CD Reviews

Eternal Sunshine (我是陽光的)
Kelly Chen (陳慧琳)
Go East
Canto-pop Kelly Chen (陳慧琳) returns to record store shelves this month with her latest Mandarin-language offering, Eternal Sunshine (我是陽光的) on which the she once again gets all emotional and weepy about her favorite topic -- love.

Over the past five years Chen has managed to carve quite a name out for herself as both a singer and an actress, with her most memorable role coming in the hugely successful Hong Kong police action movie Infernal Affairs (無間道). And earlier this year fans in South Korea cheered as she made her soap debut when her music was used as the soundtrack for the hit TV drama Grace and Charm.

Her latest album shouldn't

disappoint anyone familiar with her previous releases. Packed with a selection of tunes from standalone songs to theme tunes for a couple of TV dramas and the odd movie, Chen hits all the right notes time and time again.

Sure Mando-pop may not be your thing, but Chen can actually sing and is more than simply a record company creation. Tunes like the hip-hop-like Freedom (自由), the stereotypically orchestrated Mando-love ballad You're too Calm (你太冷靜) and the Cantonese-language Freedom (放) all make for an entertaining listen and prove that not all Canto/Mando-pop female singers have no talent.

Like all albums released these days the CD comes with a DVD. Here we get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the hardships the songstress endured while making the music video for Freedom as well as a couple of other music videos for tunes from the album.

R.A.Y Band (雷樂隊)
R.A.Y Band (雷樂隊)
Click
Formed three studio musicians in 2003 the R.A.Y Band (雷樂隊) has long since has become a permanent fixture at several of Taipei's leading rock venues and has performed to reasonably large crowds at a couple of outdoor festivals.

Individually, guitarist Rashid, drummer Alan (黃顯忠) and bassist yen (韓賢光) have appeared on countless albums as well as on stage as backing musicians for the likes of Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), Terry Lin (林志炫), Lu Ta-yu (羅大佑) and F4.

Considering trio's reputation as highly sought-after studio musicians it comes as no surprise that the album is well produced, the tunes are tight and well-executed and there's nothing

suspect about their musical attitudes. With the exception of a couple of tunes, however, there is sadly little to scream and shout for and even less to write home about on the trio's debut longplayer.

The album begins well enough with a scorching piece of anthem-like alt-rock titled Rocking with the Big Boys (跟著大人搖擺). The guitar whines, the bass rumbles and the drums, well, they crash on a number that boast the same rabble rousing clout as anything Taiwan's leading indie-rock oriented acts like the Chairman (董事長) and Back Quarter (四分衛) have to offer.

Sadly same cannot be said of the material that follows. While the compositions are certainly not void of songwriting talent the R.A.Y Band appears to be stuck in time warp. Instead of trying to be original the band takes listeners on a sometimes cringingly bad trip through time.

The material is so dated, in fact, that you could be listening to a natty cover band rather than one comprising three of the nation's leading studio musicians. Never too Young to Rock and Roll sounds like a Status Quo tune complete with sing-a-long chorus, Civil Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道) is a jerky, annoying and constipated pseudo-rock number, and the instrumental Go with the Wind (隨風而去) is a sad throwback to even sadder days when prog-rock ruled the airwaves.

Meal Number 2 [2nd Version] (2號餐)
Nan Quan Mama (南拳媽媽)
Sony
Since the releases of its debut Nan Quan's Summer (南拳媽媽的夏天) last year, four-piece Mando-pop/rap outfit Nan Quan Mama has become one of Jay Chou's (周杰倫) pet projects. The award-winning crooner has produced and made cameo appearances on the group's music videos and has helped pen the odd tune or two for the group.

Originally in mid-August and then re-released with a bonus VCD last week, Nan Quan Mama's second album, Meal Number 2 once again sees the combo choosing to mix it up with a blend of Mando-hip-hop/rap, Mando-pop and straight forward love ballads.

If you happen to be a fan of, or are simply very familiar with Chou's music, then you'll probably find much of Nan Quan's material a poor substitute for the real thing. Whether penned by the self proclaimed "King of Mando-pop" or not, much of Nan Quan's material sounds too Chou-like.

From the album's opener, the moody orchestrated piano driven Mando-hip-hop number Daybreak (破曉) to final cut, the mushy Mando-pop standard Angel's Hero, there's very little, if anything unique about the material. That's not to say its bad it's just for the most part the tunes remain all too predictable in both style and execution.

The four-piece does manage to throw one curveball at listeners. The breakneck power-pop number Wild Thing (野東西) makes for a pretty good listen. Although quite out of place on a predominantly slow and meandering album that goes nowhere, the tune proves that should the four-piece ever choose to drop Chou as their mentor and inspiration they certainly face a future, albeit one far removed from whence they came.

Long Time No See (好久不見)
5566
Warner
Taiwan's plugged boy band released its third album to much hype late last month and, according to one interview, the boys hope the album's less teenage pop/hip-hop oriented sound along with their new "mature" image will prove popular with both long term fans and newcomers to the group alike.

Chances even if you've never heard 5566 you've seen their faces adorning 7-Eleven stores, as the

President Group played a big part in promoting the band a couple of years ago. Needless to say, with so many 7-Elevens the promotion worked wonders and 5566 went on to score a string of hits. Both of its previous albums fared exceptionally well in local charts and the group's rare performances were sellouts.

So what's new?

Well, what's new is the sound. Gone is the teenage cutesy pop and instead 5566 have grabbed the studio engineer by the throat and set out to impress with an interesting set of musical vibes and song that are more mature and, dare we say it, better then before.