Search - Steve Dahl :: Mai-Tai Roa A'e

Dahl Hits A Chord

Dan Maratto | Chicago, IL United States | 02/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sometimes the only way to keep from going insane during a brutal Chicago winter is to take a deep breath, close your eyes and imagine that, rather than waiting in sub-zero temperatures on a windswept, desolate street for a bus that's never going to come, you're lying on a beach somewhere, sipping a piña colada, your only concern in the world getting the perfect tan. Legendary radio personality Steve Dahl has banked his musical career on the theory that, if your ears are filled with songs about surfing, cocktails and gentle Hawaiian afternoons, this self-delusion will be made all that much easier. Dahl, whose M.O. was proven right in 1992 when Tropic Tides produced the hits "Margarita" and "Aloha Friday," tried again five years later with Mai-Tai Roa Ae', an album which is every bit as easy-going and fun as its predecessor, but at the same time strikes the listener as distinctly more thoughtful and sentimental. Although he anchors the record with standard Jimmy Buffet-esque tropical-themed pop rock ("Mai-Tai Roa Ae'," "Janet Don't Go To Jamaica,"), he also tosses in quite a bit of melancholy and wistful reflection, such as on "Neon Road," a reminiscence about old-time road tripping, "Baseball Summers," a rather touching generations-united-by-the-game ballad that evokes Field Of Dreams, and, most notably, "Coconut Suzie," an obviously self-referential tune about an alcoholic whose life is held together, and torn apart, by his addiction. There's also comedic ditties, such as "Net Surfin' U.S.A.," a commentary on the then-new phenomenon of the Internet, and "Flying Over The Ocean," which humorously recalls an incident wherein a drunk and high Steve was reprimanded by a flight attendant for disorderly behavior on a plane whose engines failed over the middle of the Pacific. But it's those deeper songs, the songs of loss and love and fond memory, that make this album worthwhile and hold it together. Whether he intended to or not, Dahl created more than just another disposable collection of upbeat, fluffy vacationtime tunes. Mai-Tai Roa Ae''s songs are all different from one another, yet combine to make a record that is beautifully coherent; their varied themes and emotions blend like rum and lime in a well-made daiquiri. Ultimately you're left with a satisfied smile on your face and a nice warm feeling that makes even a bleak January day in Chicago seem not so bad after all."