Playlist Tribute: Remembering the legendary stars of yesteryear today – Part 3, Teresa Teng & Roman Tam

Image credit: heartflyer.com

So welcome back to you and me, sometimes real life not in the blogosphere really does take its toll on you. But this time, I've brought you the final video playlist for the tribute series - the last part in the trilogy. I've decided to focus on the late stars Teresa Teng and Roman Tam. It is, of course a well-known fact that songbird Teresea was not originally from Hong Kong but, I believe she had a lot of affinity with the Pearl of the East. It wouldn't be too much if HK claimed her as one of their own precious pearls, since her music had such a great influence on this small island. Born in Taiwan, and gifted with a clear and sweet voice, she managed to conquer much of the world where Chinese people resided. She did this by learning to sing and speak in several other languages, such as Japanese, Indonesian, Cantonese and English, in addition to her mother tongue, Mandarin. Her voice has inspired many, including 'Heavenly Queen', Faye Wong with her clarity and high, pure-sounding tones. She was definitely one of a handful of artists that possessed great vocal technique, an extremely clear voice and the ability to interpret lyrics in her own way.

Image credit: wikipedia.org

As for Roman, he was known for paying careful attention to the pronunciation and enunciation of lyrics to produce a clear song. He believed it was important to get the underlying message of the song across. I've gotta agree with the man. Although I do tend to node my head with the other people who say that Roman sung his lyrics, a little too clearly. But you know, sometimes more is actually more, and better than less, especially for Cantonese. Get the tone wrong and the meaning changes. Sure, Mandarin has tones too but the number in Cantonese absolutely outweighs what Mandarin has. Along with the variety of combinations of extra sounds, well you can see where this is going. Singing badly in Cantonese is at least ten times worse than hearing someone with a fobby Engrish accent singing in English. It's worse than someone with a gweilo accent singing in Mandarin, in my opinion. Alright, rant over and back into tribute mode.

Roman actually achieved and contributed a lot in the making of TVB history - his classic duets with 70's-80's diva Jenny Tseng for the LOTCH trilogy and theme songs for several other classic series like 'The Romantic Swordsman'. Sometimes listening with the ears is not enough, in these cases - his songs fueled the emotions you felt when you watched the series. But for this playlist, I've featured songs that were from none of these TV dramas. Surprise? Not exactly. I wanted to draw attention to his dazzling character, which can only be evidenced by live stage performances and feature music videos.

Well again, it's been a long time coming with this mini-tribute series, so I do hope you take the time to enjoy. And let us not forget the great works of these super artists, since they were surely superstars. I'll leave you with a quote from the song, "Superstar: to wrap up:

"When you see the sparkling stars in the sky,

I pray that you keep a place for me in your heart. " 

Playlist here (sorry, some users had disabled the embed feature for their videos, so you'll just have to watch it by clicking the link on Youtube. Boo-hoo. Opens in a new window! And for you people who like to play singles - down below...)

1. "Goodbye My Love"
2. "The Moon Represents My Heart"
3. "Forget Him"
4. "Strolling the Road of Life"
5. "Night-Blooming Cestrum"
6.  "Within the Laser"
7. "How Many Trials and Tribulations?"
8. "A Great Song For You"
9. "Carmen"
10. "Tomorrow, In A Place Faraway"

Playlist Tribute: Remembering the legendary stars of yesteryear today – Part 1, Leslie Cheung & Anita Mui

As you all probably know, it’s been 10 years since the HK entertainment industry lost one of its icons, Leslie Cheung. Of course, many of his fans gathered to commemorate him by folding over 190,000 paper cranes in honor of his memory, which really shows that his impact was more far-reaching than HK alone (you can check out this clip where you can read some of his fans heartfelt letters - they really are quite touching). Even actor Gregory Charles Rivers (the guy that played/plays just about every foreign European in every TVB drama) has his Chinese name based on Leslie’s (Ho Kwok-Wing).

