 yrs old). Every CD he puts out pushes the "coolness" envelope a little further and this is no exception. Thanks, Taj, and fans, don't miss it!!!

More great sounds from an accomplished artist
It's not every day you get to experience a new sound from an old friend. Sacred Island by Taj Mahal and the Hula Blues Band is the kind of CD that you want to play again and again. It's catchy rhythyms fused by Tajs love of Hawaiian Music blended together for upbeat arrangements.
Outstanding cuts include "Cocunut Man", "Sacred Island" and the traditional blues offering "Mailbox Blues". Not a bad song in the bunch and the only reason I gave it 4 stars was that it didn't have more tracks. An excellent effort from a master of blues. Stretch out in your favorite lounge chair, grab a cool one and let your mind drift away with Taj Mahal at the wheel

Nice laidback feel
This is an album to listen to when you're just chillin on the couch on a Sunday afternoon - definitely laidback. Taj Mahal combines his blues with a Hawaiian feel. Most of the time it's pretty successful.

The first track is very Tom Waitsish and is among the best on the album. The title track, an instrumental, is as laidback and lazy as it gets. It almost sounds like a lost Billy Vaughan classic. "No Na Mamo" is an interesting song sung in Hawaiian, and it contrasts sharply with the following tune "Mailbox Blues" which is definitely the bluesiest song on the album. The album closes with another instrumental "Kanikapila" which is more upbeat than the title track and is complete with Taj Mahal's yelps and laughs.

Overall, it's a pretty good album that needs to be played while daydreaming about the islands.