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JULIA PENG (TRULY, IT'S SO
HARD TO TELL THE LIE) (BMG
MUSIC) (DEC00)
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說真的,因為說謊太困難
彭佳慧全然跟你"說真的"
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Having renewed her contract with her
mentor record company BMG Music just over half a year ago, Julia Peng (or Peng Jia Hui)
has finally come out with her sixth solo album to date.
The album boasts a competent production
cast such as her beau Chen Guo Hua (side-note : he's also about
to release his debut album in Jan'01 next month), Li Wei Song,
Bao Xiao Song, Yuan Wei Ren and Wang Zhi Ping. The tracks
consist of a bundle of varied-music styles such as R&B,
folk, dance, retro and ballads.
However when compared to her last release "First
Time" which was brilliant, I have to admit I was
quite disappointed with her latest release. The songs here
are of uneven quality, some of the numbers lack punch and sound
forgettable. Only a handful of tracks stand out such as :
- the first ballad single
"Reminisce" (composed by Chen Guo Hua and written by
Li An Xiu),
- the second piano ballad single "He
Of Nineteen Ninety Something"(co-composed by Li Wei Song
and written by Yi Jia Yang) which showcases Julia's
amazing alternations between real/falsetto vocals,
- the respective third and fourth R&B
singles "You Are The One" (composed by singer Ruby Lu
Chun Ru) and "You Promised Me" (my personal favourite
number which is composed by Li Si Song and written by Xu Shi
Zhen), and
- the folk-rock title track "Truly,
It's So Hard To Tell The Lie" (composed by Julia herself).
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If you have RealPlayer ,
you can click below to preview five of the new tracks.
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Reminisce
回味
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He Of Nineteen Ninety
Something 一九九幾的他
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You Are The One --------
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You Promised Me 你答應我的事 --------
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Truly, It's So Hard To Tell
The Lie 說真的 --------
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SUN YAN ZI (MY DESIRED
HAPPINESS) (WARNER
MUSIC) (DEC00)
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音樂精靈e代女強聲
亞州3大年度新人獎至高認證
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2000's most popular newcomer Sun Yan Zi (or
Stephanie Sun) has released her second album within a brief span
of six months.
Initially I had reservations about her
latest offering as I thought it's too fast for her to churn out
a good quality album in such a short time. Therefore
imagine my pleasant surprise when I discover that many of the
songs here are radio-friendly and make enjoyable
listening. The listening pleasure is buoyed by Yan Zi's
distinct and competent vocals.
The twelve-track (including ten vocal
tracks) album is produced by Li Si Song/Li Wei Song, Bao Xiao
Bo, Chen Xiao Xuan and Xue Zhong Ming. The songs are a mix
of band-sound, folk, rock and ballads.
The first single cum title track "My
Desired Happiness" is a local work composed and produced by
twin Paul Li Wei Song. While it isn't anywhere near the
almost-perfect status of her first hit "Cloudy Day"
(or Tian Hei Hei), its melodius and Irish-style music
arrangement (arranger is Martin Tang) makes "My Desired
Happiness" a definite chart-topping material.
The second single "Realize" is an
easy-listening ballad composed by the other twin Peter Li Si
Song and written by Yao Ruo Long. On the other hand, the
third light-tempo single "Perfect" sounds like the
sequel to her previous hit "Turbo" (or Chao Kuai
Guan), a big minus in terms of originality.
On the whole, I have no doubt that fans who
fell in love with her debut album will also take an immediate
liking to her current release. Already this can be
evidenced by Yan Zi's dazzling performance on the Taiwan album
charts : only into its third week of release, "My Desired
Happiness" has already edged out A Mei's "Regardless"
album and firmly clinched the number one spot for two straight
weeks (as at 24 December 2000).
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If you have RealPlayer ,
you can click below to preview five of the new tracks.
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My Desired Happiness
我要的幸福
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Realize 開始懂了 --------
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Perfect 零缺點 --------
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Only Chance 難得一見
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Fear 害怕
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SAMUEL TAI (WAIT ANOTHER
HUNDRED YEARS) (SKYHIGH ENTERTAINMENT) (DEC00)
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十七首全新音樂創作
邰式數字情歌再創新世代情歌典範
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After close to a three-year hiatus, Samuel
Tai (or Tai Zheng Xiao) has released a brand new album under a
new label.
