Te Whare Tīwekaweka (Marlon Williams)

Marlon Williams - Te Whare Tīwekaweka (2025) ***

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Pānaki 

Ko nga pukapuka waiata e waiatatia ana i roto i te reo ehara i te reo Ingarihi kei a ratou ano te ahuareka. Kei runga ake i taku mahunga ka whakaaro ahau ki nga pukapuka waiata i roto i te reo Tiamana, Mandarin, Thai, Paniora, Itari me Te Reo kei roto i taku kohinga.

He take tuku i nga oro ki runga i te mea karekau au e korero i era atu reo. I etahi wa ko te kore o te mohio he painga. 

I miharo ahau ki te whakatau a Marlon Williams ki te waiata i tenei waiata anake i roto i Te Reo. He iti noa te whakawhäiti i te hunga whakarongo, me te whakaaro hoki e hia o enei waiata ka eke ki te putanga reo Ingarihi. 

E toru nga waiata e tu mai ana ki ahau na te ahua o te waiata. Ko te Pānaki he waiata whakahihiri ki a au, e whakamarumaru ana i era atu waiata. Ko taku tino pai ko te Whakameatia Mai whenua. 

He momo pai o nga huarahi puta noa, e pupuri ana i nga mea hou. Ka whakamahi a Marlon i tana reo miiharo ki te whai hua puta noa. I kite tuatahi ahau i a ia i muri mai me Jools Holland ka tino miharo ia. 

Ka whakarongo ano ahau ki te pukaemi ahakoa? Ka ruarua ahau.

Nga mihi mo te tohatoha i tenei GK - kaore e rongo - tetahi o nga harikoa o ta matou karapu puoro. 

Travelling creature

Delaney Davidson and Marlon Williams - Sad But True (2012) **

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Travelling Creature

I struggled with this one. 

Cutting to the chase - it's just not my cup of tea. However, I have decided to just have positive comments in this post without any qualifiers, because I do not want to be a negative Nelly, nor do I want to rain on Kevy's parade. He and GK love this music and good luck to them, I say!

So, the positives:

• Marlon Williams' voice. I actually own a CD of his! He has a great voice. It's impressive and easy to love.
• Track one, Travelling Creature, gave me hope - banjo and old timey music certainly has a place in my collection. Using a pejorative tone, Jacky calls it Hillbilly Music and always tells me to find 'some nice music'.
• Pedal steel guitar. I also love this instrument. It's best use here is on Trail Of Broken Hearts.
• Demon Claws' musical referencing of Rawhide.

As always, it's good to try something out of the comfort zone, so thanks for that Kevy.

Okay, my turn!

Hello Miss Lonesome

Marlon Williams - Marlon Williams (2015) ****

Nominated by: K Simms esq.

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Hello Miss Lonesome

Marlon William's solo debut begins with a hiss and roar with two cracking songs. Hello Miss Lonesome is a confident Ghost Riders In The Sky style gallop that launches his solo career and this album in brilliant fashion.

Second track, After All, changes tack with a different vocal style and a kind of kiwi take on classic British RnB, and he keeps the pace up admirably.

By the third song, Dark Child, we're straying into darker, Nick Cave style ballad territory and I'm starting to wonder who the real Marlon Williams is, and whether that actually matters. I decided in the end, that it doesn't, in case you were wondering.

He seems very comfortable to slide around various genres and is adept at a variety of vocal looks. He's very versatile in other words.

I'm Lost Without You is a superb song and I mean no disparagement by suggesting that Mr Lee Grant or John Rowles would have loved to have that song to sing back in the day. 

The acoustic country licks of Lonely Side Of Her and Silent Passage make me think of old Westerns from the fifties when a Cowboy at a camp fire would whip out a guitar and the cowpokes would gather round to do the backing singing. Choice!

Somehow Marlon carries this all off with aplomb. Music wise, nice touches abound (love that pedal steel in Silent Passage and the choir in I'm Lost Without You), and Marlon's smooth, confident delivery sells every song.

Downside for me is the profusion of mid paced songs and downer mood that envelopes the last 3 songs on side 2. I get that murder ballads are a big deal in some quarters but I'm a day person. So I tended to skip the last three songs and go back to Hello Miss Lonesome for another jolt of energy and fun!

Excellent choice Kev.