Reviews written by outkast
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No Protection
3 people found the following helpful
April 19, 2006 Disappointing followup to promising debutFirst a disclaimer, I'm not a Justin hater. Just read my review of his first album. But "No Protection" is disappointing. In Western music, artists usually take at least two years between albums. But here we have a singer-songwriter taking only 3 months in between albums. Even by H.K.'s outrageous standards, this a total rush job. To Gold Label: This is NOT the way to develop the creative talents of your most promising artist. I guess they would care less for music quality, all they have are dollar signs in their eyes. But I digress, back to the music...
The good news is that Justin still has his great voice, and has some creative moments in this album (eg. Track 2). The bad news is that there are even MORE ballads in album numero two. They all sound so bloody similar (ie. sappy piano intro, boring melody), if it weren't for Justin's singing, these songs are generic Cantopop fodder belonging in the catalogue of someone like...Alex Fong. I dont know who is to blame: Justin, his record company, or the H.K. music market, for its distaste for pretty much anything other than generic "K-songs".
But that's not even the most dissappointing thing about this album. That honor belongs to Track 6 - "Volar". This songs rips off the exact drum sample of "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas, the "yeah" exclamations from Usher's hit "Yeah", and the arrangement/composition of Usher's "Red Light". Listen to those tracks and be the judge... Again, I don't know if Justin, or his producer, Mark "I am way past my prime" Lui is to blame, but this seriously undermines his artistic integrity. Somebody should feel ashamed for themselves.
I'm no longer a believer, Justin's got to make major changes to win me back as a fan.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
March 20, 2006 Jay + David Tao + Willber Pan = Tank
Tank has a great voice that is mix of Jay and David Tao - somewhat similar to Anson Hu. His songwriting is excellent also, showing a very diverse style. And yes, I agree that is style is similar to Jay's, but that's not a bad thing. In my opinion, Jay along with David Tao are the best singer/songwriters in Taiwan. They just have a sincerity, emotion, and passion for music that is unmatched by their contemporaries. It's just that indescribable feeling you get in your skin when you hear a song that's done just right. The singing, the melody, the arrangement, it all just 'clicks'. Tank's music, in my view, comes really close to matching the "Big Two" in terms of that 'feeling'. Just listen to tracks 3 & 4. There are many standout tracks in this album, a few are so-so, but Tanks exudes confidence in every song nevertheless. I have high hopes for his next album to see if he can take his music to the next level.
Recommended Tracks: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 12Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Heroes of Earth (Celebration Edition) (CD+DVD)
Heroes of Earth (Celebration Edition) (CD+DVD) DVD Region All
(6)Our Price: US$21.49Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:11 people found the following helpful
March 9, 2006 The good, the bad, the ugly....Let me get this out of the way first: This is a good album, above average by today's Mandarin music standards. BUT it does not deserve the overwhelming praise its getting.
"The Good":
Lee Hom's voice is as rich and versatile, and his rapping has come a long way since the days of W-H-Y, displaying much better flow. Musically speaking, no surprises here. The standard staple of pop, ballads, hip-hop, R&B - pretty much what he did for Shangri-La. This time around, there's tighter integration with his blend of traditional Chinese elements. Track #2 is the perfect example: He's managed to somehow fuse Peking opera and R&B to great effect.
Another plus for bringing in legendary Chinese MC Jin on board for Track 3.
"The Bad":
While I find his Chinese-Western music fusion innovative, and give him props for trying, it still seems really shallow to me. Peel off the pretty coat of Chinese instrumentals, and you're left with some pretty generic R&B/ hip hop beats. And as a whole, his songs lack longevity. Take an objective listen - he tends to overuse the choruses for his more upbeat songs. Track 5 is the prime offender. Another gripe: Unlike in the past, Lee Hom does not progressively take his songs to the 'next level' with variations in arrangements and increasing intensity of his voice. In Track 4 & 7, he pretty much sings the same way throughout the entire song. Contrast this with his earlier works - "Ni Bu Zai" & "Wei Yi" to see what I mean.
And yeah, Rain (the Korean Usher wannabe) adds nothing whatsoever to his half-hearted feature in Track 5.
"The Ugly":
-His coining of the term "Ch***ed out": Just because African-Americans use a racially derogatory term to refer to each other doesn't mean we Chinese have to follow suit. And even when they do print it, they censor it out.