No one, currently in the industry possessed so much charm, charisma, good looks, sound and talent like Leslie did. Gor gor, in my opinion had one of the BEST voices that I have every heard, not just of HK artists but overall. Leslie’s voice is not overly rich, yet masculine and clear. None of that whiny squealing or monotone stuff that a lot of other artists do these days. And zounds! Watching short clips of those who had met Leslie in person, just average Joes, no celebs, they all gave the same response. That he was handsome (no doubt) and very nice. It sounds like Leslie was quite a joy to be around, by the looks of things.

Now I’ve made a little playlist as a small tribute (and no, I didn’t get to watch the tribute concert because there was no broadcast for me – I might see if I can watch/find a link online and share) Just found the tribute here. As usual, I’m late on the ball but as always my intentions are good (heheh!). As the years have gone by, we’ve lost not only stars like Leslie, but treasures like Anita Mui, Teresa Teng, Danny Chan, Wong Ka-Kui and Roman Tam. And quite recently, we have also lost some of screen’s finest actors, like Jacqueline Law (who had cancer).

Anyway I’d like to not only draw attention to Leslie alone, so I’ve pulled a playlist out of my sleeve to pay a mini-tribute to these stars, I hope I’ve at least done a better job than the show <“Our Chinese Heart”> in making a playlist that’s more representative of the songs that most people heard and fell in love with. This playlist, I think, is a little more special not only because I’ve really taken more care in hand-picking the tracks, but because these songs were sung with the voices of superstars. In my opinion, they weren’t only the pioneers of Cantopop (and in Teresa’s case, Mandopop), they were the essence of it, as well as the “entertainment” part of the industry. Still, this playlist is not supposed to be all about tears of the bygone but of celebration and commemoration.

So let’s put the records on play and take some time to remember and appreciate some of the classics these stars really made their own. I’ll be covering the artists in pairs and updating the playlist as I go. And, as with all my playlists, please enjoy!

"The Love Back Then" - Leslie Cheung

I know, I know, this was the first song from my playlist but I swear this is the only ‘repeat’ from all my playlists. And I just couldn’t resist – it felt strange not to include this track. It is one of my favourite songs from Gor Gor and definitely one of his signature tracks. I really do love everything about this song – from Joseph Koo’s melodic composition, Wong Jim’s brilliant lyrics, down to Leslie’s voice. Can’t fault this classic or the movie from which it came from.

"Monica" - Leslie Cheung

Okay, so this was originally released as a Japanese single, as probably everyone knows. But it’s one of Leslie’s first upbeat pop tracks that caught the public’s attention. I’ve put in his live performance at the 1984 JSG Song Awards. You can hear all the fangirls screaming in the background whenever he sung out “Monica” and you can certainly see why! Leslie was very, very handsome and he looked really adorable with his sweet smile on stage. He really lit up the stage back then.

"The Wind Keeps Blowing On" - Leslie Cheung

Again, a Momoe Yamaguchi single that got used for Leslie. I know there has been a lot of criticism regarding originality for Cantopop taking Japanese tunes and pasting lyrics over the compositions. I don’t actually have a problem with this as long as the consequences are good. In other words, as long as the composition is good in the first place, the lyrics are suitable and the singer is able to imprint their own style onto it and make it sound good at the same time. I would say that with Leslie’s voice, this was not a hard feat for him. This live performance clip from his concert is where he gets caught up with the emotion and, even with tears in his eyes, he still managed to give a rendition that was worthy of an ovation. And may his songs keep blowing on.

"Silence is Golden" - Leslie Cheung

This was actually a little song which Leslie himself composed but had the help of legendary ‘God of Songs’ Sam Hui to pen the encouraging lyrics for him, just as he was going through a rough patch in his life. This was a collaborative effort, so I’ve chosen to put in a clip from Sam Hui’s retirement concert where Leslie and Sam sing this song together. Well, less talking from me and more listening. After all, silence is golden!

