ShuiMei
01-02-2007, 08:49 AM
Will Liu Geng Hong released his debut solo album Rainbow Heaven in late 2005 and also so happens to be Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou's best friend. Observant fans of the Taiwanese king of R&B may recognize Geng Hong from several of Jay's MVs including The Eight Dimensions' "Zui Hou De Zhan Yi" and November Chopin's "Feng," he also had a small part in the Initial D Live Action and has wrote the lyrics for several of Jay's songs in the past. While no stranger to the entertainment industry, this is Geng Hong's first foray into solo territory.
As expected, a lot of people have been giving Geng Hong strife for relying too much on Jay as an artist, but I think that's an unfair assessment, it takes more than having songs composed by Jay Chou to be a talented and well-received artist. People need to give Geng Hong more credit and give his album a good listen, I think they will find that his first offering is a fairly enjoyable effort with some refreshing, dynamic songs.
The album starts off strong with the title track "Cai Hong Tian Tang" as the opening song. It's a beautiful piano ballad that Geng Hong composed and its MV is the companion piece to Jay Chou's "Feng." Geng Hong's vocals aren't anything to get too excited over, they're rather subdued in this song. If he were more emotive I feel this song could have been more dynamic, but I must admit the composition and arrangement of the song is great. Essentially, his singing does nothing to take away from the song but it also does little to add to it.
The following track, "Shi Luo De Ru Chang Juan" is a power ballad composed by Jay Chou with a definite flair for the dramatic. The beginning of the song is slightly haunting, as is the piano melody that follows throughout the song. Geng Hong's vocals aren't subdued here, if anything they sound a bit tortured, which works very well with this song. The arrangement here is lovely as well, plenty of layered instrumentation, and I find the rock flavour refreshing, it's a solid song that he manages to work very well.
"Shi Luo De Ru Chang Juan" is followed by "Xin Dong Xin Tong," a Jay Chou-composed duet with American-Born-Chinese songstress Evonne Hsu. The ballad itself is pretty and works well, it's nothing ground-breaking, but it does its job as Geng Hong and Evonne compliment each other fairly well, with neither overpowering or outshining the other. I don't usually care for this type of song but it's a pleasant duet with a catchy chorus.
"Xin Ling Jiao Zhan" is easily my favourite song off the album. It's dynamic, dramatic and all sorts of gorgeous, and as a power ballad it even outshines the preceeding "Shi Luo De Ru Chang." The rapping interlaced with the haunting piano melody screams "Jay Chou," it's just so him, but Geng Hong's execution reminds us that it's also not as he takes this song and tries to make it his own the best he possibly can, luckily with excellent results.
Admittedly his rapping style here is fairly similar to Jay's, though lacking in the self-assured attitude that Jay's honed over the years, it's a bit more hollow sounding; however, the chorus is just gorgeous: his falsetto makes me melt every time I hear this song. Once again, the composition and arrangement is just amazing, but Geng Hong makes a wonderful effort in his execution. As I said before, I find the rock-inspired sound of these songs rather refreshing, I find that there isn't enough of it in mainstream Chinese/Taiwanese music, and Geng Hong does it fairly well.
However after this point, I feel the album sort of stalls, "Xing Ling Jiao Zhan" is followed by the mellow ballad "Bu Shuo." It's a pretty acoustic ballad, enjoyable but nothing especially memorable. "Zhi Dao Zui Hou" is an electropop dance track that I quite honestly have a hard time getting through, don't particularly care for, and am eager to skip, but luckily it's followed by the unapologetically sweet pop track "Yin Wei You Ni." Unlike some of the other pop/ballad tracks, his inoffensive voice compliments the song's innocence and simplicity.
A pleasant surprise, the next track is a rearranged, rerecorded version of "Qing Hua" which I believe Jay wrote for Geng Hong several years ago for a drama he was in? Anyways, this song really allows him to use his voice to the best of his ability. It's richer, more refined and better performed than the original version by far, which sounded something like Jay Chou singing underwater, or maybe that was just my copy of it? Regardless, I loved the song the first time I heard it a few years ago and I love it even more now, Geng Hong's managed to make it his own. It's a beautiful song that's really managed to flesh itself out for this album.
"Qing Hua" is then followed by "Xi Yu Chuan Qi," a folksy electric rock track. Not my favourite song on the album, but it's unique, and I like how Geng Hong tries to change up his voice in the final verse. It's a different kind of rock flavour than the other rock-inspired tracks on the album, but I find the style of songs like the next song "Chuang Shi Ji," more enjoyable. It's sort of in the same rock-charged power ballad style as the beginning of the album, but it's more hard and dark than it is haunting or ballad-like. Actually, I find this singing style for Geng Hong more engaging and dynamic than his ballad singing.
