Chinese Music Blog

A much-anticipated album, Show Luo’s latest release 羅生門 [Luo Sheng Men] proves to be a worthy following to the success of his previous album Trendy Man. I’ve got to say, I was almost afraid the album might not live-up to all the hype… But I’m glad to be proved wrong. After listening to this album, it surely deserves all the regard it’s been getting! Here’s a brief account of what’s expected inside the 羅生門…

01 羅生門 Rashomon [Luo Sheng Men]
This first track is really something! For one, it’s not comparable to any of the dance music Show did in the past. It’s got that almost-familiar texture but with a generous amount of ‘Show touch’. It’s got that ambitious mix of mystery & sexy as adeptly portrayed by Show’s red-caped persona in the album cover.

02 愛的主场秀 The Leading Role [Ai De Zhu Qiang Xiu]
This next track is just as ‘energized’ the first. It’s got a fast beat & good energy. It’s a dance track that has that sort of same feel as 拿手絕活 towards the end.

03 生理時钟 Body Clock [Sheng Li Shi Zhong]
– I like the way how this song was put-together. It’s a ballad, but it’s not like any other slow song. In fact it’s got that not-so-slow beat that you can tap your fingers with… it kind of reminds me of ‘黑眼圈’, yet there’s a very distinct character that I just don’t have the right word for. I guess, you’ll just have to listen to it to get a good grasp of what I mean. It’s a really nice song for when you’re just lounging around.

04 習慣就好 I’ll Get Used To It [Xi Guan Jiu Hao]
As suggested in the title, this is a really slow-emote song… this is probably just me, but I’m kind of reminded of a movie/drama background music when I first heard this song. Like when a touching scene is playing then suddenly it would transition into an important pivotal moment in the story… yup, it’s something like that. I do not wish to be unfair, as the song is actually nice. It’s a touching ballad if not for the MV – which is also nice but leaves that bitter after-feel as 搞笑 [Gao Xiao] [ok so I’m one of those who reacts over a stupid MV – so sue me.. ].

05 危險的念头 A dangerous idea [Wei Xian De Nian Tou]
This is another ballad. It’s in the lines of 最後的風度 [Zui Hou De Feng Du] of Show Luo’s Show your dance album. It has that somewhat sad note – if you know the song 最後的風度, you’ll know what I mean.

06 愛瘋头 Head Over Heels [Ai Feng Tou]
I like the easy feel I get when listening to this song. It’s got that fast all-too-familiar beat, and after the 2 heart-pinching ballads, this is a very welcomed change. It’s got that happy-relaxed feel. It’s a delightful & easy-listening song.

07 愛不單行 You Won’t Be Alone [Ai Bu Dan Xing]
I’m admittedly a total-sucker for love songs [though, I don’t usually admit it quite openly ]. So, I guess it’s a given that I like this song. It’s a nice wallow song… Nice lyrics, nice melody & perfect interpretation [ok maybe not perfect, but it’s good enough to be ‘perfect’ for me].

08 搞定 Got You Nailed [Gao Ding]
This is really nice! From the just the intro, you can almost instantly feel it’s relaxed-happy mood. It’s upbeat but relaxed and very delightful & easy to listen to. I was a little concern on the ‘english title’ as it kind of send a ‘different meaning’ but the song is nothing of ‘that’ sense.

09 為什麼要在一起 Why Were We Together[Wei Shen Me Yao Zai Yi Qi]
This song’s got that old-school jazz-y ‘Motown-esque’ feel to it [excuse me for the non-word]. It’s something new & completely different from all other songs that Show did to date. None of the usual dance It sounds very relaxed & ‘cozy’ – it’s one music genre that I never imagined Show would embark into yet he did a pretty good job on this!

10 老實講 Truth [Lao Shi Jiang]
This song gives off the same feeling as track no# 7. I like how Show’s voice sounded in this song. How he was able to blend quite well the emotions with the melody & such. Even a non-fan would appreciate this song. It’s soft & really nice.

11 WOW – 羅志祥/蕭亞軒 duet with Elva Xiao
– This song was released way ahead of the entire album… I was almost expecting this to be the carrier single. A duet with Elva Hsiao – it’s a high-energy dance music that Show is very well-known for. As much as I like this song, it’s sounded more like Elva’s song featuring Show Luo. But I’m not complaining! It’s a far cry from their first collaboration 敗給你 – which was a really cute song. This time ‘cute’ is nowhere near this HOT number!

12 In Your Eyes – 羅志祥/楊丞琳 duet with Rainie Yang
– This song is part of the drama 海派甜心 [HPTX] – where Show Luo starred opposite Rainie Yang. It’s a lovey-dubey, cutesy duet… It’s not so bad but I just consider this track as the odd song in the entire tracklist. Like it’s more suitable to be in Rainie’s album than Show [no offense!]. it’s nice actually, but unlike 戀愛达人, this has gone a little notch too cute & commercial [?] – which made it stand apart from the rest of the songs in this album. [don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like Rainie or stuff. In fact I think Rainie’s cute].

As a whole, I’d have to say Show Luo never fails to impress his audience. Having listened to all, and I mean ALL, of his previous albums – he just gets better & better. It still be early to say this but I don’t think it would be too much of a surprise if 羅生門 [Rashomon] out-performs 潮男正傳 Trendy Man. And that’s putting it mildly Best of Luck to 羅志祥!!!