Album Review Corner
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howie where did u go?
I agree with u on ur mayday review...it's lack the oomph factor...as the other albums...i think the cutting edge factor...
I think they need a break yah...it looks as though their talents are abt to...disappear...it was rumoured that Ah-Xin had no inspiration for quite a long time to write. -
haha, me that time log on to the website on #93.3fm topic mah, den after tt cannot log in, den dunno how to come. haha, ya, lame for mi.
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SINGER: SHUNZA (SHUNZI)
WHO IS SHE: THE BEST FEMALE VOCALIST IN 1999 GOLDEN MELODY AWARDS AND RECENTLY INVOLVED IN SOME FRACAS
TITLE OF ALBUM: AND MUSIC'S THERE...
RELEASED BY: EMI
Well, I'm not a fan of Shunza...I bought this album because it was sort of going cheap...
This album is produced and all the tunes are written by Shunza herself, a great step for her to take. She assembled a great band of lyricists like Wa Wa, Yao Chien, Yu Guang Zhong and Chen Xin Rong.
This album has a more R&B flavour and hip hop and Shunza laps it all up perfectly well, evident in Mei You Chou Nu Ren.
Wang Bu Liao and I'm Sorry gives me the feeling that it is some Broadway kinda song. Yue Guang has a symphonic arrangement and brings out the beauty of the song...and it is rather touching.
But the real gems are in the English songs...hmmz...
OVERALL RATING: B+ -
SINGER: XIN WEI (BRENDA TAN)
WHO IS SHE: THIS IS HER FIRST ALBUM WITH 8866, ADAM XU CHANG DE'S COMPANY.
TITLE OF ALBUM: BEI DUI DE SHI
RELEASED BY: 8866/MUSIC STREET.
The elusive no airs artiste Xinwei...I rather use this few words to describe her...Had the honour of meeting her and seeing her sing live...and her live singing is really great...captures u just like that.
This album is a no frills no gimmicks album...juz music...and music...and the voice. The voice that sounds like Karen Mok...and some say she looks like Karen but I beg to differ. Hardly any promotions, just low key promotions, but she caught the eye of Tao Zi (Tao Jing Ying) who is impressed by her. Xin Wei, just like u and me, we can miss out on her in the crowd. Forget abt Stefanie or Stellas or Kits...Xin Wei does not show her face...and she is going to get her Masters in English...wrote for newspapers columns, relief teaching...
A guitar...a woman strumming a guitar serenely...Xin Wei's music is very calm and acts as an emollient...no vocal techniques like Stefanie or Kit...or screechy sounds like S*****. Her compositions are down to earth, with lyrics that apply to each and our lives...this is an album which is simple, and is full of sincerity.
OVERALL RATING: B+
BEST LYRICS: LUO MU -
SINGER: CHRISTINE FAN (FAN WEIQI)
WHO IS SHE: THIS GIRL WHO GAVE US YIN WEI, HAD TO OVERCOME HER FEAR OF PERFORMING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA
TITLE OF ALBUM: TAI YANG (SUN)
RELEASED BY: Decca
Fan Fan's 2nd album is not available in most record stores...bought it from Music Junction as an import label...costs me $25.99...so if u like her...u either have to fork out that amout (worth it) or wait until some local company brings it in...might take a while...but even then, limited stocks available.
Once again, Fan Fan proves that she isn't just a pretty face...her voice isn't the most superb, but under producers Jim Lee and Paula Ma Yufen, manage to showcase her talents very well...no surprise she had been nominated in the Golden Melody Awards and Singapore Hit Awards...but she is up against other singing talents like Freya, Yanzi, Jay...etc...but she is in her class of her own.
Dun really like the image on the album...with the hair tied up...and all that. Title track Tai Yang is written by Pam Oei and Lim Kay Siu, both Singaporeans...with Fan Fan doing the lyrics. It's a sweet romantic song abt the love one being a sun...a fresh breeze amongst sad angsty love songs.
In fact, there aren't sad angsty love songs...okie there are a couple of sad songs like TA MEI YOU CUO...this is a wonderful from the composer and lyricist of Yin Wei...could hear the words Ta Mei You Cuo echoing in the ears...it's a slight lament...done with such pathos (mixture of feelings)...of sadness, forgiveness, giving a very wu nai feeling. Really a good song.
