Well, it’s the start of a whole new year, and just in time for our completion of our first-ever series, 2007 in Review. Examining 12 albums in such quick succession was quite challenging for all of us, but we did it! Stay tuned for more series - I have some interesting ideas in the pipeline.

Just to clarify things, the albums covered in 2007 in Review aren’t necessarily the most important albums of the month, but ones that we thought were important for some reason or another and haven’t covered. (For example, arguably the most important albums of November included Jay Chou and Fish Leong, which we have already covered.)

Here’s a recap of the series, in case you missed anything:

• January: 五月天 - 為愛而生 / Mayday - Born to Love (2007 in Review)
• February: 曹格 - Superman / Gary Cao - Superman (2007 in Review)
• March: 孫燕姿 - 逆光 / Stefanie Sun - Against the Light (2007 in Review)
• April: 吳建豪 - V.DUBB / Vanness Wu - V.DUBB (2007 in Review)
• May: S.H.E - Play (2007 in Review)
• June: 張棟樑 - 王子 / Nicholas Teo - Prince (2007 in Review)
• July: 林俊傑 - 西界 / JJ Lin - Westside (2007 in Review)
• August: 王力宏 - 改變自己 / Leehom Wang - Change Me (2007 in Review)
• September: 楊丞琳 - 任意門 / Rainie Yang - My Other Self (2007 in Review)
• October: 蔡健雅 - Goodbye & Hello / Tanya Chua - Goodbye & Hello (2007 in Review)
• November: 卓文萱 - 幸福氧氣 / Genie Zhuo - Oxygenie of Happiness (2007 in Review)
• December: 許茹芸 - 北緯六十六度 / Valen Hsu - Latitude 66° (2007 in Review)

Possibly Related Posts:

• Should We Cover Jolin’s Love Exercise?
• 2007 in Review: 許茹芸 - 北緯六十六度 / Valen Hsu - Latitude 66°
• 2007 in Review: 卓文萱 - 幸福氧氣 / Genie Zhuo - Oxygenie of Happiness
• 2007 in Review: 蔡健雅 - Goodbye & Hello / Tanya Chua - Goodbye & Hello
• 2007 in Review: 楊丞琳 - 任意門 / Rainie Yang - My Other Self

Info

Album: 北緯六十六度  (北緯66度) / Latitude 66° (Buy Album)

Artist: 許茹芸 / Valen Hsu

Released: December 21, 2007

Post By: illuminance

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Blurb

Brr, it’s cold, just look at the album artwork! Apart from the freezing cold, Latitude 66° is 許茹芸 Valen Hsu’s first full-length album in five years, since the last one 芸開了 in 2002. (Not counting an EP in 2007).

I think perhaps the best aspect of Valen’s Latitude 66°is her voice. In fact this album does remind me of Tanya Chua’s Goodbye & Hello. The album focuses on her voice, and again, it is an album with simple background music and not a whole host of bells and whistles.

I enjoyed this album - especially 手寫愛 (Handwritten Love), which has lyrics by Vincent Fang. You can’t go wrong with that!

Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly Related Posts:

• 游喧 - 勾勾手 / iD - Hooking Fingers
• 蔡依林 - 愛的練習語 / Jolin Tsai - Love Exercise
• Album Review: 五月天 - 後青春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
• Album Review: 林俊傑 - 陸 / JJ Lin - Sixology
• First Listen: 周杰倫 - 魔杰座 / Jay Chou - Capricorn

Info

Album: 幸福氧氣 / Oxygenie of Happiness (Buy Album)

Artist: 卓文萱 / Genie Zhuo

Release Date: October 26, 2007

Review By: ashih

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Blurb

Although 卓文宣 (Genie Zhuo) has been involved in the Chinese entertainment industry for quite some time, she has not yet ascended to the level of popularity that artists such as 蔡依林 (Jolin Tsai) or 張惠妹 (Zhang Hui Mei) have. If she is going to rise to this level however, her time is undoubtedly now. 卓文宣 (Genie Zhuo) has been receiving a lot of publicity lately as she played a role in the popular Taiwanese drama公主小妹.(Gong Zhu Xiao Mei) or “Romantic Princess,” with members of the super popular band 飛輪海 (Fahrenheit). Most importantly, in the musical arena, her last album, 習慣 (Xi Guan) or Habit, sported several hits. I highly recommend her duet with 曹格 (Gary Cao), 梁山伯與茱麗葉 (Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Li Ye, Romeo and Juliet). Her recent duet with 小鬼, 愛的主旋律, was also very popular on the internet. Given her recent accomplishments and considering the fact that there seems to be a shortage of new female singers lately, this is definitely Genie’s time to shine.

Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly Related Posts:

• 游喧 - 勾勾手 / iD - Hooking Fingers
• 蔡依林 - 愛的練習語 / Jolin Tsai - Love Exercise
• Album Review: 五月天 - 後青春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
• Album Review: 林俊傑 - 陸 / JJ Lin - Sixology
• First Listen: 周杰倫 - 魔杰座 / Jay Chou - Capricorn

Info

Album: Goodbye & Hello (Buy Album)

Artist: 蔡健雅 / Tanya Chua

Release Date: October 19, 2007

Review By: illuminance

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Blurb

蔡健雅, or Tanya Chua, is one of Singapore’s more renowned female singers, with her artist history going back to 1999. Lately, however, her direction has been going towards a less rock and more mainstream. With her newest album, Goodbye & Hello, she definitely has shown that.

When I first listened to her, I didn’t think that she was so good, or at least, I didn’t really like her style. But the more I listened, the more I appreciated her. One thing I noticed, particularly, is how simple her music is. That’s a good thing - often behind her music is simply just a guitar strum, with nothing more.

