Yo-Yo Ma and Friends: Songs of Joy & Peace

First published in New Sunday Times
28th December 2008

Music Review: Yo-Yo Ma and Friends: Songs of Joy & Peace (Sony Music)
MAX KOH



I ALMOST leapt with joy when I saw this album. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has enlisted some of the most accomplished musicians today — including Edgar Meyer, Chris Botti, Alison Krauss, James Taylor, Chris Thile, Dave Brubeck and Diana Krall — for a holiday album focusing on joy and peace. How could I not be excited?

The songs may not be familiar at first glance, but they sure put you in the spirit with its heart-warming tunes and impeccable musicianship.

From the classical opener Dona Nobis Pacem, Yo-Yo Ma takes you on a wonderful sonic journey through different genres; Celtic (with fiddler Natalie MacMaster on A Christmas Jig), jazz (with Diana Krall on You Couldn’t Be Cuter and Chris Botti on My Favourite Things), bluegrass (with Alison Krauss on The Wexford Carol), Latin (with guitarists Sergio Assad and Odair Assad on Vassourinhas) and Eastern (with the Silk Road Ensemble for Kuai Le).

However, the songs are still tied by a common theme which makes the album a thoroughly enjoyable listening affair as it sheds light on other holidays around the world — Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and so on.

Personal favourites include Yo-Yo Ma with Dave Brubeck on the jazzed-up Joy To The World and the variation of Dona Nobis Pacem with bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolin player Christ Thile.

Songs of Joy & Peace offers lovely compositions. At RM25.90, it’s a great buy.

Backstreet Boys: Unbreakable (gua.com.my)

by Max Koh

19 Feb 2008

Album:

Unbreakable

Discography:

Backstreet Boys (1996)

Backstreet’s Back (1997)

Millennium (1999)

Black & Blue (2000)

Never Gone (2005)

Futher Listening:

Take That 

Westlife

Boyzone

911

98 Degrees

Genre:

Pop

Review: 

Before Britney, Eminem, Simple Plan or even Avril Lavigne came to inspire the impressionable pre-teens and teens demographic in the late 90s, kids listened to boybands.

Yup, there was a time when 911, Boyzone, Take That and 98 Degrees ruled the airwaves. When teenyboppers screamed and flailed their hands at the sight of boy-idols such as Nick Carter, Ronan Keating, Nick Lachey … and plastered their mugs all over the bedroom walls.

“I’ll never break your heart…” Ah, yes, when lyrics were all about sweet, innocent love. Nowadays, it seems like every hit song has a dubious reference to body parts or objectifies women as sex objects (“Will you shut and drive while you check my lovely lady lumps?”) 

But I digress.

While most boybands have long expired their shelf life (anyone remember Five or Code Red?), Backstreet Boys continues to churn out new materials for their faithful but now slightly older fans.

And thankfully, just like their loyal fans, the boys too have grown, evident from their sixth studio album “Unbreakable”.

Their songs may still revolve around love and its various manifestations: unrequited love (“Inconsolable”, “Everything But Mine”, “One In A Million”), lost love (“Trouble Is”, “Panic”), true love (“Unmistakable”, “Helpless When She Smiles”) but they have never been delivered with so much panache until now.

While the music veers towards the pop rock genre that is strangely refreshing with all the Timberland/Neptunes-produced ditties making their rounds nowadays; the boys have never sounded so confident.

It’s nothing groundbreaking, but “Unbreakable” should satiate old fans that still have a crush on the boys (sans Kevin Richardson who left the group). I don’t think it would attract any new younger fans though.

Backstreet’s back but they’re just all right. Their fans may no longer be teenagers, but I suspect a lot of working adults would play this during their daily commute to work.

And blimey, if they still have their posters plastered on their bedroom walls!

What others say … 

“There are only four of them now, and two are in their thirties, but they are still Boys, and they are more thoroughly bland and cheesy than ever.” Rolling Stones

“Minor complaints aside, pound for pound and song for song, “Unbreakable” may just be the best pop album of the year so far.” Sputnik Music

Viva La Vida album review (Sunday People)

Published in Sunday People, NSUNT
31 August 2008




Coldplay: Viva La Vida (Universal Music)

QUALMS about Coldplay’s newest album straying too far into the experimental zone can be quashed as the band retains much of its distinct style heard in the previous albums.

The band has opted for a more atmospheric album in Viva La Vida with layers of sonic texture. Unlike X&Y which was a bit too polished, this album is a delectable treat to the ears.

Thanks goes to producer Brian Eno who helped Coldplay engineer their new sound. Eno is responsible for projecting U2 to superstardom with its album Joshua Tree 20 years ago. He’s done it again for Coldplay.

The title track opens with a strings section and a marching beat which reveals a new side of the band.

Lead single Violet Hill, currently on air, hints at venturing into a more spacious sonic landscape but holds on to that melody hook that fans love.

Cemeteries of London, a song that is as bleak as its subject, is a modern lamentation of gloom and spiritual lapse in the city. Fans will hear Coldplay’s familiar shimmering guitar works here.

Lost! might catch listeners by surprise with its organ pipes but as lead vocalist Chris Martin begins to sing, one can’t help but be mesmerised.

Highlights on the album include Strawberry Swing with its sunny disposition and Yes with a Middle Eastern-flavoured strings section.

In the age of Itunes and Mp3s, Coldplay teaches us again the joy of listening to an album from start to finish. All 10 songs on this album is a gem. Viva La Vida! — By MAX KOH

Jordin Sparks review (gua.com.my)

Originally published in gua.com.my
9 February 2008



by Max Koh

Album:
Jordin Sparks

Ratings:
6/10

Genre:
Pop, R&B

Review:
We were all shocked when Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee were dropped like hot cakes from their record labels. Okay, maybe not so shocked. We knew that they weren't doing well on the charts.

While they serve as sober reminders that winning ‘American Idol' does not guarantee sales success (Hicks sold less than 1 million records while Studdard sold a disappointing 230,000 copies), attention has shifted to last year's winner Jordin Sparks who has just released her debut album.

Fans will be pleased to know that everything we loved about Sparks is here: big vocals, wholesome image, and her infectious bubbly personality that was such an appeal during the show. (the surly Simon Cowell deems it as “being too cute.” Whatever, Simon.)

Unlike Daughty's soaring debut, “Jordin Sparks” has been climbing up the charts slowly but surely. It reached the Top 10 on the US charts and it appears that Sparks is here to stay for a while.

Lead single “Tattoo” is infectious but is not the best track on the album. It merely hints at the R&B/electronica/pop elements that have been stylised to suit her youthful voice.

“Now You Tell Me” is a soaring ballad and her duet with Chris Brown on “No Air” is a pretty upbeat ditty that is poised for greatness.

Elsewhere, you'll find no fault in the easy-listening “Next To You” and “Just For The Record” where her saccharine vocals come to the fore.

The standout must be “Permanent Monday” which sounds like a cross between a power ballad and an indie rock song. It is easily the best track on the album and has a stirring string section.

The album could have been excellent if not for the forgettable electronica-pop numbers like “Freeze” and “Shy Boy” which are not that appealing, I must say.

All in all, this is still one of the better debuts to have come out of the show. Whether she has the staying power to be a Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood remains a question that only time can answer.

What others say …
“Jordin may still be a juvie, but she's a bona fide pop star. She earns her props as convincingly here as she did on TV.” Amazon.com

“Despite the misfires, Jordin Sparks is as much effervescent fun as any post-Idol bow.” Entertainment Weekly