Something old, something new

Without a doubt, Sarah Geronimo is one of the brightest stories of today’s recording world. Her concerts here and abroad, along with the other champions, continue to enjoy great success, boosting the reputation of the Philippines which is populated by a race of natural born singers and minstrels. She very much represents the “Now.”

Jay Durias is the guiding spirit behind the band that seems to never fade away, South Border. Despite personnel changes and switches in musical genres, South Border and Jay continue to come up with hits and make relevant music. In more ways than one, Jay stands for the “Then” of today’s review, as the music of his new CD is a vibrant shot from the past!

Taking Flight — Sarah Geronimo: I have to confess this is the first Sarah CD I actually listened to, and it was brought about when a close friend included the Louie Ocampo-penned carrier single, I’ll Be Alright, in the CD she burned for me. The quality of the singing and the interpretative depth belied the young age of the  rising songstress, and I just had to hear for myself if this could be sustained over a full CD. It is. While obviously, standard wisdom would tell to you to max out on the ballads as those are where the hits come from, there’s a refreshing variety of songs, even an uptempo, Corrs-like anthem, called Ikaw. With songs composed by the likes of Ocampo, Trina Belarmide, Medwin Marfil of True Faith and former child star, now producer/composer Chuckie Dreyfuss, there are songs aplenty that linger and ache to be released as the next single. A very polished product that augurs well for Sarah’s status as reigning Pop Princess.

Songs I Grew Up With — Jay Durias: The solo project of Jay is one very close to his heart. His father was a folk singer and these are the songs Jay would hear as he was growing up. What’s good with this collection of songs, is that Jay gives each rendition a little twist to personalize his version.

For example, Fra Lippo Lippi’s Light and Shade and Don McLean’s Birthday Song are given bossa overlays. He slows down Basia’s Reward to a full out ballad that’s very South Border, and relaxes Stevie Wonder’s Cherie Amour with effective slips into falsetto.

There are also songs from Captain and Tenille, America, Rupert Holmes, Wet Wet Wet, and Jim Croce. The one with Croce I did find a bit too karaoke-ish in arrangement. Fortunately for us, Jay reserves the best for last, a new original composition, Sa Hangin, that had me aching for that next South Border CD. This is really a trip down memory lane for most music fans, and Jay is one very affable guide. It’s reminiscent in concept to Babyface’s Playlist CD.