"Superstar" - Leslie Cheung

Not strictly a Leslie song since it’s been covered by quite a number of artists. You can really tell why James Wong was responsible for this and Leslie was one of those artists who could cover pretty much every track and put his own spin on it. He also had a better live singing voice than on recording, which is something quite remarkable. Listening to all this Autotune and unnecessary technology involved in recordings always makes me miss those kinds of artists even more. Veteran singer-actress Deanie Ip also pulls off a fantastic cover of this very same song, for instance. Leslie was truly ‘the pride and glory of a nation’ (a translation of his name Kwok-Wing). Whenever we look at the stars, we will remember Gor Gor along with the other brilliant stars that graced the stage.  

"Song of the Sunset" - Anita Mui

Yes, a Japanese ‘remake’, like several of Leslie and Anita songs but definitely a classic. This song and awed many people at the 1989 JSG Song Awards because of its beautiful melody and its heart-wrenching lyrics and, still lives on today. Speaking of the song’s beautiful melody, Priscilla Chan used this as the backing to her ‘farewell song’, “Thousands of Songs”, in te very same year. I like to think of these songs as flipsides to a mixtape or vinyl record. Same melody, different voices, but both beautiful songs. GroggyBot wrote about these two songs here, and I’m answering just three years late, but for me, Anita’s version is the one that wins hands down, as much as I’m a sucker for Priscilla’s pretty voice and felt it was a shame that she ‘left’ the industry at her peak. Or maybe I'm just biased or slightly masochistic. The main reason would have to be Anita’s ability to interpret lyrics and carve a very moving tale out of them. With this skill, she also had a powerful voice and control like no other.

"Years Flowing Like Water" - Anita Mui

Continuing the theme of sad but beautiful songs, this one always makes me watery-eyed just because of how melancholy it is. I suppose Anita’s tragic life, including her unhappy childhood and upbringing contributed to this sense of emotion and wanting to be loved. The song’s lyrics reflect this and Japanese composer Kitaro’s music carries the song through with strings sounding like falling raindrops or tears. This was one of the songs that I have translated personally but I shall leave you with a translation (that I found at this particular Cantodict thread) by a fellow Youtuber, cheunggal88, who I think not only appreciates but captures the heart-breaking beauty of it all.

"Who is controlling my destiny: This daily struggle, in a sea of humanity? My heart is saddened; Years had passed like flowing water; Yesterday just would not stay! … What remain are only memories; One after another, forever intertwined. In the vast mystic waves, My memories drift back to those yester-years. Their faces have changed, Their status too, But the passion forever remains!"  

"Blazing Red Lips" - Anita Mui

Now I know the last two songs were sad ballads, but I haven’t forgotten that Anita was a very versatile performer. This track was chosen as a performance for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and you can tell why. It’s an upbeat, catchy and daringly sexy (yes I said it, but that is what the song is about) song with lyrics by Poon Wai-Yuen and a very 80’s electropop sound from composer and friend, Anthony Lun.

"Break the Iceberg" - Anita Mui

A little revision of a not so well-known 80’s Europop song, featuring Grasshopper. Now Mui Jeh took on a lot of disciples during her lifetime but, none probably got as popular as Grasshopper after she got them to be her backup dancers/singers. Though, of course, the music video originally featured her other disciple, Andy Hui. As for the song itself, it is a really ‘cool’ kind of style with stiff kind of dance moves and an icy stare. Synthesizer beats too.

"Inferno Iceberg" - Leslie Cheung & Anita Mui

A remake of Momoe Yamaguchi’s “Rock & Roll Widow” and rightly so. Okay, so I cheated on this one – this is a performance featuring Leslie. An Easter egg surprise! I know they also had the duet “Fate” but that song doesn’t showcase their dance skills and chemistry as much as this one. The pair really could work up the stage in-sync, like a special bond or contract they shared. 

Highlight: 1994 Anniversary - Hot Coffee anyone?