Fan Fan sounds very girlish in the fast tracks like Zai Lian Luo (written Zuo An An) and Shou Pa Jiao...(good lyrics by Lin Xi)...can give these 2 a miss.
Recommend Mei Tian De Mei Tian...a song abt life...refreshing...Nong Qing Mi Yi written by Sandee Chan...is very Sandee Chan...I like Tian Shi De Chi Bang...it's a very sentimental with Fan Fan composing the tune...sentimental and touches me.
Ru Guo Ai composed and written Shen Bai Se...is standard fare...arrangement done mostly on keyboard...this is a great song...reminds me of Hai Pa...and Jue Mi which sounds a little like Jewel's Foolish Games...this is one of the best written lyrics.
OVERALL RATING: B+
BEST LYRICS: JUE MI -
SINGER: LANDY (WEN LAN)
WHO IS SHE: JACKY WU ZONG XIAN'S FEMALE TU DI, JAY CHOU'S RUMOURED GF, THIS IS HER SOPHOMORE AFTER 2 YEARS.
TITLE OF ALBUM: YOU DIAN YE (A LITTLE WILD)
RELEASED BY: Alfa/BMG
Landy's first album wasn't much of a bit success...it was back in 1999...end 1999...most people remember her for her duet with her mentor Jacky Wu...and it is said that her image then made her look overly matured.
1 year plus later, and an image overhaul, and with a great looking bod, wun say she is tat pretty, this 21 or 22 year old lass now looks her age...and with a totally different direction...she chooses R&B now, quite a breakthrough, and a wise one...her album sales are relatively modest and good in taiwan. She is touted as Taiwan's answer to Jennifer Lopez and Japan's Ayumi Hamasaki...
I wun say she is very good/perfect is singing r&b yet...give her sometime and i think she will shine. Jay contributed 3 pieces to this album, and the additional song is a duet with Landy in the song WU DING. I did not hear the original version, but this version is sure one of the nicest duets I hear these days. This song is found in her latest edition of the album which comes with a VCD.
Besides Jay, Wen Lan got Mai Ke Lin...wonder who he is...he even duets with her in the Jay Chou composed Dong Xin...maybe producers not confident of her pulling off a song herself...but nevertheless Landy shines in both duets.
Mai Ke Lin also contributed quite a few tunes...like Can You Feel It...some parts of the song remind me of J Lo's Love Don't Cost a Thing...there are a number of fast numbers in the album like L.A.N.D.Y...which wanna make u go dancing.
Everyone heard Bei Dou Xing...no need further intro on that...the lyrics are a bit sad, and Wen Lan did fill some of the lyrics in, as well as some other songs...she sounds like Jay. The other song Jay composed is a ballad titled YAN LEI ZHI DAO...a bit like his HEI SE YOU MO...but i like this song very much...kinda touching. The other slow number is 1+1=0.
If you like R&B and dun like screaming queens, this one is worth buying. Besides she would be here in Singapore soon.
OVERALL RATING: B+
BEST LYRICS: BEI DOU XING -
where can i find pictures of ah sin? it is really difficult to find it on the webOriginally posted by Zilchster:ARTISTE: MAYDAY/WU YUE TIAN
NAME OF ALBUM: REN SHENG HAI HAI (PEOPLE LIFE OCEAN WILD)
WHO ARE THEY: CONSISTING OF 5 BOYS, ONE OF THE BIGGEST RECORD SELLERS OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS.
Actually, I liked Mayday since their first album, from the song Zhi Ming Yu Chun Jiao a Hokkien song...which is the best of their songs to date...unfortunately, u can't hear it under airplay. They shot to fame because their tunes are very simple, very taiwanese, and the lyrics are well, revolves around day to day things and realistic.
As usual this album still does not fail to deliver catchy tunes and lyrics that touches us on our day to day lives. However, they are not so rock as before...toned down slightly.
As usual there are the usual 5 hokkien songs in the album...i persoanlly like the song HAO BU HAO...the kinda sentimental hokkien ballad tat is kinda touching...the rest are quite fast...
