The Man, The Music, The Legend

12 tracks from the late great Maori entertainer, Prince Tui Teka. Very smart vinyl nice clean cover..

This compilation album contains a very good retrospective of Prince Tui Teka's work, a lengthy time spent in the nightclubs of New Zealand and Australia. Tui was a great entertainer, and made his way over the years through Elvis standards, classic pop in the vein of the Righteous Brothers, comedy bits, and the occasional Maori-lyricized love song. The music on the compilation is unlikely to excite many modern listeners aside from its value as a bit of New Zealand's recent cultural heritage, but that cultural heritage is worthwhile in its own right. The singing is often off-key, the music is simplistic and clichéd, and the native sounds have been amplified and embraced to greater levels by modern artists. But Tui Teka earned his Prince title through sheer warmth and showmanship, and the album still emanates those qualities. Fans of the Prince will rejoice at this one, and other listeners should keep walking by.