Top 20 - 27/08/2012

Top 20 for the week commencing 27/08/2012
TW	LW	WI	HP	Title / Artist
1	1	2	1	Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - P!nk (2 weeks)
2	2	2	2	Brokenhearted - Karmin
3	3	2	3	Under The Sun - Cheryl
4	4	2	4	Guardian - Alanis Morissette
5	6	2	5	Drunk - Ed Sheeran
6	7	2	6	Dark Side - Kelly Clarkson
7	5	2	5	Want U Back - Cher Lloyd
8	10	2	8	Hall Of Fame - The Script Featuring will.i.am
9	12	2	9	Taking Over Me - Lawson
10	8	2	8	The Spirit Indestructible - Nelly Furtado
11	14	2	11	One More Night - Maroon 5
12	_	1	12	Wildest Dreams - Brandy
13	15	2	13	Celebrate - Mika
14	13	2	13	Blown Away - Carrie Underwood
15	9	2	9	New Day - Alicia Keys
16	17	2	16	Triumphant (Get 'Em) (Vintage Throwback Radio Edit) - Mariah Carey
17	11	2	11	Timebomb - Kylie Minogue
18	_	1	18	Settle Down - No Doubt
19	_	1	19	Fires - Ronan Keating
20	18	2	18	We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift

Top 20 - 20/08/2012

Top 20 for the week commencing 20/08/2012
TW	LW	WI	HP	Title / Artist
1	_	1	1	Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - P!nk
2	_	1	2	Brokenhearted - Karmin
3	_	1	3	Under The Sun - Cheryl
4	_	1	4	Guardian - Alanis Morissette
5	_	1	5	Want U Back - Cher Lloyd
6	_	1	6	Drunk - Ed Sheeran
7	_	1	7	Dark Side - Kelly Clarkson
8	_	1	8	The Spirit Indestructible - Nelly Furtado
9	_	1	9	New Day - Alicia Keys
10	_	1	10	Hall Of Fame - The Script Featuring will.i.am
11	_	1	11	Timebomb - Kylie Minogue
12	_	1	12	Taking Over Me - Lawson
13	_	1	13	Blown Away - Carrie Underwood
14	_	1	14	One More Night - Maroon 5
15	_	1	15	Celebrate - Mika
16	_	1	16	Wide Awake - Katy Perry
17	_	1	17	Triumphant (Get 'Em) (Vintage Throwback Radio Edit) - Mariah Carey
18	_	1	18	We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
19	_	1	19	Goin' In - Jennifer Lopez
20	_	1	20	Put It Down - Brandy Featuring Chris Brown

On The Verge Of Something Triumphant

This Delicate Thing We’ve Made (2007) – Darren Hayes

What does Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Darren Hayes have in common? They’ve all released double studio albums. Former front man of global superstar duo Savage Garden’s third effort puts him in the same category. His first album in 3 years, after the insightful but commercially overlooked “The Tension And The Spark”, Mr Hayes comes back into the limelight as a gay and happily married man.

Whilst his debut album “Spin” was the pop masterpiece, “The Tension And The Spark” had a much more somber and depressed tone to it, “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made” is toweringly cinematic and theatrical in sound and largely inspired by his relationship with his father and his experience of coming out.

As brave and ambitious as the project might be, it might prove to be a bit long and tedious but there are definitely some fine gems in here, and more than enough for you to pick and fill into a decent album.

Whilst “Who Would Have Thought”, “Step Into The Light” and “Words” were all lifted as promo singles, 3 official singles were lifted “On The Verge Of Something Beautiful” which is bold, urgent and daring. “Me, Myself and (i)” is an ode to 80s music whilst “Casey” is a song about his brother.

Hayes supported the album with “The Time Machine” tour internationally, and needless to say, he was utterly brilliant, and later did another stint of smaller and intimate venues called “The B-Side Tour” showcasing all the songs that weren’t previously performed on “The Time Machine” tour.

Whilst trying to sit through both discs might be a little too much to digest in one sitting, the set is also ballad heavy but there are definitely some real gems in the form of “Sing To Me”, “I Just Want You To Love Me”, “Words” and “The Only One”.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1:

1. A Fear Of Falling Under
2. Who Would Have Thought
3. Waking The Monster
4. How To Build A Time Machine
5. Casey
6. Step Into The Light
7. Sing To Me
8. A Conversation With God
9. The Sun Is Always Blinding Me
10. Listen All You People
11. The Only One
12. Bombs Up In My Face
13. The Great Big Disconnect

Disc 2:

1. The Future Holds A Lions Heart
2. On The Verge Of Something Wonderful
3. Neverland
4. Walk Away
5. Maybe
6. Me Myself and (i)
7. Lucky Town
8. I Just Want You To Love Me
9. Setting Sun
10. A Hundred Challenging Things A Boy Could Do
11. Words
12. The Tuning of Violins

Breathe, Sandy

呼吸 (2006) - 林憶蓮

Breathe Me (2006) - Sandy Lam

Released in August 2006, a short 9 months after her first Cantonese album in 10 years, Sandy returned to music scene with “Breathe Me”. She commenced the project before the Cantonese album, but put it aside for a while as she felt the album wasn’t complete or satisfactory, as an end result, it got released after, and features more songs than the usual 10 song format. 

