Shirley's Era

Shirley's Era (2009) - Shirley Kwan

Shirley's Era (2009) - 關淑怡

 

It took Sandy Lam 10 years to come up with a follow up Cantonese album, with Shirley, it took 14. Originally slated for a 2008 release to coincide with her round of Unexpected concerts last year, the album finally makes it way onto the CD shelves this year.

The album consists of 12 tracks, 9 Cantonese tracks, 2 remixes and 1 Mandarin track “花鳥” which is the Mandarin version of “山水”. Predominantly targeting the Hong Kong market, it sums up most of Shirley’s recent work nicely. “天規” and “山水” were both showcased in her concert last year. Those performances are included in the DVD. “天規” is a commanding fast paced track whilst “山水” is a euro-inspired ballad.

The two TVB themes are also included, “鑽禧” from “The Gem Of Life” and “只得一次” from “Best Selling Secrets”. Both songs display quite a different Shirley. “只得一次” is a more traditional ballad whilst “鑽禧” is classier and more alternative to what’s typically saturating the Cantonese market.

Previous contributions to the 12 Faces of Woman Compilation also make their way onto the album in the forms of “三千年前” and “眾生花”.

The two new plugs, “男左女右” is a duet with Leo Ku, and is a poppy fun track that works surprisingly well and is definitely one of the highlights of the album, and “地盡頭” is a ballad and doesn’t quite match up to “山水”.

On the whole, it’s quite a solid album. Everything thrown into the mix, you have ballads and uptempo tracks, you have TVB themes, you have remixes and even a Mandarin track thrown in for good measure. The remixes are surprisingly pleasant as you can tell that they did try and re-interpret the songs, instead of just slapping on a different beat and hoping that the vocals will mesh. Here’s hoping Shirley’s next release doesn’t take another 14 years!

Tracklist:
CD
01. 天規
02. 地盡頭
03. 男左女右
04. 山水
05. 只得一次
06. 28日
07. 鑽禧
08. 三千年前
09. 眾生花
10. 山水 (Remix)
11. 天規 (Remix)
12. 花鳥 (國)

DVD
01. 地盡頭 M.V.
02. 男左女右 M.V.
03. 鑽禧 M.V.
04. 天規 (Live Version)
05. 山水 (Live Version)