filipino gem

the buka puasa was met with heavy rain today. it choked the kl and pj traffic entirely. the traffic jam was so horrendous that i couldn't help but find solace in my music. for the last few days, my player has been spinning aiza seguerra's "open arms". i must admit, i don't agree with the song selection (inclusion of don mclean's overdone "vincent" is not to my taste) but i find a couple of tracks hugely impressive.

"persistent rain" was so perfect for the situation i was in today - getting stucked in the traffic jam while the rain poured mercilessly on my car's windscreen - though i have no romantic stories to tell you. this is the best track of the album, one that i can listen over and over again.

journey's "open arms" (circa 1970s) is done with good taste. a lot of young generation like this track, from what i could find with my google. other good tracks include "i will be there for you", "longer" (dan fogelberg) and azra's own beautiful tagalog love song "para lang so 'yo".

little did i know that this is the number 1 best-selling audiophile album in singapore. aiza is already a household name in philipines, now it is time malaysians discover her.

aiza has a very clear, pristine and angelic voice. she is diction-perfect and pitch-perfect. it is very hard to find this kind of western-sounding singers in malaysia. to me, philipines has the most gifted singers in this region. they way they sing, they just don't sound like asians.

s2s is a s'pore label started by a japanese. judging from the excellent recording quality of this cd, we can expect more gems from this label.

seriously, i would love to produce an album like this.

heartily recommended, if only the song selection can be better.

sonics: 8/10
music: 8/10