Comprising of 14 tracks, it features 12 Mandarin tracks and 2 remixes, and it’s her first Mandarin album in 5 years, after 2001’s “Truly … Sandy”. The lead single was “一個人”, which is a disco cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle”. Other singles that followed include “相信”, “南方的風” and “面對面”.

In her 2007 “Live ‘07” concert, Sandy also performed “日子”, “詞不達意” and “玩伴” which highly raised the profile of these 3 album cuts and made us wonder why they weren’t plugged as singles to begin with. Another noteworthy track is the mid-tempo groove of the title track “呼吸”.

The production and sound is well polished and soothing to the ear. Although not her strongest nor is it her most commercially successful release in the last decade, this release stands alone as a classy well produced collection of adult contemporary pop from a well established artist with very little left to prove.

Tracklisting:

01. 一個人
02. 面對面
03. 日子
04. 詞不達意
05. 南方的風
06. 放開手
07. 箴言
08. 要不要
09. 日子(Q Mix)
10. 呼吸
11. 斷線
12. 相信
13. 玩伴
14. 一個人 (不安份 Mix)

Without Karen

如果沒有你 (2006) - 莫文蔚
If There's No You / Without You (2006) - Karen Mok

"Without You" was the first proper album that propelled singer/actress Karen Mok into my must listen to list. Her 11th full length studio album, and 7th Mandarin release overall, comes 3 years after her previous effort "X" which included the hit "Transparent / 看透".

Despite the scandily clad album cover, "Without You" is a cohesive album about feelings and the way we feel through our senses. There's a triple combo of ballads consisting of "如果沒有你 ", "手" and "AMPM" which runs with the theme of missing a significant other or wishing that they were around.


There's another triple combo of more rock influenced tracks, including the album opener "野", "24 Hrs" which appears in Mandarin and Cantonese is a cover of the English song "24" by Jem and "Fire".

Finally, there's also the happy feely songs in the form of "一口一口", "甜美生活" which is a cover of "Just A Little Bit" from Maria Mena and "薄荷" which is my favourite track off the album.

After all that, you're left with "一個人睡" which is another cover and the Jay Chou produced "天下大同" which also appears in two versions.

On the whole, it's a nicely sequenced album that explores all senses that varies greatly in genre. Nicely produced, pleasantly enjoyable, surprisingly memorable.

Tracklist:01. 野
02. 一口一口
03. 如果沒有你
04. 24 hrs
05. 一個人睡
06. 甜美生活
07. 手
08. 薄苛
09. AMPM
10. 天下大同
11. Fire
12. 24 hrs (粵)
13. 眾生緣 (粵)

The Best Of

The Best Of (2001) - The Corrs

Well, what a wonderful collection of songs all bundled up neatly in one CD. All the hits are here, while most are in it's initial album version format, some are edited, some are remixed, some are live versions to provide variation. Withs songs from each and every album they have released contributing to this album right up to the point of release, it was a very fair representation of the Corrs. Coming out of the their debut album "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" are "Runaway", "Forgiven, Not Forgotten", "Love To Love You", "The Right Time" and "Erin Shore" which is an unreleased instrumental track. From their "Talk On Corners" CD came "Only When I Sleep", "I Never Loved You Anyway", "Dreams", "What Can I Do" and "So Young". Out of their "Unplugged" CD came "Radio" and their REM cover "Everybody Hurts". And from their last CD "In Blue", came "Breathless", "Irresistible", "Give Me A Reason" and "All The Love In The World". Along with this best of CD comes two new tracks "Would You Be Happier" the leading single and "Make You Mine". If you are interested, try searching for the Australian edition of this CD as you get an extra track titled "Lifting Me" which brings the total to 19 tracks. But this collection is good enough.

Tracklisting:
01. Would You Be Happier
02. So Young (K-Klass Remix)
03. Runaway (Radio Edit)
04. Breathless
05. Radio (Unplugged)
06. What Can I Do (Tin Tin Out Remix)
07. The Right Time
08. I Never Loved You Anyway
09. Irresistible
10. Forgiven, Not Forgotten
11. Lough Erin Shore (Unplugged)
12. Only When I Sleep (Radio Edit)
13. Love To Love You (Radio Edit)
14. All The Love In The World (Remix)
15. Everybody Hurts (Unplugged)
16. Give Me A Reason
17. Dreams
18. Make You Mine
Australian Bonus Track
19. Lifting Me

Absolutely Shirley

Being Shirley On Stage Live 2006 (2006) - Shirley Kwan
關於我 關淑怡演唱會 Live 2006 (2006) - 關淑怡


After being noticeably absent from the stage for a decade, one can't help but be nervous for this quiet achieving diva. When you think of Shirley Kwan, a chain of other high profile female artists comes to mind, Sandy Lam, Faye Wong, Sally Yip and of course, the late, but great Anita Mui.

