A Close-up compilation

Aside from being one of the favored toothpaste brands in the country today, Close-up is also famous for its commercial jingles. There is the first one originally performed by Jaime Garchitorena, You’re Just A Smile Away. Many doubtless also remember Closer You & I by Gino Padilla. And what about Got to Get Close to You by Freestyle? The songs change with each new campaign but all of them have the perky melodies and express the same sweet sentiments associated with romantic moments.

The Close-up songs that emerged over the past three decades easily transcended the limitations of the commercial jingle and also became pop favorites. So, in celebration of Close-up’s 35 years in the market, these now well-loved tunes have been compiled in an album titled Break Barriers. That title probably means break barriers with the right toothpaste and also with the right song. In the case of Close-up, these are the ones included in the album:

Just a Smile Away performed by Luke Mejares; I Wanna Get Close by Kyla; Closer You and I by Anna Fegi; Closer to You by Radha; Got to Get Close to You by Cooky Chua; Close in on Love by Ariel Rivera; (They Long to be) Close to You by Rachel Alejandro; With a Smile by the Eraserheads; Heaven in Your Smile by Chad Borja and Alecx Estrada; Smile by Vitamin C; and an instrumental version of Just a Smile Away by Dix Lucero.

Speaking of Luke Mejares, he and Brix Ferraris, the two ex-soloists of the band South Border share the bill for the first time in South Border Retrospective a collection of the group’s biggest hits. The release of the album marks South Border’s 10th anniversary. Although it has been plagued by crucial changes in membership, most notably the departure of Brix and then that of his replacement Luke, the band has managed to keep the music going and its integrity intact.

The opening cut is Kahit Kailan, with Brix, the Jay Durias composition that became South Border’s first big hit. This is followed by Losin’ My Mind, Tear to Fall and Love of My Life. Then Luke comes in with Sa ‘yo, Mr. Love, Bump, Once Again, Do You Believe in Me, The Way You Do, 7 Years and All I Want is You. Durias, the moving force behind South Border music sings Tulog and Habang Atin ang Gabi. South Border has of course found the right replacement to Luke. This is former Kundirana member Vince Alaras. So watch out for his South Border debut and the beginning of another period in this band’s tempestuous history.

Back to love songs for romantic moments. This time around the collection is titled You Complete Me. If I am not mistaken, this was the line uttered by Tom Cruise to Renee Zellwegger in Jerry Maguire. I could be wrong about the movie but I am positive that You Complete Me came from a sweet romantic comedy flick from Hollywood. It is the follow-up release to the successful collection of love songs titled You Had Me at Hello, is another line that I am sure came from another romantic movie.

So, since everybody is still in Valentine mode these days, you might want to check out You Complete Me, sub-titled These Songs Made Me Fall in Love With You Again. Natch. But in love or not, feeling romantic or not, the album presents a lovely collection of love songs that you can listen to again and again. Gems here are the hit duet of the Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra classic Something Stupid by actress Nicole Kidman and former Take That member Robbie Williams which made number one in the hit charts and the divine Listen to Your Heart by the Swedish duo Roxette.

The rest are Power of Two by Indigo Girls; Love to Love You by The Corrs; It’s Gonna Be Love by Mandy Moore; Show Me Love by Roby; Cruisin’ by Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis; Private Emotion by Ricky Martin and Meja; Stay the Same by Joey McIntyre; I Wanna Know by Joe; I’ll Never Break Your Heart by the Backstreet Boys; Everytime I Close My Eyes by Babyface; Brown Eyes by Destiny’s Child; I Didn’t Know I Was Looking for Love by Everything but the Girl; Love Moves (In Mysterious Ways) by Julia Fordham; Nobody Knows by the Tony Rich Project; and Kissing a Fool by George Michael.