Everything then comes full circle as the album comes to a close the same way it opened, with another piano ballad, this time, "Yi Kao." It's prettily arranged, and Geng Hong even throws in some English, much to my own horror. Nothing particularly memorable or outstanding in my opinion, though to be fair it is only a "demo," but I don't care that much for ballads anyway [This is where I would insert a collective gasp from Chinese people everywhere]
With several Jay Chou composed songs, this album can be considered to be just as much as a Jay Chou lovefest as it is a debut of his best friend's solo efforts. Just as you can't really speak of Nan Quan Mama's music without Jay's name popping up, the very same could be said for this album: Jay's imprint is distinctly here. The production quality of this album is amazing, the arrangements are beautifully layered and you can basically smell Jay off some of the songs. Much like how Jay once composed songs for Jolin Tsai, I feel that when it came to writing songs for Geng Hong, he did so with the utmost of care and consideration for his friend's vocals, creating music that would compliment them and let their strengths shine: this album is a testament to Jay's composing prowess.
As a singer, Geng Hong is nothing remarkable but his effort should not go unnoticed as he manages, or at least tries to make his voice work with the variety of songs and genres he crosses throughout the album. Though he appears to have some sort of penchant for ballads, to be honest I feel his voice does little to enhance their compositions and arrangements, he should try to be more emotive and use what he can of his range as he does in "Qing Hua" (Track 8).
It is actually within those dark, dramatic rock-charged tracks like "Chuang Shi Ji" (Track 10) that he really manages to stand out in my mind. There are more than enough ballad singers in the Chinese music industry, it's when someone does something different that they stand out and catch my attention, and Geng Hong has managed to spark my interest. Honestly, I feel that they are the real gems off this album, save the title track and the refined version of "Qing Hua," (Track 8).
Being best friends with one of the most influential music artists of our time can really be both a plague and a blessing on an emerging solo artist. Jay composed some wonderful songs for Geng Hong on this album, some arguably more innovative and interesting than what we found on his own album November Chopin (Admittedly, this album also made me curious to hear more rock-charged music in Jay's own personal repertoire). Nevertheless, with such expertly arranged and composed music, and with much aid from his bigger-than-life best friend, Geng Hong is an easy target for critics, there is and will continue to be pressure for Geng Hong to standout from Jay's shadow. However, much like it took Nan Quan Mama a good while before starting to come into their own, I don't see why Geng Hong couldn't do the same.
Ultimately, I found this album very enjoyable, nothing ground-breaking, but a fine solo effort that should not be overlooked as a sort of Jay Chou pet project. When I first heard this album I was actually rather impressed and found myself wondering at the end of 2005 why Jay couldn't have put songs like "Xin Ling Jiao Zhan," (Track 4) on the ballad-congested November Chopin. Let me close by saying that there are some quality songs on this album, and their quality is not simply by result of whose name is on the song credits. I honestly liked this album and look forward to any future solo work that Geng Hong may release in the future.
Favourite Tracks: Xin Ling Jiao Zhan (Track 4), Chuang Shi Ji (Track 10), Qing Hua (Track 8), Shi Luo De Ru Chang Juan (Track 2), Cai Hong Tian Tang(Track 1), Xin Dong Xin Tong (Track 3)
As expected, a lot of people have been giving Geng Hong strife for relying too much on Jay as an artist, but I think that's an unfair assessment, it takes more than having songs composed by Jay Chou to be a talented and well-received artist. People need to give Geng Hong more credit and give his album a good listen, I think they will find that his first offering is a fairly enjoyable effort with some refreshing, dynamic songs.
The album starts off strong with the title track "Cai Hong Tian Tang" as the opening song. It's a beautiful piano ballad that Geng Hong composed and its MV is the companion piece to Jay Chou's "Feng." Geng Hong's vocals aren't anything to get too excited over, they're rather subdued in this song. If he were more emotive I feel this song could have been more dynamic, but I must admit the composition and arrangement of the song is great. Essentially, his singing does nothing to take away from the song but it also does little to add to it.
The following track, "Shi Luo De Ru Chang Juan" is a power ballad composed by Jay Chou with a definite flair for the dramatic. The beginning of the song is slightly haunting, as is the piano melody that follows throughout the song. Geng Hong's vocals aren't subdued here, if anything they sound a bit tortured, which works very well with this song. The arrangement here is lovely as well, plenty of layered instrumentation, and I find the rock flavour refreshing, it's a solid song that he manages to work very well.
"Shi Luo De Ru Chang Juan" is followed by "Xin Dong Xin Tong," a Jay Chou-composed duet with American-Born-Chinese songstress Evonne Hsu. The ballad itself is pretty and works well, it's nothing ground-breaking, but it does its job as Geng Hong and Evonne compliment each other fairly well, with neither overpowering or outshining the other. I don't usually care for this type of song but it's a pleasant duet with a catchy chorus.
"Xin Ling Jiao Zhan" is easily my favourite song off the album. It's dynamic, dramatic and all sorts of gorgeous, and as a power ballad it even outshines the preceeding "Shi Luo De Ru Chang." The rapping interlaced with the haunting piano melody screams "Jay Chou," it's just so him, but Geng Hong's execution reminds us that it's also not as he takes this song and tries to make it his own the best he possibly can, luckily with excellent results.