First things first - HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! And happy year of the snake! Okay, okay. You probably saw this coming but here's the rest of the performance clips from the rest of the '94 TVB Anniversary Gala! I thought I should start the Chinese New Year with something light-hearted and give y'all a short break from my ranting. And if you're interested in the refreshing your memories about the '94 Anniversary, you can watch them here, here and here. And this didn't count as an entry for the show because it was towards the end of the show and was used as a tribute-cum-wrapper-up. Anyway, enjoy! :D

Jacqueline Ng & Chilam & Max Mok - "The Celestial Peach"

Jacqueline actually has a decent singing voice here. It also helped that she was a native speaker of Mandarin, so her pronunciation was clear and pleasant sounding to the ears (as opposed to slurred and sloppy). But other than that, we get the usual green screen stuff with 90's special effects and wires here and there. Chilam and Max just get supporting roles here. BUT. Hahaha. I like how there was a crazy loud guy with no sense of timing (or maybe he just had a really good sense?) that shouted the line everyone was saying a little too late and too long.

James Wong & Roman Tam & Law Ka-Ying & Leon Lai - "Bed Time"

This one's all in good fun. And strangely enough, Leon doesn't sound half bad here (probably because this isn't actual singing). And yeah, so everyone's just trying to get some rest and relaxation, but no luck. And when that happens, you just gotta turn your complaints into a song. HAHAHAHA. Law Ka-Ying's crazy scream at the end of his part. I love that because it just kills me. Every time.

Teresa Lee & Leon Lai's - "Classic Acts"

Unlike the other clips from this blog post, this one isn't a musical and features no singing content (thank goodness - no Leon! No singing!). This little acting sequence shows us just how quickly they put together a set and get the artists changed! So they got a few extra special scenes from some of the most beloved dramas of  TVB history and somehow the couple turn it into a little parody scene. LOL at Leon's 'crying' scene and the "Did you brush your teeth today?!" question from Teresa in the Dodo/Chow Yun-Fat act. Teresa was actually pretty cute in this act. And the Stephen Chow/Cutie Mui scene was actually quite close to the original. LOLOL. You can even see Alex Man and Tanny Tien (from the original series 1989's The Justice Of Life) laughing.

Liza Wang - "Pink Lady x Hot Coffee"

This was the winning entry from Liza Wang and her 28 boys. In fact, they were introduced as something like 28 dashing men. Of course, the 28 was of significance because '94 was the 28th Anniversary and all. But still...introducing William So as a 'dashing' man?! LOL. Sure, he may be a talented singer but LOL. Anyway, she does a little rendition of Pink Lady which is all very catchy along with the OH-A-YEAH hook taken from that Jacky and Faye duet "Extraordinary Summer"/"Love Once Is Not Enough". Strangely, I was actually quite satisfied with her singing (yes, I know lip-syncing was and is still kind of acceptable during a fast number), unlike now because it's just kind of shrill and annoyingly high-pitched. That being said, it's probably due to old age and it's that dress and the tea coffee cup! And of course this song and performance is filled full of sexual innuendo. And LOLOL at Law Ka-Ying coming to cover up Liza at the end. Guess he doesn't want to share. LOL.

So guys and girls, what do you think? Do you really think that "Hot Coffee" was the best performance of the night? I personally really liked how all the artists put in a huge amount of effort to actually make it an enjoyable show for the audience. That, and they also looked like they were all having fun! Now that's what I call an entertaining anniversary gala. 

Hong Kong Cantopop Female/Male Duets Playlist: Love Songs

The days of the duets, where have they gone? I'm talking about good duets, of course - not you say something, then I say something then we all try to say something at once. Remember when Cantopop used to be filled with with a whole lot of duets - female/male, male/male, female/female, you name it. They even had a bunch of singers doing songs together, though this strictly wouldn't count as a duet. So I've been searching for female-male duets mainly and decided to come up with a playlist. I thought I should keep it to a magical number of 10, though I must stress that this isn't an exhaustive list of the Top 10 female-male Cantopop duets in history. It's just a playlist of 10 Cantopop male-female duets that I thought were worth listening to, so the order of songs don't necessarily mean I like this song better than that or whatever. It's more like a tracklist, rather than a singles chart but after all I've said I would have to say if I were to choose a female-male Cantopop duet as an all time No.1, then No.1 of the playlist would have to be it. Anyway, regardless of what I think, hope you enjoy!