In order to beat piracy and to stress the
notion of "good value for money", Tai's latest
offering contains a whopping seventeen tracks (including sixteen
vocal numbers and one instrumental tune). The album is
mostly produced by Tai (other producers include Jim Lee and
Huang Guo Lun) and almost half of the songs here are also
written by him. His fans should be glad to know that the
tracks here are mainly radio-friendly pop, consisting of
ballads and light-tempo music.
True to his reputation as a crooner of
"numbered" love songs (witness his hits such as
"Nine Hundred Ninety Nine Roses" (or Jiu Bai Jiu Shi
Jiu Duo Mei Gui), "One Thousand One Nights" (or Yi
Qian Ling Yi Ye), "Find One Word To Replace" (or Zhao
Yi Ge Zi Dai Ti) and "Love Zero" (or Ai Gui Ling)),
his latest first single cum title track ballad is also
number-related, in that it is titled "Wait Another Hundred
Years".
He also did a re-make of his most popular
hit "Thinking Of You" (or Xiang Ni Xiang De Hao Gu Ji)
which saw him reaching an even-higher falsetto note than in his
original version.
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If you have RealPlayer ,
you can click below to preview five of the new tracks.
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Wait Another Hundred Years
再等一百年
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Thinking Of You 想你想得好孤寂 --------
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Train Fly 火車快飛
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Old Friend II 老朋友II
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You Are What I Want 你就是我要的
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ERIC MOO (DEEPLY TOUCHED) (BMG
MUSIC) (DEC00)
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三年前他把感動帶走了
現在他回來震撼您久未感動的心
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After three years of barred absence from
Taiwan, Eric Moo (or Wu Qi Xian) has at last re-gained his
freedom to enter the country. He has since joined a new
music production company headed by Jacky Wu Zhong Xian and
released his current offering "Deeply Touched" under a
new label.
In order not to further alienate his fans
after such a long "disappearance", his latest album
contains mostly Eric Moo's signature-style ballads and folkish
tunes. The ten-track album is produced by Paula Ma Yu Fen,
Jonathan Koh (or Xu Hua Qiang), Bao Xiao Bo and Eric himself.
His first single in Taiwan is a classic
cover of Hong Kong's famous song-writing duo Koo Kar Fai (or Gu
Jia Hui) and Huang Zhan's work "Hazard Love" (or
Ai Ni Bian Cheng Hai Ni).
Other recommended tracks by the record
company include :-
- "Who's Preventing Love" : a
soaring karaoke-friendly ballad composed by local song-writers,
Li Si Song (composer) and Wang Rei Qi (lyricist) (side-note :
Wang is the same guy who has written songs such as Gigi Leung's
"I Want A Feeling" (or Wo Yao Yi Zhong Gan Jue) and
Jacky Cheung's "Don't Mention About Your Heart" (or
Bie Ti Ni De Xin)),
- "Someone Who Loves Me
Sometimes" : a touching sentimental number composed by Li
Si Song and written by He Qi Hong,
- "Reunited" : Eric's own folkish
composition which is inspired by his return to Taiwan.
The first batch of limited-edition CD comes
with a bonus CD containing live performances of his hits like
"Love Is Like A Dream" (or Ren Sheng Ru Mong),
"Waiting For You Until My Heart Aches" (or Deng Ni
Deng Dao Wo Xin Tong), "Aching Love Song" (or Xin Suan
De Qing Ge), "Love Puppet" (or Ai Qing Kui Lei) and of
cos, not forgetting his biggest hit of all "Too
Foolish" (or Tai Sha).
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If you have RealPlayer ,
you can click below to preview five of the new tracks.
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Who's Preventing Love
存心
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Someone Who Loves Me Sometimes
偶爾愛我的人 --------
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Reunited 團圓
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Our Room 愛情住過的房間
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The Hunted 獵物
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