playboy strikes back

caveat emptor - not many of my friends like teddy robin's voice but after listening to this album, they asked me to buy for them!

last saturday in s'pore, i must have grabbed the only copy of this cd in the entire country cos it is nowhere to be found, except in roxy music in adelphi. apologies to those who had asked me to buy for them.

teddy robin is a retired cantopop singer who made it good in the 70s with his own band, the "playboy". cantopop in the 70s was much simpler and melodious than cantopop today. this is not a comeback album, more like music net's (the recording label) invitation for teddy to do an audiophile album. and admittedly, teddy did a good job.

playing teddy robin's cd proves to be a challenge to my system, with its low recording level and potent dynamics (superb drum works!), i have to blast my preamp's volume way past 12 o'clock to have any semblance of dynamic. it seems to be sucking so much juices from my tube power amp, i am not sure if this is caused by the way the recording engineer do the miking.

this is a serious production that engages top-class musicians and that include laurence juber, the guitarist for paul mccartney & wings and some of hong kong's who's who such as the always reliable eugene pao, jazz maestro ted lo, drummer donald ashley and roel garcia. without doubt, superb musicianship and arrangement for you listeners.

first, the imaging is first-class, with palpability than you can touch. there is plenty of air too, making the whole event very live-sounding. the producer engaged 6 different drummers for the job and the result is magnificent with the drummer(s) stealing the limelight in many tracks. outstanding tracks are track #1, track #6, track #8 and track #9.

as much as it sounds great on my system, i would think it would be stellar in a 300-watt solid-state system with dynamic cone speaker. i have heard it in the RM200K avantgarde grosso mezzo horn speaker and the bass (drum) is lighting fast, much faster than my maggie pushed by tube amp. (note, that's what i meant by "loading" of the bass in my post about the spectral setup) i am looking forward to hear this cd being played in much more elaborate (read: high-end) settings.

as to robin's singing, what's there to complain? he is so effortlessly natural and musical. you may not like his voice but you cannot deny his sincerity.

this to me is simply the most live-sounding and kick-ass audiophile cd i have heard in recent years. must buy!