Note: Playlist watchable on Youtube here and individual links for each featured video below. 
1. "You're the Best in the World" - Roman Tam & Jenny Tseng
One of the reasons why I like this number from Roman and Jenny is because this song is such an unconventional love song. Who would've known that combine an up-beat tempo and mix the "Hoo! Ha!" sounds from martial arts to make such a unique, one-of-a-kind love song? Well, I guess only Joseph Koo and James Wong could manage to pull this kind of thing off. And Jenny and Roman are simply two of the best singers that you could possibly put together. I just absolutely love how the male and female vocals go over each other so nicely, without any loss in meaning.

2. "Missing Each Other in the Wind and Rain" - Jacky Cheung & Karen Tong
This song was set to be one of those duets that were requested to be played over and over again in karaoke bars. It also won the award for "Best Duet" in the 1992 JSG awards, enshrining it's ever-popular status. This song about the longing between a couple who wish to see each other while being separated by a huge distance always leaves me with a sense of longing too - a particular empty feeling yearning for female and male duets like this one. Actually, I miss Karen Tong too.

3. "See You Again, My Friend" - Sam Tsang & Elaine Ho
1991 Miss HK contestant, Elaine Ho's pairing with singer Sam Tsang was actually quite a good combination, actually. A break-up song that lost to the above-mentioned Jacky Cheung & Karen Tong's "Missing Each Other in the Wind and Rain" in the 1992 JSG awards for "Best Duet", that actually makes use of layering the female and male vocals over each other, is what makes it very nice to listen to. The realization of not being able to save a relationship is what this whole song is all about. Kind of heartbreaking actually, but still quite prettiful as a song all the same - bittersweet, would be the word to describe it.

4. "Chance Meeting, Why Be Formerly Acquainted?" - Ram Tseung & Rita Carpio
I always find it really strange that Ji-Gwong was and is a man of many (overlooked) talents. He not only sung this song, but composed the track and wrote the lyrics for it too - and all this time, he's just been playing somewhat extra roles on TVB serials. He teamed up with Rita Carpio, who is probably most remembered for this song but was also runner-up to Anita Mui in the 1982 New Talent Singing Awards. Oh, this song took out one of the awards during the 1990 JSG Awards too - no disagreements with that.

5. "Modern Love Story" - Julian Cheung & Maple Hui
Perhaps the more memorable of Chilam's duets because I really don't remember much about the duets he did with Myolie Wu. This was the very song that propelled Chilam to stardom, was it not? Well, there you go. Looking at a recap (courtesy of llwy12) of Chilam's recent comeback concert, I would have to say that both Chilam and Maple have aged very well indeed. Maybe it's because they're very baby-faced. But that's not a bad thing.

6. "Believe in Yourself" - Alex To & Sally Yeh
A catchy pop song heavily inspired by the whole Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation movement. And by inspired, well I mean the actual composers of the song were American producers who were writing the song originally for an American artist. But you know, with these lyrics and undeniable catchiness, how can you say no to "Go Sally, go, go Sally go!" (or "Go Al!")? I for one actually enjoy how Cantopop would be influenced by the American pop and rock sounds, as well as music from other counterparts - namely Japan.

7. "The Heart is Cold" - Anthony Lun & Anita Mui
Anthony has sworn never to perform this duet again ever since Anita died - he did however, perform the song again at the 2010 JSG Awards last year singing to the 1991 JSG Awards video clip. I think Anthony must feel that no matter how many good singers come by, there will only ever be one Anita Mui. And I think he's right. Where do you find people like these two these days?  

8. "Goodbye Puppy Love" - Danny Chan & Sandy Lamb
Not to be confused with diva Sandy Lam - this little number was something that was quite popular during the day and age of Danny, I mean Elvina Kong chose it as her song to sing at the New Talent Singing Awards. Danny was one of those super-talented idols, a wonderful voice, great looks, talent to back it up (musician, singer and composer) so it was just too early to say goodbye to Danny when he never woke up from his coma.    

