Country Comfort - We are the Children Untitled 1
Country comfort - We Are the Children
 
C Comfort
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One of the Greatest Hawaiian Albums of All-Time

An iconic album, We Are The Children was chosen by an esteemed panel of musicologists, producers, and artists as one of the greatest Hawaiian albums of all time and an essential cut when studying the history of Hawaiian music. Country Comfort helped change the direction of contemporary Hawaiian music and they are considered the fathers of that musical renaissance. This album was THE sound of the time. This was their debut album and contains two of their biggest hits, the original first-ever recorded Waimanalo Blues and Sun Lite, Moon Lite. Waimanalo Blues went on to become a political anthem of sorts as it laments the loss of ancient sacred Hawaiian lands. It has been recorded far too many times to count. Emma Stone even played it in Cameron Crowe's feature film Aloha. This version, the original, and Sun Lite, Moon Lite enjoy almost the same Hawaiian radio popularity today as they did in the 1970s. That is an amazing feat.


We Are the Children, Country Comfort, 1974 is considered one of the 50 greatest Hawaii albums of all time. Tom Moffatt jokes that Country Comfort got him out of the group management business. [Moffatt was their manager and he vowed to never manage a band again after his experience] These Waimanalo boys did have a reputation for partying hard, but they gained an even bigger reputation for their music with this rock-influenced debut. The album's high production values and radio-friendly songwriting paved the way for acts such as Kalapana, Olomana and The Beamer Brothers. The extracurricular excess caught up with the band eventually, but hits such as Waimanalo Blues continue to get airplay even today.

Honolulu Magazine ~ 50 Greatest Hawaii Albums of All Time


Five stars. I love this album. And so will you. Gorgeous vocal harmonies, great guitar work, country sounds, blues, rock and roll, beautiful and soulful ballads. All here in this album. Treat yourself to Country Comfort and discover the wonders of a 70s group who lost their lead singer far too soon. Highly recommended.

Patricia Marte


Country Comfort were a Contemporary Hawaiian Music band of the mid-1970s. Their music while linked to Hawaii was all sung in English language and is actually closer in style to the folk rock of Bread, James Taylor or Crosby, Stills, and Nash. They did mix in Hawaiian slack key guitar styling's into their arrangements and their songs often focused on issues facing Hawaii as well as universal love songs.

The group was a notoriously rowdy bunch and truly lived the rock and roll lifestyle. They were notorious for drinking heavily and using hard drugs like heroin and pills. Their live performances often ended in the band members passing out in the middle of songs and/or throwing equipment (like mike stands and guitars) at each other. Radio DJ and Concert promoter Tom Moffatt was their band manager and he vowed to never manage a band again after his experiences.

All of that aside they did make some great music including their 1974 debut "We Are the Children" which is considered by many to be one of the finest albums in Hawaiian Music. The music not only was catchy and well made but it also dealt with social problems facing Hawaii at the time like the big hit "Waimanalo Blues," which spoke of Hawaii's overdevelopment. The songs also connected with the era's disaffected college students and high schoolers who bought up the album in droves.

Loosen The Key Blogspot

Country Comfort was one of the first popular bands to showcase a new generation of Hawaiian artists -- younger performers who were ready to move beyond hapa haole novelty songs as well as more traditional music, and embrace pop styles from the mainland. They wrote songs in English that dealt with contemporary topics, including the evocative "Waimanalo Blues," a beautiful acoustic-based song that lamented the commercial development of Hawaiian lands and the alienation that many native Hawaiians felt as they saw hotels and houses sprout up along local beaches. Musically, this '70s set was island music's answer to mainland bands such as America, Bread, and Seals

DJ Joe Sixpack


Five Stars. When I moved from Cali to Hawaii in 1977, I was blown away by how much good music was happening here and not being heard on the mainland. Country Comfort was one of the most popular and distinctive local groups of that time, creating a nice blend of Hawaiian themes and catchy pop sounds. Lead singer Billy Kaui (rest in peace) possessed a deep, soulful voice which set the group apart from most of the other bands of the time. Songs such as We Are the Children and especially Waimanalo Blues, one of the prettiest and saddest songs about losing one's cherished homeland ever recorded, remain iconic and powerful all these years later. Listen!

iTunes Droidles

No historical account of 1970s Island music would be complete without a chapter on Country Comfort. The group came out of Waimanalo in the early 1970s, and sadly, self-destructed before the decade was over. Before this happened though, they left us with some timeless recordings and helped to change the direction of contemporary Hawaiian music.