Admittedly his rapping style here is fairly similar to Jay's, though lacking in the self-assured attitude that Jay's honed over the years, it's a bit more hollow sounding; however, the chorus is just gorgeous: his falsetto makes me melt every time I hear this song. Once again, the composition and arrangement is just amazing, but Geng Hong makes a wonderful effort in his execution. As I said before, I find the rock-inspired sound of these songs rather refreshing, I find that there isn't enough of it in mainstream Chinese/Taiwanese music, and Geng Hong does it fairly well.
However after this point, I feel the album sort of stalls, "Xing Ling Jiao Zhan" is followed by the mellow ballad "Bu Shuo." It's a pretty acoustic ballad, enjoyable but nothing especially memorable. "Zhi Dao Zui Hou" is an electropop dance track that I quite honestly have a hard time getting through, don't particularly care for, and am eager to skip, but luckily it's followed by the unapologetically sweet pop track "Yin Wei You Ni." Unlike some of the other pop/ballad tracks, his inoffensive voice compliments the song's innocence and simplicity.
A pleasant surprise, the next track is a rearranged, rerecorded version of "Qing Hua" which I believe Jay wrote for Geng Hong several years ago for a drama he was in? Anyways, this song really allows him to use his voice to the best of his ability. It's richer, more refined and better performed than the original version by far, which sounded something like Jay Chou singing underwater, or maybe that was just my copy of it? Regardless, I loved the song the first time I heard it a few years ago and I love it even more now, Geng Hong's managed to make it his own. It's a beautiful song that's really managed to flesh itself out for this album.
"Qing Hua" is then followed by "Xi Yu Chuan Qi," a folksy electric rock track. Not my favourite song on the album, but it's unique, and I like how Geng Hong tries to change up his voice in the final verse. It's a different kind of rock flavour than the other rock-inspired tracks on the album, but I find the style of songs like the next song "Chuang Shi Ji," more enjoyable. It's sort of in the same rock-charged power ballad style as the beginning of the album, but it's more hard and dark than it is haunting or ballad-like. Actually, I find this singing style for Geng Hong more engaging and dynamic than his ballad singing.
Everything then comes full circle as the album comes to a close the same way it opened, with another piano ballad, this time, "Yi Kao." It's prettily arranged, and Geng Hong even throws in some English, much to my own horror. Nothing particularly memorable or outstanding in my opinion, though to be fair it is only a "demo," but I don't care that much for ballads anyway [This is where I would insert a collective gasp from Chinese people everywhere]
With several Jay Chou composed songs, this album can be considered to be just as much as a Jay Chou lovefest as it is a debut of his best friend's solo efforts. Just as you can't really speak of Nan Quan Mama's music without Jay's name popping up, the very same could be said for this album: Jay's imprint is distinctly here. The production quality of this album is amazing, the arrangements are beautifully layered and you can basically smell Jay off some of the songs. Much like how Jay once composed songs for Jolin Tsai, I feel that when it came to writing songs for Geng Hong, he did so with the utmost of care and consideration for his friend's vocals, creating music that would compliment them and let their strengths shine: this album is a testament to Jay's composing prowess.
As a singer, Geng Hong is nothing remarkable but his effort should not go unnoticed as he manages, or at least tries to make his voice work with the variety of songs and genres he crosses throughout the album. Though he appears to have some sort of penchant for ballads, to be honest I feel his voice does little to enhance their compositions and arrangements, he should try to be more emotive and use what he can of his range as he does in "Qing Hua" (Track 8).
It is actually within those dark, dramatic rock-charged tracks like "Chuang Shi Ji" (Track 10) that he really manages to stand out in my mind. There are more than enough ballad singers in the Chinese music industry, it's when someone does something different that they stand out and catch my attention, and Geng Hong has managed to spark my interest. Honestly, I feel that they are the real gems off this album, save the title track and the refined version of "Qing Hua," (Track 8).
Being best friends with one of the most influential music artists of our time can really be both a plague and a blessing on an emerging solo artist. Jay composed some wonderful songs for Geng Hong on this album, some arguably more innovative and interesting than what we found on his own album November Chopin (Admittedly, this album also made me curious to hear more rock-charged music in Jay's own personal repertoire). Nevertheless, with such expertly arranged and composed music, and with much aid from his bigger-than-life best friend, Geng Hong is an easy target for critics, there is and will continue to be pressure for Geng Hong to standout from Jay's shadow. However, much like it took Nan Quan Mama a good while before starting to come into their own, I don't see why Geng Hong couldn't do the same.
Ultimately, I found this album very enjoyable, nothing ground-breaking, but a fine solo effort that should not be overlooked as a sort of Jay Chou pet project. When I first heard this album I was actually rather impressed and found myself wondering at the end of 2005 why Jay couldn't have put songs like "Xin Ling Jiao Zhan," (Track 4) on the ballad-congested November Chopin. Let me close by saying that there are some quality songs on this album, and their quality is not simply by result of whose name is on the song credits. I honestly liked this album and look forward to any future solo work that Geng Hong may release in the future.
Favourite Tracks: Xin Ling Jiao Zhan (Track 4), Chuang Shi Ji (Track 10), Qing Hua (Track 8), Shi Luo De Ru Chang Juan (Track 2), Cai Hong Tian Tang(Track 1), Xin Dong Xin Tong (Track 3)