Untitled

Te Ao Hou, March 1969, Page 61

Hine’. The harmonies and singing are generally good in this item but it is marred by poor timing in some lines and a consistent inability to sustain the notes at the end of lines. The boys then perform a haka. Hukarere Girls come on again with an action song in which half the performers try to drown the other half by endlessly shouting ‘karanga’ on each beat. Waioeka return to redeem themselves slightly with ‘Te Marama i te Po’ and ‘Pakete Whero’. However, the items are jazzed up and sadly lacking in grace and finesse. Ngati Poneke ends side one with an innocuous little vocal group singing ‘Haere Ra’. This is hardly representative of a group with such a high reputation in the choral field but it is a fitting conclusion to a very disappointing side. Te Aute Boys lead off side two with ‘Ruaumoko’, a classic haka which is all too seldom heard on record. This could not be called a definitive rendition but it is quite competent. Waioeka presents an insipid and rather confused performance of ‘Wiata (sic) Poi’. Ngati Poneke's second contribution is labelled as ‘Takiri’ but is in fact ‘Tahi Miti Toru e’. Hukarere follows with a pleasant but overly strident collection of hand game calls sung to various tunes, including ‘Banana Boat Song’. The disc improves with the last three items. ‘Takahi Ra’ by the Hukarere Girls is catchv with some good singing. Te Aute finish off with a pleasant solo and chorus, ‘Tangi Mai’, and a spirited action song, ‘Tihei’. There is quite a striking photograph on the front of the cover but somehow I found it symbolic that the predominant colour on the reverse side is black.