Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Translation for I-weekly No. 356 POP REVIEWS – Pg. 70
"Yan Xu" Shen Hua (the attempt at mixing Jerry's first 2 characters
of his Chinese name with the Chinese characters "legend" = Legend
continues)
Much anticipation. Because he is Jerry Yan. And this is his debut
solo album. Moreover it took 3 years. Meanwhile many rumours flew
about his bad attitude and threats to stop singing. Is this to
continue his legend or just a one-album star? It all depends on this
album.
Di Yi Ci (First Time) Jerry For You
Singer: Jerry Yan (Chinese)
Compared to his maiden singing efforts in "Yao Ding Ni" and "Wo Shi
Zhen De Zhen De Zhen De Heng Ai Ni", Jerry shows a great leap in
improvement in "Yi Gong Chi", breaking everyone's spectacles in the
meantime. The training efforts of 3 years immediately reflected the
change for the better.
Firstly, let's discuss his strengths. Jerry is full of emotions and
when he sings love ballads it touches people at an intimate level,
like loving words whispered at one's pillow. The producing team
seized on this strength and used the elegant sounds of the piano for
the composition of many tunes to show off gentle voice of Jerry,
like in "Yi Gong Chi".
Love ballads actually have many kinds and Jerry is more suitable to
go into the more mature, more touching ballads. However due to the
consideration of the commercial market, the team had to include
forcibly a fast tempo, wild song "I Want It Now" and the heavily
rhythmic "Fantasy". This instead revealed Jerry's weak voice power,
albeit through training, Jerry's voice range has increased. This
shows how important the choice of songs is. The Japanese-folksy
song "Ji Yi Ping Tu" is not very difficult and he sings it in a easy
and relaxed manner. "Di Xing Yin Li" and "Yi Gong Chi" have the same
characteristics as a favourite karaoke song with their easy love
ballad style; sweet and easily sung, they should have no problems to
become popular songs.
Sincerity and hard work are the greatest strength in Jerry's debut
solo album. One aspect worthy of mention is that, in this time where
singing cover songs is the norm, there are many original
compositions, numerous from local composers Li Shi Song and Li Wei
Song. To demonstrate his utmost sincerity, Jerry even tried his hand
at composing and his efforts are passable in "Wang Le Zhi Zi".
Honestly, this particular album has shown more care and work as
compared to the other pop idol albums launched recently. Jerry has
proved that he is not treating singing lightly and what he should do
in his next album is to delineate his market clearly. The best
example to refer to is: Leon Lai, before he changed his style, he
was a "Prince Charming" who sang love songs so touchingly.
Ratings: 3 records (high average)
Translated by jerryfan83 of onlyjerry (pls give the necessary credit
before pasting this translation elsewhere)
10:35 PM