9. "Only Everlasting Love" - Jacky Cheung & Cally Kwong
This is just one of those great chemical reactions that suddenly explode to make something nice. Jacky's low, rich baritone voice along with Cally's ever-so-feminine singing voice makes for a classic love song. I mean, Jacky's already appeared once in this list but the thing is he's got quite a few great duets with other female artists (as pointed out by retrotvb) - like Priscilla Chan and Vivian Lai (who sadly don't really make many appearances anymore) and that would mean having to extend this list. And this would be just for Cantopop duets. Imagine if I put in his Mandarin duets too. Pretty long playlist. But yes, Jacky's a versatile performer when it comes to singing duets - especially with the ladies.  

10. "Fall in Love" - Leslie Cheung & Elisa Chan
Like I already said, many famous songs in HK pop music in the past were the   products of great Japanese compositions. However, this cover of Akiko Kobayashi's "Koi ni Ochite - Fall in Love" works really great as a duet. Elisa's solo parts are very charming indeed. Leslie was also one of those real superstars who's untimely death left a hole in the heart of many of his fans. He was definitely an all-rounder, one of those people with the whole package - a great actor, singer, an undeniably handsome performer.

Highlight: 1994 Anniversary Song Time!

This medley celebrating the last 28 years (it was '94) of TVB theme songs and TV shows is definitely one of my favorites from the whole anniversary show. I'm so glad I have this on tape and have been able to preserve it, using the power of technology. It was the last performance for the show so I think they were wrapping things up (like a summary or timeline) - saving the best for last. The performance consisted of Hacken Lee, Vivian Lai, Ekin Cheng, Linda Wong, Dicky Cheung, Gigi Lai, Leo Ku, Nnadia Chan, along with former lovebirds Andy Hui and Sammi Cheng. There were also 'guest appearances' from: Adam Cheng, Felix Wong, Paul Chu, Liza Wang, Bryan Leung with Roman Tam singing at the end too. I've chucked a tracklist of the songs covered just below the clip - enjoy!

Note: There are some audio skipping issues with the video - seems to be a problem with WMV (Windows Media Video files). Will see if I can upload using a different format and hopefully that'll fix the problems. 

Solos:

1. "Shanghai Bund"/上海灘 (Theme from "The Bund"/上海灘) 

2. "Wild River"/狂潮 (Theme from "Wild River"/狂潮) 

3. "The Giants"/強人 (Theme from "The Giants"/強人) 

4. "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly"/網中人 (Theme from "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly"/網中人)

5. "A House Is Not A Home"/家變（Theme from "A House Is Not A Home"/家變)

6. "Thousands of Knots in My Heart"/心有千千結 (Theme from "Thousands of Knots in My Heart"/心有千千結)

7. "Hard to Divide the Good and Evil"/難為正邪定分界 (Theme from "You Only Live Twice"/飛越十八層) 

8. "Using Love to Steal a Heart"/用愛將心會偷 (Theme from "The Shell Game"/千王之王) 

9. "Swearing to Never Back Down"/誓不低頭 (Theme from "The Final Verdict"/誓不低頭) - 

10. "Meaning of Life"/一生何求 (Theme from "Looking Back in Anger"/義不容情)

Duets:

1. "Love is Warm Inside the Heart"/爱在心内暖 (Theme from "The Misadventure of Zoo"/流氓皇帶)  

2. "You're the Best in the World"/世間始終你好 (Theme from "Legend of the Condor Heroes"/射鵰英雄傳之華山論劍) 

3. "The Romantic Swordsman"/小李飛刀 (Theme from "The Romantic Swordsman"/小李飛刀) 

4. "Purple Hairpin"/紫玉釵 （Theme from "The Legend of the Purple Hairpin"/紫釵記)

5. "Forget About Us in the Smoky Waters"/兩忘煙水裡 (Theme from "The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"/天龍八部之六脈神劍) 

Last but not least:

"A Promising Future"/前程錦繡 (Theme from "A Promising Future"/前程錦繡) 

My 2¢ & Extra Notes: 

- I particularly like this segment from the whole anniversary because all the singers featured show us how it's done, with excellent song choice and arrangements done all for the purpose of this medley.  

