Jam Hsiao (Postcard Preorder Edition)

A majority of the album's songs are produced by Paul and Peter Lee, who has worked on hit songs by Jacky Cheung, Sandy Lam, and was even Stefanie Sun's teacher. Paul is also responsible for opening track "Collect" (Track 1), a bright mid-beat ballad reminiscent of Sun's "Against the Light", another opening track written by Paul, with both songs having the ability to elicit images simply through their melodies. The song also allows Jam to reveal his vocal range gradually, from the softly delivered first section to the dramatic final section. In both composition and vocal performance, "Collect" is as captivating as opening tracks can be.

Jam is known for a dramatic voice that enables him to enhance his performances with a heavy dose of emotions. This ability is used to great effect in the album's ballads, especially in the moving "Forgive Me" (Track 3). Composed by F.I.R.'s Real (who also co-wrote the lyrics), the song poses two different challenges for Jam: The densely written verses require Jam to deliver the emotions without losing the pace of the section, while the chorus tests Jam's range, as the composition continuously raises the threshold. Amazingly, Jam pulls off both styles splendidly with surprising fluidity, making "Forgive Me" one of the best songs of the album and surely a Karaoke favorite in the coming months. Meanwhile, Gary Chaw, who saw a rise in popularity because of Aska and Jam's covers of his songs on One Million Stars, contributes to Jam's album with "Regardless of Myself" (Track 4), a ballad that is written with Chaw and Jam's similarly intense vocals in mind. However, Jam's vocal starts off somewhat overbearing in the opening verse, becoming too overwhelming for its good. Nonetheless, that style is appropriate for the chorus, in which Jam does his best Chaw impression while retaining his signature tonal shift in the vocal. With a simple, but affecting composition, "Regardless of Myself" can easily turn into another mainstream hit.

However, Jam's voice sometimes proves to be too dramatic for its own good. While Chaw can tone down his own vocal and actually change it along with a song's mood, Jam hasn't mastered full control of his voice just yet. In "Love Dearly" (Track 5), written by Mayday's A-Shin, Jam tries his best to match the song's summer-like laidback atmosphere, but he's too eager to continue showing off his range, resulting in a vocal style that's more fitting for the ballads that came before. He does fare a little better with "Alocasia Love" (Track 11), an upbeat rock track that fits his vocal style better because he's delivering his own composition. However, his voice is still not flexible enough to match the fun of the arrangement and the composition.

Despite his background in jazz, Jam's vocal style is actually best suited for rock. His best performance comes in the Peter Lee-produced "The Prince's New Clothes" (Track 2), a cover of a song from Denmark. Jam's dramatic voice is best used in such a musical style in which he gets to unleash the full range of his voice with the appropriate intensity and anger. Deark Chua's brooding arrangement never gets in the way of the vocal, and injects just the right amount of energy to maintain a balance between the various musical elements. Producer/arranger Chen Wei, on the other hand, delivers a more bombastic rock track with "Blues" (Track 10). Even with the electric guitar cranked up to the max, Jam again uses his powerful voice to dominate the song without taking away the intensity of the arrangement. Despite the difference in style, the two rock tracks are musically the most accomplished tracks on the album.

Since Jam already had plenty of ways to show off his voice in the past year, the biggest surprise of the album isn't his vocal talent, but rather its ability to surprise. His producers, knowing that the album cannot get by on vocals alone, put Jam's ability to adapt to other genres on display. The result is a rare pop album that evokes a sense of anticipation, as listeners wait anxiously to see what other genres can Jam master in just one album. Such anticipation is a rare thing to find in pop, let alone a debut album. Jam may not have the looks to be your typical pop star, but what he lacks physically is made up with sheer talent. Possibilities of a sophomore slump aside, this is a superstar in the making.

Recommended Tracks: "Collect" (Track 1), "A Prince's New Clothes" (Track 2), "Forgive Me" (Track 3), "Regardless of Myself" (Track 4), "I Hoped You Were Here" (Track 6), "Blues" (Track 10)

by Kevin Ma