Martin and other souvenirs

As long as there are songs to sing, there will be no end to Martin Nievera doing his own version of old favorites. In his latest album, More Souvenirs, Martin has collected more of the great covers he has done in the past. An earlier compilation volume of oldies he recorded titled My Souvenirs was released a few months ago. It has since passed the platinum mark of 40,000 pieces sold.

I am glad Martin decided to release this one. Having more of his songs in a greatest hits collection saves me the trouble of having to look for Journeys when I want to listen to Traces or Forever, when I want to wallow in memories with What Matters Most or Return to Forever, when I want to admit to the unwanted weakness with Please Don’t Ask Me. Now with More Souvenirs, I get all these songs in one album, plus more.

Also included in the album are Wildflower; On the Wings of Love; Love Me for What I Am; Make It With You; Unchained Melody; Forever; What a Wonderful World; You Take My Breath Away plus Before You Say Goodbye; All I Want this Christmas and Stay with Me, which he co-wrote with Louie Ocampo.

The long-awaited album of originals by Martin still seems like a long way off but he has included a few new songs in More Souvenirs. Of course, it will take quite a while for these recordings to acquire the same timeless appeal found in the other cuts. But Martin does them well and as usual, there is sincerity in his rendition whether he is out to defend Christmas in Can’t Stop Christmas, waxing romantic in Imagine Me Without You, singing for the victims of the New York Twin Towers tragedy My Heart’s Song, or endorsing telephones Simply Amazing.

More Souvenirs comes with a free VCD that contains the music videos of Martin’s We Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye and You’re My Everything plus excerpts of numbers from his very successful XVII and XVIII concerts. These are What a Wonderful World; The Harder I Try; Love Me for What I Am; You Take My Breath Away and a medley of Our Father and I Believe.

More Souvenirs sells for P400 a copy. Not bad. This is really a bargain with 18 songs, a VCD with seven videos plus a cover filled with candid pictures of Martin and his family and more of his poetry. A pirated disc might cost less but you will not be getting these other freebies. Besides, you will definitely not be able to experience the excellent sound of the 44.1 kHZ 24-bit super digital master.

Hot Dog hits compiled

Christmas made me one of only 40 proud owners of Dimsum, which must be the greatest collection of Hot Dog hits ever compiled. Well, I should say mostly Hot Dog, as the album includes tunes popularized by other artists during these past 25 years or so. Here are classic Filipino pop songs either written or co-written and produced by the top dog of the band, Dennis Garcia. And here is another testimony to the timelessness of his usually very trendy music output.

Not everything is in here; there are only 18 cuts and Dennis has done more, and some like B.A.D.A.P. Forever can use a new technologically updated version. But I believe that he picked out what he considers his best. From the original demo recording of Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko down to the more recent Heaven-Sent, this is one album that truly makes for enjoyable listening.

Talking about more souvenirs. As thoughts of music lovers turn once more to Elvis Presley at this time of year, Elvis was born on Jan. 7, 1935, I thought it also worthwhile to mention the great job done by Chito Bertol in Elvis: King of Asia. This also none-commercial album contains 13 songs plus the interestingly arranged Remembering Elvis Presley Medley and Elvis Presley Christmas Medley.

Chito, of course, is not Elvis but his interpretation of the songs that the king or rock and roll popularized does come close to the original. It should also lift the hearts of many Elvis fans in the country that despite his busy schedule as head man at the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation, where trees and plants are nurtured with much love and care, Chito still finds the time to be Elvis once in a while.