[leon]

Why boring? Because there's been fairly few good stuff than ever this past two years, and it seems to be a cultural, industrial thing that's limiting the possibility here. You take something good from Chinese pop and often it doesn't sit very well in an international comparison

Why discuss it? Because, if nothing else, we can bitch at the not-so-good ones.

What I'm interested in: your favorites for the year, and if you've had any "regretful" purchases.

My personal 2001 favorite has got to be Sandy Lam's latest, which came out last Thursday. She is finally singing as well as she should, the music is very refined, a hybrid of elements that recalls her glittery days, but the nuance is that it's more progressive than you'd think. If you can stomach adult contemporary at all, this would be highly recommended.

There was rumor that Tan Dun had asked Sandy to sing "A love before time", but she turned it down... hrmm

What did I dislike? Coco Lee's latest Chinese release

It's not so much her problem, but whoever made production decisions did an utterly lousy job.

What's yours?

 

[Vertigo-1]

I regret plopping down $25 on Faye Wong's CDs, that's what I regret. I'm never getting any of her CDs again.

On the other hand, Ya Elva Hsiao has caught my ears, and I nabbed all the CDs she's made so far from yesasia.com.

 

[coolvij]

This thread is so.............interesting............

 

[becomethemould]

sun yanzi's third album wasn't that good...

 

[leon]

I see we seem to share that sentiment eh

I bought both Yanzi and Faye's albums... and what can I say, I understand

I like Yanzi now (love track 3 on the latest album), but she needs to be given more time to sing and write.

That's another reason I like Sandy this much - after several years of inconsistency, I think she's delivered something of very good shape, going a step forward from where she was, unlike much of the popular albums you hear anywhere this year. And her music is finally becoming a "world of its own" that's got enough persuasion.

Don't mind me.

 

[becomethemould]

i reckon faye's 2000 album, fable was pretty good.. her new one this year doesnt really have a set style.. i'll have another listen of the album now

 

[Gluegun]

Hmmm....is this right?

Here, godless, souless corporations manufacture pop 'musicians'....

In China, the godless, souless government manufactures pop 'musicians'.....

 

[becomethemould]

i guess pop music always changes style, as fads always changes.. the music is created for consumers anyway.. so i guess you cant really judge if the music really a representation of the singer.. as the majority of the songs they sing are not produced or written by the singer.. dunno there are prob some exceptions though

i also got landy's album, she's another rnb chinese artist, well her 2nd album is.. i guess this is where the market is heading? i reckon that cd's pretty good.. but i think the majority of the (new?) top selling chinese pop people are from an english-speaking background and then learn chinese and sing in it.. like nick tse, yanzi, elva, jay, edison (btw he sucks majorly)

so yeah.. there's my rant!

and gluegun, nah the gov doesnt make the muscians.. the big chinese artists base themselves from taiwan and hongkong.. but i did read a newspaper artcle ages ago about the chinese gov 'discovering' two artists, i think a female singer, and a boy band called tnt..

 

[leon]

Even if you're a singer-songwriter, the record labels will probably make demands on you to alter things to be more in line with commercial/public interests. But it's also true that, if you're totally out of touch with the music you're making/performing, it's not going to be convincing. Say, Michael Jackson.

People who have spent enough time in the industry, and are successful to a point will be able to call their own shots, and you can expect that they make more decisions. Faye and Sandy would both fall into that category, especially Faye - if her musical direction is for commercial reasons, than she (and the production crew) have definitely made way too many mistakes during the past few years.

I had Landy's album too.. pretty nice. But well, the two ladies mentioned above were already doing R&B in the early 90s

 

[becomethemould]

ahh k get ya leon.. why do you say the previous 2 years or so there hasn't been any decent albums.. what were the good ones in 1998/1999??

what do you think of sandy's album from last year? lian? i haven't heard any of sandy.. might hafta download some first=)

ya yanzi's live performance on her vcd wasn't that crash hot.. she needs to dance!!

 

[Odin]

Quote:

Originally posted by coolvij This thread is so.............interesting............

.......yes....I can't stop reading from it............it's the best thread ever..........there are so much controversies going on...........

 

[leon]

Becomethemould,

I don't exactly remember what were good in 98/99, but these two years the industry itself was definitely in bad shape, with a lot of (visible) bad decisions.

I wouldn't get 2001lian. The songs are not top notch, and it seems that Sandy wasn't in very good condition, her vocal wasn't good.

If you're interested in Sandy, I'd suggest "Sandy Lam's" (2000) and "Wildflower" (1991). "Love, Sandy" (1995) and the latest one too, if you don't mind CDs with virtually only slow songs. These CDs would give ya plenty of excuses to love her over quite a few other artists.

http://www.hooloo.com/cgi-bin/WebObj...6/3.27.1.0.0.0
http://global.yesasia.com/artIdxDept...&code=a&aid=44

 

[becomethemould]

Quote:

Originally posted by Odin .......yes....I can't stop reading from it............it's the best thread ever..........there are so much controversies going on...........

hmm sarcasm.. the lowest form of humour haha.. j'k

thanks for the recommendations and links leon.. i'll see if some of my friends in hk can get me some cds or not

 

[becomethemould]

hmm cant seem to download sandy's album from boxup...

what 'classic' cds or artists do u reckon are worth buying? like albums that are standouts in the last few years?

 

[leon]

Hmm, I really started paying attention to Chinese pop during the past couple of years, and for years like 96, 97 I don't have enough knowledge to recommend.

Personally I'm in some kind of a transition too, so some CDs I would've recommended before, I wouldn't recommend them anymore. And the more I think, the more hesitant I am and it's hard to tell people to "go out and buy this and this and that and that".

Like this one, Tracy Huang's "Crazy for love" from '98. Thumbs up when you've been in the business for 25 years and still doing a very cutting edge sound, but it's low on the catchy pop appeal.

http://global.yesasia.com/prdDept.as...pid=1001815609

For 2001, I like Eason Chan for his voice, and I've got high hopes for Shirley Kwan's return. She was Faye before Faye became Faye, so to speak.

http://global.yesasia.com/prdDept.as...pid=1001818734