Thursday January 27, 2005

A class act

Compiled by MELODY L. GOH

Various Artistes
The Phantom of the Opera: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Sony BMG

ONE of the best and true film adaptations of a musical, The Phantom of the Opera just can’t be missed. The acting from Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum is superb, and the singing even better. The soundtrack contains almost all the songs that are in the film, including an original track entitled Learn to Be Lonely performed by Minnie Driver, who plays a has-been diva. If you play the soundtrack, you’d get the gist of what The Phantom of the Opera is about. Memorable songs from the album include Think of Me, Angel of Music, The Music of the Night, All I Ask of You, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and the title track, of course.

Various Artistes
Soundtrack to Kung Fu Hustle
Sony BMG

AH, just the album to play during the festive Chinese New Year season. This album has 33 tracks and is as hilarious as the film that starred funnyman Steven Chow Sing Chi. Some of the tracks are performed by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, while others are performed by some of the film’s actors themselves. There are also the popular 1970s numbers Kung Fu Fighting (by Carl Douglas) and The Hustle (Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony), which simply make this a fun album.

Various Artistes
Elektra: The Album
Sony BMG

THE movie may not be as good as the comic, but at least it’s better than the film where Elektra the character first appeared. As expected, the soundtrack album includes a lot of rockin’ songs, like Never There (She Stabs) by Strata, Thousand Mile Wish by FInger Eleven and Angels with Even Filthier Souls by Hawthorne Heights. Don’t worry if these bands don’t sound familiar because songs from your everyday rock bands like Evanescence, Jet, The Donnas and Switchfoot are also included.

Various Artistes
Retro R&B
Sony BMG

THE keyword these days in music is retro. This compilation album certainly has it’s fair share of retro R&B tunes, although some like Diana King’s Shy Guy is hardly classified as “retro”. Still, the mix in this album is pretty good, and fun too. Contains 15 tracks such as Back to Life (Soul II Soul), Lovely Day (Bill Withers), Rock Steady (The Whispers), Don’t Look Any Further (Dennis Edwards featuring Siedah Garrett) and Word Up (Cameo).

Various Artistes
Mega Dance: The Hottest Dance Hits from 1990-1999
Warner Music

THE cover might look the same as the other earlier compilation, but the contents are very much different. For one thing, this album contains two discs filled with dance tracks from the 1990s. There’s the unforgettable Macarena by Los Del Rio, the cheesy All That She Wants by Ace of Base, the even cheesier Lemon Tree by Garden of Eden featuring Fool’s Garden (it’s a remix version) and other amazingly tacky tracks like Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice), Mr. Vain (Culture Beat), Short Dick Man (Gillette), Wannabe (Spice Girls) and Tubthumping (Chumbawamba).

Various Artistes
Hot Chocolate
EMI

TOO young to remember the Macarena? Then perhaps this compilation suits you better. Hot Chocolate lists a collection of tracks currently heard and seen on radio stations and music television channels. There are 19 tracks on the CD including songs like Tipsy by J-Kwon, Superstar by Jamelia, Chocolate by Kylie Minogue, Milkshake by Kelis and I Like That by Houston featuring Chingy and I-20. On the VCD (yes, there’s a VCD included) are 13 music videos including Superstar, Chocolate, Milkshake and Smooth Sailin’ by Roscoe.

Various Artistes
Reggae Love Songs
InterGlobal Music

REGGAE fan? If you are a fan or trying to be one – check out this double-disc compilation album. It has 36 classic love songs, all done reggae style by accomplished reggae artistes. There’s The Tide Is High by John Holt, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Marcia Griffiths, Angel (Of the Morning) by Pat Kelly, Give and Take by The Pioneers, Ain’t No Sunshine by Horace Andy and Don’t Rock My Boat (Satisfy My Soul) by Bob Marley & The Wailers.

Various Artistes
No.1 Hits 70s-90s
IO Music

THIS double-disc set is divided into two categories – pop and ballad. Disc one features all-time favourite ballads like I’ve Never Been to Me (Charlene), I’m Not in Love (10CC), Up Where We Belong (Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes), You Make Me Feel Brand New (The Stylistics) and Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You (Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack). Disc two contains all pop songs that some of us were supposed to have liked years ago. This includes Luka (Suzanne Vega), Call Me (Blondie), Karma Chameleon (Culture Club), Reflex (Duran Duran), Never Ending Story (Limahl) and I Love Your Smile (Shanice).

eCentral

A class act