Renz sings for Lorena - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby Gil

I do not know where the name comes from but Lorena is the name of the girl that Renz Verano sings to in his new single and it is also the title of his new album. Interestingly enough, the melody is Chinese, having been written by Phil Chang and it was given a set of Filipino lyrics by Tito Cayamanda for Renz. The result is another sentimental take on our native kundiman. Lorena Dinggin Mo, a sad song of longing for a lost love, a hybrid from two songwriters is now also classified as a rock ballad.

This is something that I find truly amazing not only because modern popular music now knows no boundaries but also because Lorena is another proof of how this distinctly Filipino type of music has proven most adaptable to Western pop ideas. Of course, the kundiman really has Western influences as it originated during the Spanish era. But getting into that nitty-gritty requires another, more serious piece. This one is just trying to show how the rock melodies of Renz Verano are in truth updated kundimans that are very similar to what Western rock stars turn out.

Think Bon Jovi or Bryan Adams. Think Aerosmith. Why do you think I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing sold so many albums? Why are Aegis, April Boy Regino and Renz Verano himself hitmakers? Their music harks back to Rico Puno, to Victor Wood and Eddie Peregrina, Bobby Gonzales and further and further back to the kundimans of Abelardo and Santiago. And you must remember those Americans also have a lot of the Spanish in their make-up. And this in turn comes from Europe, which was for a long time the seat of culture. Establishing these relationships would be fun, but again, it calls for another serious piece.

Renz Verano is the latest singing idol to take on this mantle and he wears it with great ease. Had he happened 30 years ago, he would have been in contention for the Jukebox King title but since the only jukeboxes that exist nowadays are antiques that play 45-RPM records, that have also disappeared, he is known as a rock balladeer. Verano has the right sort of pipes for sentimental love songs and his choice of material enables him to show off his strong high notes. Despite his many hits though, it is now time for him to look into getting better arrangements for his songs. Lush, soaring instrumentations are what create enduring power ballads and these are what he needs to be a bigger star in the future.

Verano’s Lorena album includes Lorena, Dinggin Mo ang Damdamin, Mahal, Mayroon Na Bang Iba, Pasakit Sa Damdamin, Ikaw ang Pag-asa, an adaptation of Michael Learns to Rock’s You Took My Heart Away, Lumipas Na’ng Kahapon, Nasa ‘yo Pala, Crazy, a cover of the Patsy Cline standard, Sulat, ’Di Na Ako, Kahit Kunwari Lang, which was first recorded by Rico Puno and Kung Kailan Pa.

Most popular songs

Meanwhile now that the Lenten Season is over and we have entered a new phase in the year, let us take a look at what tunes most people are listening to right now. These are the following: I Lay My Love on You by Westlife; Like a Bird by the newest singing sweetheart from Canada, Nelly Furtado; Nobody Wants to be Lonely, a duet by Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera; Heaven by Your Side by A1; Give Me a Reason by The Corrs, who might finally make it to local shores later this year; Last Flight Out by Plus 1; Again by Lenny Kravitz; It’s True, a new single by the Backstreet Boys; Torete by Moonstar 88, the only local recording to make the top 10; and Angel, the ingenious remake of Juice Newton’s Angel of the Morning by Shaggy.

Other local songs making good in the charts these days are Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang the live recording of the Ogie Alcasid composition by Freestyle, Tuwing Umuulan from the Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw soundtrack by Regine Velasquez, Hanggang Ngayon by newcomer Kyla, Maskara the latest by the Eraserheads from the album CarbonStereoxide, Nang Dahil Sa Pag-ibig by Tootsie Guevara, Belinda Bye Bye by Barbie’s Cradle, Sisirin by Diwata, Ibigay Mo Na by Jessa Zaragoza, Hindi Na Masakit by Alyna and Oops, Teka Lang by sexpot Ara Mina.