Slidin' On The Frets: The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Phenomenon
The craze in all things Hawaiian of the early 20th century resulted in a viral effect upon the entire music industry: suddenly, everyone wanted to hear the stylish sounds of the steel guitar in their tunes. OnSlidin' on the Frets, we can see exactly how far this obsession went by hearing music of mainlanders and Europeans imitating the islanders. The 78s gathered here range from sentimental ballads (Jimmie Tarlton's "My Little Blue Heaven," Jimmy Yates' Boll Weevils' "Smiles") and the blues (Oscar Woods's double-entendre tune "Don't Sell It--Don't Give It Away") to jazz (King Oliver's "Everybody Does It in Hawaii") to the just-plain surreal (Bezos' Hawaiian Orchestra's "Pame Sti Honoloulou"--where the Greek ensemble combines yodeling and steel guitars to hilarious effect). If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Hawaiians of the 1920s and '30s should be blushing with joy by the sounds on this disc. This is weird, wonderful, and--more often than not--utterly fascinating music that paved the way for future country, jazz, and blues styles.--Jason Verlinde