Thor Soul Obsessions

I am of the belief that R&B is a distinctly American music form for which Filipinos lack the right vibe. But you know what excellent imitators we all are if we set our hearts into it. Name an R&B hit and you can bet that there are some local artists who have so mastered every gasp and every trill they sound almost like the original.

Still it cannot be denied that there are a few artists around who have so imbibed the sweet and soulful nuances of R&B as though they were born to the genre. It is a modified sort like what Kyla or Freestyle do but it certainly feeds the Pinoys’ desire to be hip with what is hot abroad. The new CD Soul Obsessions Duets with Thor is one good example.

Thor, an Awit award winner for vocal performance, was one of the better singers to surface about a decade ago. Despite positive reactions to his singing and songwriting prowess, it seemed like Thor had chosen to lie low from the local recording scene these past few years. Save for some gigs and his radio show, it seemed like no new product featuring Thor was released until Soul Obsessions came out recently and his admirers are naturally happy about this development.

Well produced with mostly familiar titles, Soul Obsessions makes for fine listening. It was inspired by Thor’s radio show of the same title on WAVE 89.1 where he performed duets with assorted guests. As such it also offers a variety of styles from the guest artists with Thor’s excellent vocals as the solid anchor. Mercifully, he has eschewed the vocal histrionics that local singers often associate with R&B music. Thor just sings and you have to admit that he really has what it takes to make a song special.

I honestly wonder how Thor will fare against the hot rock, birit and bossa nova competition of the moment. But his CD is a most welcome change of pace that should not go unnoticed.

Presented by WAVE 89.1 and Ivory Music, Soul Obsessions Duets with Thor includes What About Love with Jay Durias of South Border; Spend My Life with You with Amber; Whenever You Call with Nina; Suddenly with Jinky Vidal of Freestyle; Everytime I Close My Eyes with Natural High; The Girl is Mine with Luke Mijares; You Don’t Know Me with Sofia; I’m Ready with Cesar Aguas on the guitar; Just One Dance with Jerome Nunez on the violin; and Thor, solo on Home. The first single out is Be My Number Two with the hitmaking duo of M.Y.M.P., while the last two cuts Just One Dance and Home are Thor’s original compositions.

Top 20 videos of the week

Meanwhile, from MYX the Filipino music channel, here are the Top 20 videos of the week in the Pinoy MYX Countdown. Thor’s Be My Number Two with M.Y.M.P is one of those in the list.

Here goes: Pasubali by Sponge Cola; Nangangawit by Sugarfree; Last Look by Chicosci; Procastinator by Sandwich; I Don’t Want You to Go by Kyla; Heto Na by Concrete Sam; Ikaw by Sarah Geronimo; Guillotine by Urbandub; Macho by Parokya ni Edgar; Aaminin by 6cyclemind.

Kasalanan Ba by Guji Lorenzana; Take It or Leave It by Yasmien Kurdi; Sugal Ng Kapalaran by Rivermaya; Be My Number Two by Thor and M.Y.M.P.; Superstar by RJ JMNZ; One Love by Acel; Ang Aking Awitin by Ronnie Liang and Nikki Gil; Take Me There by Miguel Escueta; K.I.T.T.Y. by the Kitty Girls; and Pain in My Heart by Zoo.

Out there in the radio airlanes, the top pick of the week is Something in Your Eyes, the Richard Carpenter composition which is the comeback bid of ’70s Jukebox Queen Claire de la Fuente. It is the first single out of the album of the same title, which is Claire’s first recording after 17 years.

Other local releases doing okay airplaywise as of this writing are One Love by Acel Bisa, Somewhere Down the Road by Nina; Love Will Lead You Back by Kyla; Is It Over? by Jaya; Walang Misteryo by Mojofly, Habang Buhay by Yeng Constantino; Ikaw by Sarah Geronimo; Sumayaw Ka by Gloc 9; and Giling-giling Mo by Mocha.