As for the Mandarin songs...Neng Bu Neng Bu Yao Shuo is an uptempo fast song...tat could make u wanna dance...and ren sheng hai hai is like the answer to WEN ROU.
Personal favs include HOU NIAO (they took back the song to sing too...juz as good as rene's version) as well as CAI HONG (a song for Liang Jingru in her first album), with the band sound, the 2 songs seem fabulous. In Track 10 CHUN ZHEN (Innocence), you find that their music can be slow, touching, without much band music, and Ah Xin the lead can be gentle too in his singing.
Anyway this is their final album until the guys come back together again after their Military Service. So if u like them, do get tis album. Would be sure to miss their music. Interesting, they r pitting themselves against some big names in trying to capture sales like Jolin and Yanzi.
All the best to Mayday
OVERALL RATING: B+ -
there are tonnes of websites devoted to Mayday. You have to do a search in Chinese for "Wu Yue Tian" (use a chinese input editor).
One suggestion - home.kimo.com.tw/kittybearhsu -
Sorry for not posting any reviews...been kinda busy...have a lot of albums in my stable...i also hope to go into english pop too...haha...see how
Anyone got any english songs out there or albums to recommend?
I've juz got some chi pop albums...give u an idea on which is good...a rating...further details later.
FAN WEIQI'S TAI YANG (B+)
This album is not bad...really good...juz tat some of the songs r too long...look out for ta mei you cuo, jue mi...on the whole tis is an album worth treasuring and buying...but it's not available in singapore...good album.
ELVA HSIAO ELVA'S FIRST (B+)
This album is Elva's Japanese album...for the Jap market...it consists of 10 songs...3 chinese, 7 english (2 are included in her single) (6 are taken from her mandarin album)...one is written by a jap and lyrics written by a westerner...show me your love...touching ballad...gets to me...elva even wrote lyrics to the song remember(ming tian english version)...on the whole this is an album worthy for elva fans...and even non-elva fans to give this album a try...her english pronunciation is really perfect...but i personally feel she sings like whitney or trying to go that way...and i wish more original compositions...the songs are nice...really good...give this album a shot.
JIANG MEIQI XIANG QI JIANG MEI QI (B)
Her songs are kinda 2nd rate...even Qin Ai De Ni Zen Me Bu Zai Shen Bian...lacks the kick and punch from a Guo Zi composition...Xiang Qi, Gu Dan is good...Yuan Lai Wo Men Ru Ci Ping Fan is those very simple songs...not many fast numbers...but the lyrics are well written here...and the numbers still okie...if u support a good voice...her album is good.
VALEN HSU (ZI SHUO GEI NI TING)(B+)
Surprise surprise...valen hsu has managed to shrug off her yun shi chang qiang...and scaled new heights with her new album under a new company. Tunes are highly listenable...lyrics so so...too bad...she still can't regain lost territory yet...hope she can...she's a good singer...complain tat i have...4 songs...are from western pop...Valen's delivery is smooth and well...some songs endear to me...recommended tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12 (some songs are repeated liek tracks 1 and 10 diff arrangement, 2 and 12...
NA YING WO BU SHI TIAN SHI (B)
Only for seriously die hard Na Ying fans...managed to act more catchy pop tunes in this album and she does not overdo the drama mama factor like Xin Suan De Lang Man...but somehow...it is still so Na Ying...kudos to the people who did her image...she looks much better...but some of her songs r still touching...worth a buy.
F4 (LIU XING YU) (B)
Face it...these guys can't sing...but they have this raw honesty in their voice that u can't help but to feel touched...an album of love songs...hey...it's really very easy on the mind and years and make young girls swoon. Complain LIU XING YU is a Jap Song...uurgh...but do patronise this album if u like simple no frills pop music...u find a gem...honesty and raw voices. Hope they would improve with time. Yah...their promotion really irks me a bit.
I still have Jay's, Coco's, Daniel's, Lee Hom's album -
Hey ya all in this forum.
I keep been following the postings in this forum for a while, though sad to say, it doesn't seem quite active.
