Unnamed.Poem
Denise Ho
Nine years after her Cantonese debut, charismatic singer Denise Ho (right), protege of the late Anita Mui, is finally releasing her first full-length Mandarin album.
Naturally, expectations are high.
She has certainly put in some hard work and there is no cringe-inducing mangling of Mandarin.
She has also roped in an impressive roster of collaborators, including lyricist Wyman Wong, Mayday frontman Ashin and singers Mavis Fan and Waa Wei.
Instead of sappy, generic love ballads, we get intriguing titles such as Poetry And Nonsense and Alice In Wonderland Syndrome.
Mushroom Song, for example, is a quirky number about, well, fungi: “Some mushrooms are edible, others are poisonous/Some grow together, others like to be alone/But the prettier they are, the more likely they’ll make you puke.”
But, tellingly, the strongest track here is the lone Cantonese number, How Metal Is Forged, which sounds like it could be the theme song for the Japanese anime Fullmetal Alchemist.
On the CD cover, Ho is perched on a lamp post and about to be lifted, improbably, by a solitary balloon.
But she stops short of taking flight.
Love Flower
Various artists
Before this album came along, I had no idea who Ang It-hong was. The singer-songwriter came to fame in the 1960s and was hailed as the king of Taiwan crooners.
He died from pancreatic cancer in February this year and was presented with a posthumous Special Contribution Award at the Golden Melody Awards.
The record is the brainchild of his son, arranger and producer Eric Hung, who has gathered top Mandopop stars, including Mayday’s Ashin, Crowd Lu and JJ Lin, to pay tribute.
Rather than present straightforward remakes, Hung and his line-up have breathed new life into Ang’s classic Minnan tracks by incorporating them into new songs.
These Minnan-Mandarin mash-ups, such as Old Record with girl group S.H.E, work better than one would expect and elevate this album beyond novelty status.
Hung explains in the liner notes that his original intention was to simply present new arrangements of his father’s songs. But, inspired by the works’ vitality, he has interpreted them differently, so that more people can get to know those classics anew.
There are also new tracks here, including the moving duet Father sung by Jay Chou and Chris Hung, Eric’s elder brother.
As one song blooms after another, Love Flower turns into an unexpectedly cheering celebration of one man’s life and work.
The Beginning
JYJ
TVXQ – also known as Dong Bang Shin Gi or Tohoshinki, meaning “Rising Gods of the East” – was one of the biggest boy bands around in the mid-2000s. The Korean group were popular across Asia and even scored chart-topping Japanese-language hits in Japan.
To the dismay of J- and K-pop fans everywhere, TVXQ disbanded, after members Jun Su, Yoo Chun and Jae Joong successfully sued SM Entertainment last year over their share of the earnings the group brought in.
From the ashes of TVXQ, a new abbreviation group have emerged: JYJ. They may have gone from a quintet to a trio, but their ambition has only grown larger.
With their English-language debut, JYJ aim to break into the global music market. They have cannily roped in big names, such as top American music producer and songwriter Rodney Jerkins and rap star Kanye West to beef up the cred on tracks such as Ayyy Girl and Be My Girl.
Still, one has to question the point of the album that is The Beginning. Why would one want to listen to generic-sounding R&B in mildly stilted English?
Still, while the album is unlikely to break JYJ into the highly competitive Western market, the group’s hordes of Asian fans can ensure that The Beginning will not be the end.
(ST)