- Nnadia's rendition of "Using Love to Steal a Heart" is really quite impressive indeed, even though she already proved to us that she really could sing when she entered that Sally Yeh impersonation contest when she was just 14.  

- Then they do the whole duets thing and that just kills me (in a good way, of course!). 

- That, and Linda actually sings the duet better than the original (compared to  Louise Lee who sung with Adam Cheng in the series).

- Totally just proves that Vivian is definitely more than just another pretty girl singer with her take on Roman Tam and Jenny Tseng's "You're the Best in the World" with Ekin. That song is all about good timing, power vocals and having a trusting partnership with your singing partner. That, and Felix looks  really smart and handsome in his suit :)

- Actually No. 3 for the duets would be better literally translated as "The Small Flying Dagger of Justice". As a side-thought, I can see why Gigi earned the title "Goddess of Beauty" during her career and I always wonder how Dicky still had a full head of hair at the time. 

- I also prefer Leo and Nadia's version of "Purple Hairpin" over the original version by Liza Wang and Adam Cheng, actually. 

- I'm pretty sure that's Miss HK 1994 Halina Tam sitting next to Run Run Shaw in that chair.

- LOL. Just watch Sammi's expression when Bryan comes out. Bet she didn't expect that. :D

- And Ekin's mentor Roman Tam appears at the end too, singing another one of his well-known theme songs.

Video credits: taqfiles.blogspot.com

Hong Kong's Classic TV Theme Song Playlist: Based on a Tracklist

Okay, so I made a playlist and typed out all the song titles and artist names in English (or English romanization at least) until BAM! I accidentally hit the delete key, which ripped off half my document. Damn, I knew I should've kept that back-up. Oh well, mental note for next time. Anyway, this really isn't so much a playlist but a tracklist from a covers CD of HK TV theme songs. I mean just look above. Pretty much all the shots are from "The Bund", which is slightly misleading, I guess. And if you told me that Kent Tong was gonna be bald 20 years ago, I would've just laughed myself silly.

Note: No. 12 from this list of  clips won't be in the video playlist above since the uploader has disabled embed tags, but you can still watch the others. To watch the whole thing on YouTube click here, otherwise you can just watch the playlist above and/or click on the individual links below for each video. 
1. "Shanghai Bund" - Frances Yip (Theme from "The Bund") Okay, every good artist has a signature song and for Frances Yip, this was it. Being created by partners-in-crime composer Joseph Koo and lyricist James Wong, coupled with the power chords of Frances Yip and being tagged onto a historical TV drama was a recipe for instant success. The songwriting duo once mentioned that no one could ever sing this song like Frances Yip, and that no other voice could be more suitable. I do not beg to differ. 
2. "All Kinds of Sentiments" - Frances Yip (Theme from "The Bund") Apparently, this was another award-winning hit from Joseph Koo and James Wong from "The Bund". This song is just another example of an epic masterpiece which makes use of a dramatic beginning that captures the attention of the audience. Frances Yip places all the right type of emotions in all the right places. She really is a powerhouse when it comes to belting, yet she has a lot of control over her voice when nothing more but a gentle whisper is needed. 
3. "The Brothers" - Roman Tam (Theme from "The Brothers") This rather doting song about familial love (which is closer to the literal meaning of the song title) is really something different to the standard romantic love songs offered to us on a silver platter. Roman always stressed the need for clear pronunciation when singing and stood strong with his beliefs; sending us a message as clear as a bell. 
4. "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" - Teresa Cheung (Theme from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly") This song definitely brings flashbacks of Chow Yun Fat and Carol "Dodo" Cheng's characters from the series. There's no wordy-yet-meaningless lyrics here, just good old-fashioned simple lyrics that really hit straight to the heart, with a slow, haunting but beautiful melody that builds up and winds down to give you something more than a lot of songs produced today ever could. Sometimes less is more.    
5. "Sandwich Man" - Adam Cheng (Theme from "Sandwich Man") Although another composition from the legendary music heavyweight Joseph Koo, this song doesn't really stand out as one of his more memorable classics. Sure, the song may be up-beat and sung by Adam Cheng but I seem to remember more about the short series (it was only 20 episodes long) and the untimely death of Barbara Yung (who starred in the series) and had such a short career in the limelight.
6. "You're the One Who Decides to Love " - Jenny Tseng (Theme from "The Radio Tycoon")