-Despite his squeaky-clean image, Lee-Hom's still attempts to be 'street' . Well, at least he doesn't claim to not be 'your average thug' from the 'ghetto' anymore. lol
Overall:
Interesting, if short-lived, album from Lee Hom. No surprises, and definitely not a masterpiece.
Recommended: Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6.
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1 people found the following helpful
February 22, 2006 Better than U87Let me start with this: If you are a K癵 that is a fan of the 90% commercialized music that EEG forced onto Eason, you won't like this album at all. If you can appreciate fine music however, then this EP is like a breath of fresh air in today's H.K. music industry.
Like his 2005 U87 album, "Life Continues" is a departure from today's typical Cantopop. Meaning more experimentation with different genres of music, and less of the K簈 garbage that makes up 95% of today's Cantopop. But in my opinion, "Life Continues" is strikes a finer balance between originality & quality than U87.
While I regard U87 to be one of the better H.K. albums in some time, it was far from perfect. Most songs sounded fresh, but just seemed to be original for the sake of being original. With the exception of a couple of tracks, the songs were shallow and lacked longetivity.
That's not the case for "Life Continues". The songs are diverse with an original sound, but more importantly, also high quality. Credit must be given Eason's songwriting team of Eric Kwok and Jerald (of Swing fame). They are, without a doubt, the top song-writers / producers in H.K. today (Mark Lui's quality has dropped dramatically in the last few years). Their beats sound fresh, and the arrangements are outstanding. It is clear that they (along with Eason), truly enjoy making music and put a lot of time into this EP. It shows.
Recommended tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
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2 people found the following helpful
January 25, 2006 Great debut, but not perfectJustin is without a doubt the most talented new male singer to come out of Hong Kong in the last 5 years or so. His voice has excellent range, and he really puts his heart into his songs - you can feel it. That's the main problem with Cantopop nowadays, almost no one sings with any real emotion. Virtually everybody else sings in the same repetitive way that it feels as though they just recorded the verse/chorus once and looped it a couple of times. Great singers like Eason & David Tao put extra emotion into their voice as the song progresses, and this is also precisely what separates Justin from the rest of the pack. While his singing is impeccable, I do feel Justin has room for improvement, namely to develop his own distinctive music/production style. As it is, his music is a bit lacking in variety and a tad too commercialized - it's basically "KTV-song w/ exceptional singing". If he can match the songwriting and production prowess of Eric Kwok in the future (just listen to E.K.'s excellent 'Collection' album - TRUST ME), then we'll see his perfect album. My verdict: 7.5/10. Recommended: Tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, 8. Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Huo Yuan Chia (EP+DVD) (PAL Version)
Huo Yuan Chia (EP+DVD) (PAL Version) DVD Region All
(12)Our Price: US$18.49Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:January 23, 2006 Great music. But is it worth it?I found 'Huo Yuan Chia' to be one of Jay's best fast-based songs since his Fantasy album. Yes, as other have touched on, I agree it sounds a bit like 'Blue Hurricane'. But it's his best Chinese-themed rock song behind 'Shuang Jie Gun". The other Cantonese song is good, but his pronounciation is a bit off. I guess this will only be an issue for Cantonese speakers like myself. But the question is this all worth it? If you're a crazy Jay fan that buys anything with his name on it, then you probably would have already bought the EP by now. If you're just a normal music lover who enjoys Jay's music and would care less about his MV's, then I'm afraid this isn't a very good value. Score for the music: 8.5/10. Score for the Ep: 5/10. Overall: 7/10 Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
January 23, 2006 His Third Best Album So Far
First of all, let me make myself clear. This album still follows the Jay formula, and is not his best work ever (That honor will of course go to his 1st and 2nd albums). In terms of innovation, Ye Hui Mei is better, but for overall quality , November's Chopin beats it hands down. This album has a lot of great slower/midtempo songs (#1,3,4,6,7,9), with a feel more akin to Jay's first album (which rocks). #3 "Snow-like-hair" is easily one of his best work ever. I'll say its the top Oriental-R&B crossover song on the market - (try as he might but Lee Hom's 'Ch**ked out ' music can't match the emotion and elegance of this song). Songs #5 and 8 are the weakest of the bunch. On my mp3 player I replaced them with "In the Name of Father" and "Ti Tian", which fits in with the mood of the album nicely. In summary: Highly Recommended. Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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