Thu, Dec 01, 2005 page14

• CD Reviews

  • By Gavin Phipps / STAFF REPORTER
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  S.H.E.
  

  Once Upon a Time(不想長大)
  

  HiM

  

  
  Having spent the past several months making their acting debuts in the hugely popular ETTV (東森) drama series Reaching for the Stars (真命天女), one of Taiwan's most talked about all girl combos, S.H.E returned to record store shelves this week with a new album entitled Once Upon a Time (不想長大).

  Since the trio made its musical debut in 2001 with Girl Friend, Girl Dormitory (女朋友-女生宿舍), the girls have proven to be one Taiwan's most industrious musical acts. Once upon a Time is the trio's eighth album of original tunes in four years and once again fans get to hear Selina (S), Hebe (H) and Ella (E) warble their way through a collection of tunes of varying genres. Like the trio's previous releases Once Upon a Time offers listeners a mixed bag of tunes ranging from mushy Mando-pop standards to conventional orchestrated ballads and the odd piece of Mando-rap.

  Much of the material is predictable and mundane and unless you happen to be a long time fan of S.H.E. then the album could make you uncomfortable. It should be pointed out, however, that unlike some other well known local female acts, S.H.E can hold a tune.

  

  The highlight of the album is the tune Sharpshooter (神槍手). By mixing basic Mando-pop with traces of nakashi and throwing in an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western-like theme in for good measure, S.H.E has managed to come up with a genuinely unique sound that is comical and entertaining.

  Jeff and Machi (黃立成 & 麻吉)
  

  Superman (超人)
  

  

  Warner
  

  Ex-LA Boy Jeff Huang (黃立成) is brother of Golden Melody award winning crooner Stanley Huang (黃立行). Since the archetypical all boy rap/hip-hop group split up Jeff has been busy carving out his own musical career along with his new sidekicks, Machi (麻吉).

  The group has become one of Taiwan's hottest hip-hop acts and its third album, Superman (超人), once again sees Jeff leading the way and giving voice to a mixed bag of mainstream hip-hop numbers that range from the mundane to the innovative.

  

  If you not a fan of hip-hop then this album is best avoided as, unlike previous releases, where the combo kept it fresh by mixing it up with differing styles, Superman is unadulterated, in-your-face hip-hop. It could be one of the best locally produced Mando-hip-hop albums of the year.

  In addition to the Jeff and Machi material, local turntable guru DJ Tommy also gets in on the act with the brilliant Super Machi Remix, which sees the popular DJ getting creative with a whole bunch of Machi material.

  With the exception of the DJ Tommy remix the album's other highlight comes when Jeff and Machi veer away from generic North American-like hip-hop and get creative with a more localized sound. While I Love Chou Hsing Hsing (我愛周星星) is certainly not the best "East meets West" musical coupling of all times it does have a catchy tune.

  Gou Wei (茍偉)
  

  The Further You Fall the Deeper You Get (越陷越深)
  

  Univresal
  

  
  OK, so Gou Wei (苟偉) is from China and as such his recent debut isn't technically a local release, but it is worth a mention as The Further You Fall the Deeper You Get (越陷越深) is a good album.

  The album kicks in with a funky piece of hip-hop that gradually morphs into Mando-pop and then transforms itself into a guitar driven piece of Mando-rock entitled My Style My Show (我型我Show). What follows are a mish-mash of tunes that vary in tempo from slow ballads to guitar-driven hardcore. Some of the album's best numbers include the U2-like The Dream Continues (夢延續的瞬間), the orchestrated folksy ballad One Way Ticket (單程車票) and Real World (真的世界), which sees Gou Wei mixing it up with nu-metal-like guitar licks.

  Along with his solo material the album also sees the chubby un-pop star like Gou Wei teaming up with Taiwan's Power Station (動力火車) and ex-Beyond frontman, Huang Chia-chang (黃家強) on a couple of numbers.

  Without Turning a Hair (面不改色), on which he's joined by Taiwan's guitar plucking Aborigines is a typical Mando-blues tune. Glory Year (光輝歲月), on which he's joined by Huang, is a ballad-like and passionate orchestrated number.

  Kou Chou-ching (拷秋勤)
  

  Taiwan Traditional Music Style (復刻)
  

  Design Fascination

  
  If you're fed up with local acts that lamely attempt to sound like they come from a North American ghetto, then Kou Chou-ching's (拷秋勤) debut album is worth a listen.

  Aptly titled Taiwan Traditional Music Style (復刻), the album takes listeners on an interesting journey through Taiwan's traditional music scene via scratch and rap.

  If it sounds a bit odd then you'd be right as the material is so far removed from any and all other types of localized rap that it actually takes some getting used to. Listen to it once and you'll hate it, give it another listen after you've had time to digest what you heard the first time around, however, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

  Kou Chou-ching employs a host of earthy local musical styles, such as nakashi, classical opera and temple music, as well as recording several of the tracks in a gnarly KTV manner. Vocally the combo waxes lyrical, albeit it in a tongue-in-cheek manner, about everything from noodles to red envelopes Sure, not all the tunes are musically pleasing, especially when the group dabbles with instrumentation more commonly associated with funerals, but if your eardrums can withstand the nanguan and cringingly kitsch call-in KTV radio moments then it's well worth it.
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