RECORDS

Te Ao Hou, March 1966, Page 58

RECORDS reviewed by Alan Armstrong Haka and Poi: Maori Concert of Queen Victoria and St Stephens Schools Kiwi LC-18 12in 33 1/3LP This is Kiwi's first Maori stereo record (it is also issued in a monoaural version), and it exploits the medium well. There is an excellent ‘live’ quality about the performances of both groups. However I was most disappointed that there were no combined items; these would be well worth hearing on some future occasion. The boys of St Stephens (featured on side one) sing with happy gusto. Among many good items there is a particuarly delightful rendition of that little nonsense song ‘Kei whea ra Mama?’. My purely personal prejudice leads me to regret that they do not, on the whole, steer clear of songs with such easily identifiable Pakeha melodies as ‘I love Paris’. ‘Never on Sunday’ and ‘Yellow Bird’. These action songs using Pakeha melodies are quite legitimate but the trend today is away from unadulterated borrowings, and a school such as St Stephens should be in the vanguard of such a desirable move. However this in no way detracts from the merit of their performance on this disc. Their haka taparahi in particular have plenty of punch. On side two Queen Victoria girls have a rather more sedate performance but one which is no less effective. In particular the pit-a-pat of the poi in ‘Pakete Whero’ and the click of the sticks in ‘Titi Torea’ come through beautifully in the stereo version. The cover is colourful (even though the St Stephen boys are shown in a very ragged peruperu) and the accompanying notes excellent. The disc has almost everything — good technical quality, a very satisfying standard of performance, and plenty of variety in its items. Soldiers Abroad: Maori Concert Party of the First Battalion of the Royal N.Z. Infantry Regiment Kiwi LC-26 12in 33⅓ LP Soldier-singers seem to be popular with the Maori record buying public, for this is the