This was one of those catchy, up-beat theme songs which happened to work. Well, worked for me anyway. It's easily recognizable with its opening "Sha-la-la-la" chorus-like sounds at the beginning of the song.

7. "Heart Debt" - Anita Mui (Theme from "Soldier of Fortune")
Another classic from a gone-but-not-forgotten singer, Anita Mui. When Anita went into the studio to record this song, James Wong and Joseph Koo were worried that she might not be able to get the song right, being a newcomer that had just passed 18. However, being the super-talented singer she was, she only did one take for the recording and got it right the first time.

8. "Wilderness Entraps Heroes" - Johnny Yip (Theme from "Dynasty")
This was actually featured in ATV's series starring Michelle Yim and David Chiang quite some time ago. Meaning about 20+ years ago. But it's really catchy.

9. "People in the Shadows" - Michael Kwan (Theme from "People In The Shadows")
Actually, I wouldn't note this in my personal favorites or anything but it's just on the tracklist and for completeness, I thought I should include it. It actually sounds like it would be an exciting song with the dramatic entry which slows down. It's not a bad song but I just don't find it that interesting either. And the fact that it's supposed to be a song linked to a drama that's got to do with triads and underground societies, it should really be more exciting.

10."Reincarnated" - Michael Kwan (Theme from "Reincarnated")
Yes! That's what I'm talking about. Those catchy theme songs that are used for Wuxia/Mohap series'. You know the type. The type that Michael Kwan was particularly good at singing.

11. "Gone With The Wind" - Johnny Yip (Theme from "Gone With The Wind")
This song really isn't my cup of tea, as you could probably tell. It's just too leisurely for me (pace-wise and lyric-wise). Like a stroll in the park.
Or like leaves floating in the wind. I guess that's what the song title and the song sounds like.

12. "Walk With Me Through Wind and Frost" - Teresa Teng (Theme from "The Family")
I actually like this one theme song featuring the late but great Teresa Teng who was known for her sweet but melancholy voice. Her voice in my opinion fits really well with the song, like a match made in heaven. I suppose the song title would be closer to the figurative meaning of wind and rain equalling hardship than frost, but the emotion's all there, in the song.

13. "Hard to Endure Parting Tears" - Adam Cheng (Theme from "In Search Of")
Yes, I'll admit I think that Patrick Tse (father of bad boy Nicholas Tse) was one of those actors who had a lot of stage presence. And this song by Adam Cheng, who has sung many, many theme songs really added to the whole show.

14. "Aiming High" - Willie Fung (Theme from "The Emissary") 
A police-themed series using electric guitar riffs and whatnot. Oh this series had Andy Lau in it too.

15. "Turning Into All Kinds of Hate"- Ying-Hung Lau (Theme from "Reincarnation")
I very much like the original of this song and I highly doubt that many of the singers in TVB today could even sing a verse of this song without screwing up.

16. "Tear Drops on the Journey" - Annabelle Lui & Michael Kwan (Insert Song from "People in the Shadows")
Oh a duet, a duet! Yes, I get excited over duets mainly because they just really don't make duets like they used to do. And no, Annabelle and Michael aren't married…haha, but the way I typed their names made it look that way.  Ah, Annabelle Lui. She was a pretty good singer but somehow she didn't really get as famous as she ought to have. And I don't see how the theme song was chosen over this insert song because this one is clearly better.