CD Reviews

ceremonies clutching silverware.

In 2000 he won a Golden Horse Award for the Best Original Score and last year was named Best Taiwanese Male Singer at the Golden Melody Awards. The critics may have lauded him for his work, but Zhang's hybrid brand of folk/rock continues to lurk somewhere on the never-never-land peripheries of the mainstream and underground scenes.

As far as the record-buying public is concerned The Best Of (出狀元) is only Zhang's second release since his 2002 debut, How Will You Live Tomorrow (明天你要按怎過?). Those in the know, however, will be well aware that Zhang penned much of the material on the album long before he made his mark on the local folk scene.

The double CD set, which features a studio album of "new" material and a live CD, differs somewhat from his solo 2002 release. Unlike his concept-like debut album, on which Zhang painted a moody musical portrait of Taiwan, The Best Of sees Zhang employing a backing band, incorporating more blues/rock riffs into his earthy brand of folk music and veering away from the morose.

Listeners familiar with Zhang will notice the difference from the get-go. The album's opener, The Best Of, is a tune that sees Zhang shying away from standard acoustic folk and instead branching out into the realms anthem-like rock music.

Along with mixing it up with rock and blues, Zhang also takes the time to get mildly political on his new album, with the gritty Shit! Taiwan is Repressive (今嘛的台灣是按準).

While the songs on The Best Of are all well-produced and well-written, the material is such a far cry from his gritty down-to-earth Taiwanese folk of old that fans might not take too kindly to Zhang's new found musical inventiveness.

Phil Chang (張宇)

The Good in Man: New & Best OF (男人的好: 新歌+精選)

EMI

Phil Chang (張宇) may not have gained the same fame as many of his peers, but over the past 13 years, the baby-faced Mando-pop crooner has managed to build up a sizable following of fans in the Asia region.

Since debuting over a decade ago with his Fast Walking (走路有風) longplayer, Chang has released 13 solo albums and appeared on numerous compilation albums. His latest album, which includes a mix of both new and old materials has hit record-store shelves almost a year to the day since Chang last graced Mando-pop fans with his 2004 studio album, Don't Want to be Lonely (不甘寂寞).

Fans of Chang's might find the title of his latest album a bit familiar and they'd be right, as instead of penning a new name he simply lifted a song from his 1997 hit album, The Whole of August (整個八月). Not that we should condemn Chang for this, as he should possibly be applauded for being able to compile a "Best Of" featuring tunes penned by him rather than by his wife, Shi Yi-ling (十一郎).

The whopping 31-track double album features a smorgasbord of Chang's hits, misses and so-so tunes. Along with getting a whopping earful of Chang, the CD set also comes with a free disk featuring videos for several of his most noteworthy numbers.

Packed with Mando-pop standards, Chang's The Good in Man is not an album for those looking for something fresh. The tunes are same-same, the rhythms predictable and, as ever, Chang's voice gets pretty monotonous after four or five songs.