A dominant force in the early 90's, Shirley had released enough hits in a short 4-5 years to rival an average artists' music career. Appropriately titled "Being Shirley", the concert is precisely that, Shirley being who she is, doing what she does best.

The concert starts with 3 new tracks from her latest EP, but flows nicely through out weaving between stand out ballads such as "一切也願意", "患難建真情", "難得有情人", "繾綣星光下" and "一首獨唱的歌". Then there's Shirley's fast tracks including "Dela", "午夜狂奔", "製造迷夢", "夜迷宮" and "梵音".

Graceful and always a delight to watch, the audience can't help but be won over by her countless gushes of appreciation to her fans for sticking by her and for their patience. Shirley's vocals although a bit shaky to begin with, warms up and radiates perfectly by the time she gets to the 6th track and continues right through the end.

Though in her late 30s and already a single mother, she looks great, moves well and is an alround entertainer. Although you may not recognise the name, you will definitely recognise the songs. Give this one a spin, Shirley, despite a successful set of concerts, still remains to be one of the sweetest and surprising undiscovered hidden treasures.

Tracklisting:
 2CD set
Disc 1
01. 進化論
02. 帶我去跳舞
03. 關於我
04. 非愛不可 - 林一峰合唱
05. 雲上舞
06. 夢伴
07. 忘記他
08. 繾綣星光下
09. 假的戀愛
10. 逝去的傳奇
11. DELA
12. 午夜狂奔
13. 製造迷夢
14. 一切也願意
15. 梵音
16. 戀一世的愛
17. 夜迷宮

Disc 2
01. 愛恨纏綿
02. 仍是那麼深愛你
03. 當世界無玫瑰
04. 患難建真情
05. 星空下的戀人
06. 難得有情人
07. 叛逆漢子
08. 明年今日
09. 親愛的 - 陳奕迅合唱
10. So Sad - 草蜢合唱
11. 人生可有知己
12. 冬戀
13. 地老天荒
14. 一首獨唱的歌

3DVD set
Disc 1
01. Opening + 進化論
02. 帶我去跳舞
03. 關於我
04. 非愛不可-林一峰合唱
05. 雲上舞
06. 夢伴
07. 忘記他
08. 繾綣星光下
09. 假的戀愛
10. 逝去的傳奇
11. DELA
12. 午夜狂奔
13. 製造迷夢
14. 一切也願意

Disc 2
01. 梵音
02. 夜迷宮
03. 愛恨纏綿
04. 仍是那麼深愛你
05. 當世界無玫瑰
06. 患難建真情
07. 星空下的戀人
08. 難得有情人
09. 叛逆漢子
10. 親愛的-陳奕迅合唱
11. 鳴謝
12. 人生可有知己

Disc 3
01. 冬戀
02. 地老天荒
03. 一首獨唱的歌
Encore
04. 明年今日
05. 難得有情人
06. 繾綣星光下
Bonus Feature
07. A-Z (VT segment)
08. 我想說(VT segment)
09. Dedicated to... (VT segment) 

Love To Love

To Love (2003) - Faye Wong 
將愛 (2003) - 王菲

Amist all the unfortunate and somewhat tragic losses suffered by the Chinese music industry in 2003, there was at least some happy news that was worth singing about. Faye Wong quietly made her exit from the limelight after delivering her final commitments to EMI and took two years off, and her absence was definitely felt. Although I've always yearned for Faye to release another Cantonese album, since her last one was 1995's "Di Dar", hearing news that Faye's back with her first release with Sony finally put millions of Faye fans hearts at ease, the wait is over.

"To Love" is an incredible album, as with most of Faye's other artistically crafted records. Boasting 4 hit singles already merely 5 months after it's release, you know you're onto something good. "To Love / In The Name Of Love" is the album opener and leading single, not to mention also the fastest song on the album, is a fusion of everything. "Leave Nothing" is another unique piece of work. "Carousel", I've never quite understood why it was plugged so earlier on, but I guess it's due to the song's simplistic arrangement. "Passenger / Withered Flower" is beautiful as it is passively touching.

Personally, the first 6 tracks are the strongest, and my bet is that it won't be long before "Empty City", "Beautiful Mistake" & "Precious Sunshine" make it onto the radio as well. "To Love" is a strong indication of Faye's welcoming return, as it has sold a million copies in the first week. The queen with the crystal clear voice is back! 

Tracklisting:
01. 將愛
02. 空城
03. 不留
04. 美錯
05. 乘客
06. 陽寶
07. 旋木
08. 四月雪
09. 夜妝
10. 烟
11. MV
12. 假愛之名
13. 花事了