Country Comfort performed in English - they developed a different style of local music that was closer to English language acoustic rock than to the ethnic Hawaiian grass roots music of their ancestors. Country Comfort developed their style and sound in the Eastern corner of Oahu. The first night club they performed in was called, “The Sty” - located in the Niu Valley Shopping Center. Theirs was the sound of the time for the Niu Valley, Waimanalo and Rabbit Island.

The group’s original members were Jimmy Freudenberg, Billy Kaui and Chuck Lee. They grew up together - hung out at the beach, surfed and “talked story”. They were the nucleus of the band. Later they were joined by Randy Lorenzo and Eugene Matsumura.

“We Are The Children” was their debut album and contains two of their biggest hits. “Sun Lite Moon Lite” and “Waimanalo Blues” both written by Liko Martin. Martin wrote “Waimanalo Blues” as “Nanakuli Blues” - the group adopted ifs message of alienation and native Hawaiian disenfranchisement and changed the title. Today, both songs are still played daily on the local Hawaiian radio stations - more than twenty years later - enjoying almost the same popularity today as they did in the 1970s.

Although best known for their ballads - two other songs - “Honky Tonk Wines” and “Country Palace” will remind you that the group also recorded music with a lighter message and a heavier beat.
Billy Kaui eventually went solo with a self-titled album that was released shortly before his death in 1978. He was 28 years old and died of a drug related brain hemorrhage. Chuck Lee died a few years later - his death was also drug related. Randy Lorenzo and Eugene Matsumura went on to become part of other successful Island groups. Jimmy Freudenburg was last heard from in the early 1990s when he called up and went on air with his old friend KCCN disc jockey Harry B. Soria, Jr.

Together they played Jimmy’s favorite County Comfort songs and “talked story” on the radio. As far as we know Jimmy’s still living off island in Kauai.

The following are the original liner notes by Mike “Mighty Leader” Hamlin written for “We Are The Children”:
“Every so often I am moved to take the drive over Likelike Highway to the Windward side. As you come out of Wilson tunnel above Kaneohe, you experience those massive volcanic faces of the Koolaus thrusting a thousand feet to the swirls of mist and splashes of sunlight at the peak of another Hawaiian day. It's like no other spot on earth Hawaii’s golden people, steeped in such awesome beauty most of their lives, are writing some of the finest contemporary music in the world. Like this album by Country Comfort. Music that is straight and clean and lyrics that reflect a vision of life that is unique to our Islands.

It’s all here: the human experience, Hawaiian style. Ten slices of what it’s all about. Liko Martin wrote, ‘I lay my life on a silver platter and everyday there is less’. You’ll get the feeling when you get into ‘Sun Lite, Moon Lite’. Chucky Souza was feeling lonely once in one of those ‘Railway Stations’ - you can feel how far it is from Hawaii to London on this one. ‘Waimanalo Blues’ shows the concern of today’s youth in the future of Hawaii. Randy Lorenzo has a lot to say about ladies and love and loss in ‘To Be Lonely’.

Life goes on and so does side two of this sparkling set. Country Comfort lays it on the line in ‘We Are The Children’. Then, they let their instruments do all the talking on a real cooker: ‘Honky Tonk Wines’. If Randy ever decides to stretch out that rock ‘n’ roll riff I hope he invites me by! Hot! The guys even had a dandy special delivery for this package by a songwriting Honolulu mailman, so turn up that ‘Rainy Day Song’.

When Hawaii’s blazing sun begins to slip behind the Koolaus you lay back on the front porch of a funky frame home in Waimanalo. This is it: your ‘Country Palace’. Believe it. It’s all very high... the hang-gliders, the sweet smell of finest elephant tops out in the garden, the gentle acoustic melodies. This is Country Comfort!

One last thing, I hope this album comes out in 8 track... so you can flip on ‘Manha De Carnaval’ featuring the guitar of Chuck Lee. Turn it up to high Q. Open up that Porsche of yours while heading down the Sandy Beach strip to a rendezvous..., you’ll get on Country Comforts wavelength real quick. I welcomed the opportunity to write this. I didn’t have to be coaxed. I just told you why.” Mike Hamlin, KIKI Radio, Honolulu.




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HOCD6000 - Country Comfort - We Are the Children


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