C’mon In~
Eason Chan
Thank goodness Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s mentoring duties on reality show Sing! China have not kept him from putting out new music.
And if he was stressed with juggling a busy schedule, it does not show on C’mon In~, his latest Mandarin album since 2014’s Rice & Shine.
In keeping with the welcoming title, the opening track Fang (Relax) is an invitation to lounge on the sand: “If the world turned into a beach/Just laze if you want to laze, who cares, ya, how nice.”
It is enough to make one forget about the grey skies and thunderstorms outside the window.
The relaxed vibe carries through to the second and third numbers. Hong Kong’s Jerald Chan (no relation to Eason) and Taiwan’s David Ke are behind the music and lyrics respectively for this breezy trio.
The retro dance of Sigh is a winner, but I prefer the Mandarin title, Hai Dan, which means sea urchin.
The word “dan” is also a homonym for “courage” and Ke’s lyrics paint a picture of a man whose prickly exterior is merely a protective shell: “It’s just that this man, whose thoughts are milder than anyone else’s/Won’t admit, but sigh, living like a sea urchin.”
Just when it seems like C’mon In~ is going to be the Mandarin counterpart of sorts to the all-dance Cantonese disc Listen To Eason Chan (2007), the pace slows down for Shei Lai Jian Yue Guang (Miss), which literally translates to the evocative Who Is Going To Cut The Moonlight.
Chan’s rich pipes have always shone on ballads and Miss is tailor-made for him to do precisely that. He sings tenderly, reminiscing: “Too many memories, how am I supposed to pack them into the luggage.”
Adding to the variety here are dance number You Shang Jiao (Notice), which takes a swipe at social media obsession, and dramatic electro-pop track Fu Ke Bai (Leap), which uses the Foucault pendulum as a metaphor for the inexorable forces of life.
He sings on Miss: “The world is a mess, but what can we do/Lift our heads up occasionally and good thing there’s a moon to admire.”
Good thing there is an Eason Chan album to indulge in every once in a while.
(ST)