Gosh it seems like only last night I was sitting with my freshman class in purple looking over at the seniors. This has to be by far THE most awesome co-ed to do. Class of 97 deserved all the awards that year. I even loved their mend song, kai'ililauokekoa. Mahalo to whoever posted this!! Congrats to class of 97!!!
You have no idea until you listen to the original. This version was awful. The only reason they won is because of the song. They sang this song so fast that it lost all meaning. I really hate this version. HATE IT. I know that people nowdays cannot accept criticism. Everything has to be happy and roses and beautiful. Guess what? Criticism is to be taken as ADVICE. It's not a bad thing. It's a helpful thing. But the millenial generation is used to PRAISE ONLY, and never criticism. Idiots.
hayn boy I have to disagree with you, hayn boy, and that is simply because of our preference for arrangements. I have listened to the Class of 1984's version and I have listened to this class (on multiple occasions). There are a few things that I agree with that you have stated. First, I do agree that the Class of 1984 had a majestic arrangement. It took its time and made sure to hit all the right notes, and the class executed it well. However, I also believe that this song, "Ka Huliau ʻAna", SHOULD be sung at a much faster tempo. It made this song a lot more powerful, even when it slowed down. You need power, especially on the Hōkūleʻa, to navigate the Pacific, am I right? Nevertheless, both classes did an exceptional job at singing their songs. As the saying goes: "To each his own." You have your opinion and others have theirs, so respect it.
I have to laugh when I see people thinking that this class was the original. They weren't. The class of 1984 was the original class that sang this song, and they did it WAY better than this. This version seemed very rushed. The ORIGINAL class of 1984, led by Gus Supe, was slow and steady, and the song was magnificent. I know that these younger classes think that they invented everything, but the truth is, they are just followers. RECOGNIZE.
I must agree. I was very rushed, tempo was faster and this mele really lends itself to beautiful stacked harmonies that if sung slower, you can really soak yourself into the song. Gus did an incredible job with this song.