Just wanna say to Zilster, keep your reviews coming, coz other people (aside from your regulars) do read them! It is oddly refreshing to read a layman's reviews sometimes. None of that jaded and smart-alexy nunances in official magazine reviews.
P/S: don't quite agree with the review of F4 album (ie: Sincere? The album seems to me more like an attempt to milk the cash cow known as Meteor Gardens, the TV series) but what the heck, it takes all kinds to make the world. -
WANG LEE HOM'S WEI YI (B)
Actually I am kinda disappointed with this album...does not measure up to Lee Hom's previous albums...in fact he seems to add mroe of the band factor into his album...however...it's really a highly listenable effort...i prefer AI DE JIU SHI NI over WEI YI...BAI HU LI and AN QUAN GAN also not bad...Lee Hom would be in Singapore soon.
JAY CHOU (FANTASY) (A-)
Jay Chou + Fang Wen Shan + Vivian Hsu...well...a highly anticipated album of the year...and it truly lives up to its expectations...at least it's not an album full of love songs...touching on topics like family violence...ninjas...etc...however some tunes seem familiar...oh...but i guess we can forgive him right? Actually...all the songs are really nice and listenable...the only thing is that the album is rather too short...less than 40 mins...
COCO LEE (PROMISE)(A-)
This is another highly anticipated album too...for once Coco Lee drops her vocal pyrotechnics...i am not exaggerating...at least u dun have her playing with her voice...acting like divas (think mariah)...she trims all these down to the bare minimal...u r rewarded with songs like SO CRAZY, DAO MA DAN, BU BIAN DE NUO YAN amongst many others...in fact all the songs are very easy on the ears and they dun fall below standards...many sentimental numbers in this album...go grab it.
DANIEL CHAN (WO YAO DE ZHI SHI AI)(B+)
More than just a pretty face...that is what Daniel is trying to prove...his taste for music is improving...kudos...to Xiaotung...of course...ballads are still important...and still remain in this album...assembling zhang ya dong and other producers...he manages to give us a fresh daniel chan sans ballads...but in the process i think he is losing his fans...But Daniel is maturing in his music.
CINDY CHEN YU XIN (TONG MING)(B+)
Although 15 years of age...she has assembled many great producers for her maiden album...and she is much better than a certain Genie...she does not scream as though her vocal chords would break any moment...in fact i could feel the sense of little Elva in her...her voice is definitely one of the best in the newcomers and is competent. 6 fast tracks 4 slow tracks...lyrics wise...very good...well written...and she does well in both fast and slow songs...support this newcomer.
FAYE WONG (FAYE WONG)(A-)
Been waiting for her since her last outing with Fables...probably scared a lot of people with her previous album...Forsaking her usual crew of Zhang Yadong...assembling a new group with Ren Shan Ren Hai, Nic Tse, Wu Bai, Tanya, Faye hopes to reach another level in her music...Well...result is...the whole album is not as schizophrenic as Fable and not as erm...alternative...but still this album is still a little not extremely mainstream...in fact I dun think Liu Nian could be the best zhu da song...it is not as good as XIAO WANG SHU even...still...this album is up to standards even though there are no new surprises.
ZHANG HUIMEI (ZHEN SHI)(A-)
This is Ah Mei's brand new album with Warner Music...what could i say...a brand new Ah Mei is here to stay...do not compare her with her previous efforts from Forward or her first few albums...would be totally unfair. This album consists of 11 tracks including Pai Shan Dao Hai...with 5 fast numbers and 5 slow numbers...with Ah Mei under the pen name of Katsu...penned the lyrics for Gan Ying...the mtv was filmed in spain with ah mei doing the flamenco..dance...hot man! The song is also hot...but uurgh...it's a cover song...but still a great song...recommened fast songs includes A Ji Yu Le...and the R&B Nu Ren Shuo...a look into a woman's thoughs...delivered well by Ah Mei...Back to the slow numbers...no more ermm...very SU (SONG) numbers like WO KE YI BAO NI MA, CHEN ZAO tat kinda line...in place are heart wrenching and touching pieces that remind us of the old ah mei days...like JI DE, ZHEN SHI, WO HEN WO AI NI...etc...ballads which are really endearing...once again...this is a new ah mei...and do support her. -
yup yup, i agree with newg. keep up with the great album reviews, zilchster. they're really helpful. and well, at least they're fair and NOT 'judgemental'...ahem...
btw, do u happen to know if the bassist on sun yan zi's albums is singaporean? has he recorded for anyone else before? he's fantastic! i never heard a funky bassist in a chinese album before. he's fantastic! he's fantastic! have i mentioned that he's fantastic? heh. oh yah, the rest of the band's pretty good too, aheh. -
Watz his name ah?
