PUTIKI SINGS

Te Ao Hou, December 1967, Page 59

PUTIKI SINGS Viking VP 187 (Mono) and VPS 187 (stereo) 12 in 33⅓ L.P. There is nothing unfamiliar on this disc from the Putiki Maori Club Choir, Wanganui, but old favourites are well sung and attractively presented. All items are unaccompanied which is refreshing in this era of the ubiquitous guitar or ukulele. (I am not against the use of these instruments per se as an accompaniment but many groups seem to regard the accompaniment as a prop without which they cannot perform, and in some recordings recently reviewed the instruments have been far too obtrusive). In one or two places the singing seems a shade thin but for the most part it is well balanced and the harmonising is good. Highlight of Side 1 is a very attractive presentation of ‘Hine e Hine’, sung for the tender love song which it is. Side 2 begins with a very interesting chanted poi. The action song ‘E te Iwi Taitama’ has a difficult lyric yet every word comes through clearly—a sure sign that all in the group are pulling their weight. This is followed by the hymn ‘Te Ariki’ which displays the voices of the Choir to the best effect of all. In contrast ‘He Putiputi Pai’ which follows is poorly sung with the inexcusable but all-too-common mistake of rendering line 1 as ‘He putiputi pai …’ instead of the correct version ‘He Putiputi koe …’. The cover is the most disappointing feaure of an otherwise good record. There are no notes on the group and there is a ludicrous mistake. The title of ‘Pa mai’ is given as ‘Toru Fa Pamai’ presumably transcribed by someone hearing the group begin the item with ‘Tahi, rua, toru, wha, Pa Mai … etc’ When I taxed Viking about this and about errors on the cover of ‘Sing Maori Sing’ (reviewed above) they explained the very real difficulties they have in getting the groups they record to provide material about either themselves or their items. They showed me notes provided by one prominent Maori educational institution for songs recorded by them. The notes were badly mis-spelled in some places and scribbled in pencil on odd scraps of paper. It is probably unfair to criticise record companies too much for mis-spellings and misinformation on the covers of their Maori material. It is as much as anything up to the group being recorded to provide accurate and full information for use when the disc is issued. Groups hoping to be recorded in the future, please note!