Score one for either cross-platform marketing or just really good timing; Avex managed to expose their first signed Chinese artist alan (it's pronounced "Ah Lan") into the Greater China region twice within a year with the theme songs for the two Red Cliff films for which it served as a co-investor. Having established herself as a musician in Japan with nine singles and a Japanese-language album, alan makes her re-entry into the Greater China region with her first original Chinese-language album Orient of the Heart. But before Chinese-speaking fans get excited, Orient of the Heart is comprised almost entirely of Chinese covers of tracks from her first Japanese album Voices of Earth. Even the album cover of the album is simply an alternate version of the Japanese album's cover.

Despite alan claiming that since Mandarin was also difficult for her to sing (She's ethnically Tibetan, which makes Mandarin her second language), those who have heard her sing in Japan will immediately realize how much more natural she sounds singing in Mandarin. This is most likely due to the involvement of experienced Taiwanese producer Lin Ming Yang as Vocal Director and "Sound Producer". He also serves as the lyricist on opening track "Love Can See It" (Track 2) (Japanese version: Gunji no Tani), a rock song written by Japanese artist Cocco originally written in Japanese about alan's home province of Sichuan. Arranged by renowned Japanese musician tasuku, who has arranged songs for other Avex artists like Koda Kumi and Ayumi Hamasaki, the guitar-bass-driven arrangement gives the album the energetic start that Voice of Earth didn't have.

Instead, that album opened with Ashita e no Sanka, which becomes "Ode to Tomorrow" (Track 7) on Orient of the Heart. In Japanese, both the composition and arrangement play up so much of alan's Chinese background that they almost work too hard to build an exotic image for her. Covering the song in Chinese takes that problem away and one can easily hear the strength of alan's voice, even though sometimes the vocal stretching sections emphasize the showing-off aspect a little too much. The mid-tempo San Sheng Shi San Sheng Lu (Track 6) also has that similar exoticism that makes it sound like an abandoned Jay Chou demo, and the composition by Kazuhito Kikuchi doesn't allow alan to exercise her vocals much. Furthermore, its uneven tone makes it not a very memorable track.

Even though other songs on Orient of the Heart also have bits of "exotic" Chinese elements sprinkled throughout, they remain mostly run-of-the-mill pop songs with pedestrian, electronic panel-driven arrangements and compositions that fail to effectively show off alan's vocal talent. However, bonus track "Love is the Hand" (Track 11) (Japanese version: Shiawase no Kane) does shed that sound for a slow ballad that gives alan a chance to give a more emotional delivery in her vocal, giving off the impression that she immersed herself into Lin Min Yang's lyrics. Being the bonus track added in at the end, it naturally doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the album, but it's still a better way to show alan's versatility as a vocalist than a song like "Detail" (Track 4), which sounds several versions away from a complete composition.

The only original track on the album, the duet Jia You, Ni You ME (Track 5) with Wei Chen, is cheerful enough to show off a more pleasant side of alan's voice, but the repetitive composition and lyrics hinder its chances of long-term replay. On the other hand, it's the repetition that makes it effective in leaving an impression. Not so surprisingly, Jia You is used as an advertisement theme song in China.

The musical highlights of the album are easily the two Red Cliff theme songs. Even though Iwashiro Taro's composition on Xin Zhan~Red Cliff~ (Track 8) doesn't sound like it was written with vocals in mind, it's nevertheless impressively composed and arranged, fitting the foreboding tone of the first film. Chi Bi: Da Jiang Dong Qu (Track 9) has a more attractive hook in its composition, which easily explains why it's been the more successful of the two Red Cliff songs. However, alan's constant falsetto-level delivery can be grating after a while, and it lacks the impressive epic feeling Yuta Nakano's arrangement on Xin Zhan gives. While both songs are the best tracks of the album, Xin Zhan edges out as the better song of the two.

Not only could Orient of the Heart have marked the grand return of one of the few Chinese singers to break through in the overseas market, it would've also been an intriguing hybrid of Chinese vocal talent and impressive Japanese music production values. Instead, the album provides little surprises for alan's fans and doesn't quite impress the way it could have. There's little doubt that alan has proven in Japan that she's a talented vocalist, and in the age where globalization has given music fans easier access to music worldwide, Avex should've known better than to recycle existing material, especially on an album as important as this one. Nevertheless, alan does sound more comfortable in her pseudo-native language, and Orient of the Heart does have enough to attract new fans that will continue paying attention to her future works. Avex has taken the first step to raise attention; now they just need to impress the Chinese listeners as alan has impressed the Japanese ones.

Recommended Track: "Love Can See It" (Track 2), "Ode to Tomorrow" (Track 7), Xin Zhan~Red Cliff~(Track 8), Chi Bi: Da Jiang Dong Qu (Track 9), "Love is the Hand" (Track 11)

by Kevin Ma