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donno leh. so i suppose my question should have been "do u know who is the bassist in sun yan zi's albums?" tough one, i suppose. u know anywhere i can find out?
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my name is michael teigen, I played sean in the movie Hou Niao or migratory bird.Originally posted by howie:Since zil. is doing hou xiang ting, den i wun do abt her. I would do abt Mayday's that soundtrack.
Album Title : hou niao soundtrack
Singers: Mayday, Liu ruo ying, Huang ping yuan, and other music tracks.
Producer : mayday loh
Reviews: Saw the papers giving it ***** ....
well, not that perfect afterall. First, i must praise that this album is really a small breakthrough for them, bcos is no longer abt band sound, but their ability to do other things. Zuo jian is a very, UN-mayday song, bcos is very soft and is,.....
different, sounds fresh. Track by Rene is oso bery nice, bcos it really can give the feeling of hou niao. However, the other pure music tracks are....quite mayday lah, den...
though not bad, but....somehow, cant give me the feeling of the movie.
Since it is a soundtrack, i would really wanna comment on the track which can hear the actors words and their own background guitar n humming n singing. IT is, the BEST track in the album, bcos, i suddenly can feel the movie and feel the music they wanna give. It is called, hua huo yi ban, by Michael Teigen.
Album rate : ***1/2*
Should-u-buy rate: ***1/2* ( easy to digest, esp for a chi movie soundtrack)
you enjoyed a song on the soundtrack with my name attached to it.
I had no Idea this existed please e-mail me info, maybe the scanned sleeve, or how I can get my hands on this.
I am in vancouver [email protected] -
Err, was wondering wat's happened to this thread huh? Enjoyed reading the album reviews by Zilchster... can revive this or not?
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Paiseh...been a bit lazy...so have not been writing reviews...if u all have any albums u want to review or recommend...post it here. I have bought a few albums...review some of them today.
NICHOLAS TSE (SHI JI YU YAN/THE PROPHECY)
This album is better than the last...at least Nic's gets to do what he wants...but this kinda music does not strike me at all...but still better than the oter 2 attempts...I bought this album because of YI DIAN HONG and XIANG SHUI...the former being the chinese version of YU HU DIE...I still think Xiang Shui is a great song...and i would select it as a top song for 2001.
RATING: B
PEGGY HSU (BALLOON/QI QIU)
A competent composer and a singer though I find her voice resembles Liang Jingru a little...think she needs to work on that...I dun think it's necessary to spend so much money on her going to iceland to film her mtvs...her songs are great like QI QIU...XIANG NIAN...SHUANG YUE...she attempts bossa nova in the arrangement...this is a good effort and an effort that should be rewarded...
RATING: B+
DREAMZ FM (3RD ALBUM)
Great album...lotsa sincerity...music wise...they are more comfortable with their music direction...but too much falsettos only...if u dun wanna miss great music...dun miss their album...
RATING: B+
GINNY LIU HONG HUA (HAO HAO AI WO/LOVE ME WELL)
Liu Hong Hua is in the danger of not being able to come out with her 4th album if the sales of this is under 40,000 in Taiwan...doing a cover of Feng Fei Fei's HAO HAO AI WO...with Hou Xiangting and Jiang Meiqi doing backup. All the songs in this album are radio friendly and quite nice...especially HAO HAO AI WO, WU YAN GE, BU PING FAN, TA SHI SHUI, YUE GUANG (orginally a Jap song)...however the music direction is kinda blurry...
RATING: B -
Let me review 3 other female singers.
