Review - Lynda Wehipeihana "Project"
album on My Label through Hot Records/Didgeridoo
Those of you familiar with the work of Lynda Wehipeihana will be happy to know that there is finally a new
album out with her name on it! “Project” on My
Label through Hot Records/Didgeridoo
(making her label-mates with the likes of Ed
Kuepper and Eva
Cassidy among others) is
14 tracks of that for which we have come to know Lynda, but those of you hanging for more work by this larger than
life diva will be a little disappointed.
“Project” opens with the new single “Thinking About
You” which is as
catchy and poppy a way to open a new album as you would want. Following,
however, is “Reconciliation” which, knowing the
political/racial mood of the time that it was released, was probably not a good
follow-up track for this album… it is still catchy and poppy with the
‘traditional’ tempo as opposed to the 34 timing of the
opener but should probably come later in the record.
The rest of the record then took a very familiar
turn. It has been a while since I have heard “Larger
Than Life” but a
number of the tracks stood out even after that time – So Beautiful (aka Your So
Beautiful – the first
single from that album); Throw Your
Arms Around Me
featuring Phil Ceberano on guitars; George
Benson’s nouveau-pop
standard Turn Your Love Around; and Lynda’s rendition of Amazing
Grace which is no
longer a capella – in a pre-review communication
with her
manager I found that “Project” is a re-release of “Larger Than Life” with the new songs added at the
top of the record. You would hardly know that from the brand-new lay out and
all the new photos. Those of you with “Larger Than Life” should probably seek it out just
the same, as I am almost positive that the older songs have been given a new
lease with new mixes and instrumentation which add to the intention of bringing
Lynda to a whole new national market.
And that national market, with an international aim,
is being helped along by the aforementioned new deal with Hot/Didgeridoo. There’s a video out there
with all the major music programs and channels, the single is on rotation
around the country on community and regional stations… and plans are afoot to
release more singles in the not-too-distance (bags not being responsible for
choosing just-one from this lot!!) It
has taken a while but finally the rest of the world is able to sample that which
we already know… I said it before and I’ll say it again, “Well done, Lynda and
team.”