That said, I found her album really quite melancholy. Some say it was because she had broke up with a long-time boyfriend. As to the veracity of those claims, I know not. Perhaps the only song that wasn’t like this was 越來越不懂. A bit more variety in style would have been more interesting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly Related Posts:

• 游喧 - 勾勾手 / iD - Hooking Fingers
• 蔡依林 - 愛的練習語 / Jolin Tsai - Love Exercise
• Album Review: 五月天 - 後青春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
• Album Review: 林俊傑 - 陸 / JJ Lin - Sixology
• First Listen: 周杰倫 - 魔杰座 / Jay Chou - Capricorn

Info

Album: 任意門 / My Other Self (lit: Free Gate) (Buy Album)

Artist: 楊丞琳 / Rainie Yang

Release Date: September 7, 2007

Review By: illuminance

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Blurb

I have not been particularly familiar before this album with Rainie Yang, so please bear with me. In fact, when I first looked at the album art, I thought it was a picture of a big strawberry. (You do have to admit - that outfit looks funny…

Rainie Yang, is, after all, just another Taiwanese pop artist, but I think I like her music better than some other pop princesses. As with the others, I’m not sure how much lasting value an album has by them, but 狼來了 and 任意門 are quite nice, while 缺氧 is a melancholy song from her TV series. Check it out!

Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly Related Posts:

• 游喧 - 勾勾手 / iD - Hooking Fingers
• 蔡依林 - 愛的練習語 / Jolin Tsai - Love Exercise
• Album Review: 五月天 - 後青春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
• Album Review: 林俊傑 - 陸 / JJ Lin - Sixology
• First Listen: 周杰倫 - 魔杰座 / Jay Chou - Capricorn

Info

Album: 改變自己 / Change Me (Buy Album)

Artist: 王力宏 / Leehom Wang

Release Date: July 13, 2007

Review By: ashih

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Blurb

Exactly two years ago, most of the world was waiting for Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Times Square, fireworks out of Taipei 101, etc. As for myself and the rest of the die-hard Chinese music scene, we were anticipating the release of Leehom Wang’s newest album, “蓋世英雄.” When listeners finally got their paws on the album, the response was overwhelmingly positive; songs like 花田錯 continued the unique “Chinked out” style that Leehom is famous for, “大城小愛” proved to be one of the most popular ballads of the year, and the often overlooked 完美的互動 featured collaboration with super popular Korean artist Rain. But after Heroes of the Earth (蓋世英雄), Leehom started an extremely successful concert tour and began filming for Ang Lee’s 色戒(Lust, Caution), failing to release any new musical masterpieces in 2006.

Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly Related Posts:

• 游喧 - 勾勾手 / iD - Hooking Fingers
• 蔡依林 - 愛的練習語 / Jolin Tsai - Love Exercise
• Album Review: 五月天 - 後青春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
• Album Review: 林俊傑 - 陸 / JJ Lin - Sixology
• First Listen: 周杰倫 - 魔杰座 / Jay Chou - Capricorn

Info

Album: 西界 / Westside (Buy Album)

Artist: 林俊傑 / JJ Lin

Release Date: June 29, 2007

Review By: Ashih

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Blurb

For nearly a decade now, David Tao (陶喆), Jay Chou (周杰倫), and Leehom Wang (王力宏), the three “Pop princes,” have, without question dominated the Taiwanese and Chinese musical scenes. But with David Tao hinting at retirement, it remains to be seen who will fill the space left by the creator of such songs as 愛, 很簡單 (Love is very easy), 就是愛你 (It’s loving you), and 愛我還是他 (Who do you Love?). Side note: I cannot believe that so many of David Tao’s songs have the word for love, “愛” in them. In my opinion, JJ Lin is on the verge of taking over that position.

Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly Related Posts:

• 游喧 - 勾勾手 / iD - Hooking Fingers
• 蔡依林 - 愛的練習語 / Jolin Tsai - Love Exercise
• Album Review: 五月天 - 後青春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
• Album Review: 林俊傑 - 陸 / JJ Lin - Sixology
• First Listen: 周杰倫 - 魔杰座 / Jay Chou - Capricorn

Info

Album: 王子 / Prince (Buy Album)

Artist: 張棟梁 / Nicholas Teo

Release Date: June 1, 2007

Review By: Moopie

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Blurb

Nicholas Teo’s 王子 is above average. A bit generic on the whole, but with a few standouts and nothing glaringly bad about it. I don’t really know much about his other music, as this is his only album I have, but it makes for good listening every once in a while.
The main song, aptly titled 王子, is definitely my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite songs in general. It has good lyrics and a nice pop rock sound. It’s a bit hard for me to describe, but it’s got something that makes me want to listen to it randomly.
遊戲 is not bad either, with the same kind of more-rock-than-pop sound as 王子, but not quite as catchy. Either way, it’s a fun listen. The chorus is a bit… different, but not in a bad way.
其實辛福很簡單 is a slow ballad, more my type of music. It’s not as catchy as 王子 though, but it’s heartwarming and makes me happy when I listen to it.

Anyway, this review is incredibly short because there really isn’t much to say about the album itself. It’s not bad, but not incredibly good either, although fans of a more rock sounding pop will find some good tracks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly Related Posts:

• 游喧 - 勾勾手 / iD - Hooking Fingers
• 蔡依林 - 愛的練習語 / Jolin Tsai - Love Exercise
• Album Review: 五月天 - 後青春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
• Album Review: 林俊傑 - 陸 / JJ Lin - Sixology
• First Listen: 周杰倫 - 魔杰座 / Jay Chou - Capricorn