WINNIE TSIN'S FOREVER/YONG YUAN
The curse of Ling Wu has never been lifted from Winnie Tsin. In a really good and wise attempt...Winnie has done a cover of theme songs from hit Korean dramas...and surprisingly...this album actually sells...even better than her other albums...Music wise...most of us should be quite familiar with the songs...and the songs are indeed good...there's nothign to fault with Winnie's delivery...but i juz find her voice does not go well with the songs...if u r a korean drama fan dun miss album.
RATING: B
JULIA PENG'S QING GE SHOU
Assembling 3 Chens (ex bf Chen Guohua, Chen Zihong and Chen Shanni), this album manages to bring Julia away from all those very very sad and depressing songs...at least this album has fewer of those...except for BIE WEN WO AI SHUI (which ties in with a tv serial)...most of the songs are really good...i dun really like the fast numbers...but i would recommend XUN XI and HAO YU ZHAO. There are 7 slow numbers include 1 English song...and the songs are quite touching...I recommend LU REN, TAI DU, JING GUO...Can't Stop Christmas...One of my favs is QING GE SHOU written by Chen Shanni...(alwiz like her compositions)...it starts of a little like XIANG SHUI...anyway Julia has a good voice...do support this album.
RATING: B+
SANDY LAM (YUAN LAI...Lin Yilian)
Actually, I was a little disappointed when I first listened to the album...the melodies and tunes are really simple...and not so flamboyant as compared to her previous 2 albums with Virgin. However, the good part is that she stopped singing a lot of covers...this time you could find only 2 instead of the usual 4 or 5.
Lin Xi contributed 1 lyric to this album, with Yao Qian doing 2...this album does not boasts big time composers or whatever...and it is almost half done by Singaporeans...with Eric Ng/Huang Yunren working with Sandy on the melodies...and Xiaohan (a female lyricist) penning lyrics for as many as 6 songs. Sandy has doubled as producer and singer and composer for this album.
This album requires patience...to soak urself in the simplicity...like ZHI FEI JI...which needs no more introduction...Juz have patience to listen to all the songs...they r all good.
Run down on tracks
1) ZHAN ZAI DI YI PAI (Sandy+Eric+Xiaohan)...this is a catchy no...good opening for an album
2) MO DU SHANG BEI
Very KTV friendly kinda song...reminds me of YUAN ZOU GAO FEI...another song which I like a lot...it's the 2nd ZHU DA song of the album.
3) WO DE XIN ZAI TIAO WU
This song is a cover...with Lin Xi helming the lyrics...the song starts of slow before becoming fast at the end...it has i think the zither or some chi music instrument...in the music...
4) ZAI YI GE YE WAN 7) SHI ER XIAO SHI BU XIA YU
These 2 songs are done by Eric+Sandy+Xiaohan...those very simple melodies.
5) I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH
One of my favourite tracks in the album...who says R&B ballads is all about screaming...this ballad overthrows that...one of the great songs in the album composed by Wang Peirong.
IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE
It's very karaoke friendly...and i love this song...gets to me.
9) SHE BU DE SHUO ZAI JIAN
Another karaoke friendly song...by eric and xiaohan...dun miss this wonderful song.
10) HUI DAO YUAN LAI
An upbeat number...sandy laps this up with ease...tis is also a cover song.
11) MING MING
The theme song of a lesbian theme movie...peony pavilion...this song is one of the strongest in the album...composed by wo else but CHEN SHANNI...yes...it's her again...the arragement is very unique and does not lose the modern feel of this song.
Overall, welcome to the new Sandy Lam.
RATING: A
Watch for the review of WeWe's album. -
thanks vm!
I wasn't sure whether to get Peggy Hsu' s debut album cos takes a while to warm up to her songs... at least those I've heard so far on radio. For someone so young, she displays a lot of maturity in her compositions.... apparently she takes half hour or so to come up with a song... wow. Have read several good reviews of Balloon, including this one. Good enuf incentive to get Peggy
Sandy is still vintage Sandy.... almost every track is a favourite except for tracks 3 and 11. Fully deserves her A... but I will put this album at most on par with A*Mei's Truth, which received an A- in an earlier review.