Over The Cloud
Chyi Yu

Taiwanese diva Chyi Yu’s timing has improved since her last English album The Voice.
That semi-yuletide-themed offering came out in the unseasonal month of February, while Over The Cloud drifts by just in time for Christmas.
Deadlines aside, the song selection here is stronger, though the disc could have done without Sarah McLachlan’s schmaltzy Angel.
The Hank Williams-penned I Saw The Light is a rollicking spiritual that Chyi joyously embraces: “I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin/I wouldn’t let my dear Saviour in/Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night/Praise the Lord, I saw the Light”.
Her buoyant lilting voice also lights up the traditional numbers In The Sweet By And By and The Wayfaring Stranger.
Holiday chestnuts such as Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town and White Christmas are also included, and the sound of sleigh bells adds to the festive mood in her take on Jingle Bells.
There are not too many options when it comes to having an Asian pop singer spread the Yuletide cheer, so it’s a good thing that Chyi gets the job done.
(ST)