Re-Imagining Leslie Cheung?

OnMarch 1, 2012, a tribute concert to the late Leslie Cheung was held in Hong Kong under the title “Reimagine Leslie Cheung”. It was directed by Lam Jik (Lin Xi), who was one of Leslie’s favorite lyricists from the mid-1990s until his death, and Alvin Leong, who produced much of Leslie’s music from the late 1980s until his death in 2003. Universal Music, which released Leslie’s music from this era, was a sponsor of the program and artists invited to participate in the recording session and live performance are, or have been, attached to Universal Music. This talent pool was adequate for the task at hand, though the “God of Song,” Jacky Cheung, was noticeably absent. It would have been intriguing to see what he could have done with one of Leslie’s songs. A studio recording of 18 reworked songs was made first, and the live concert came some time later. The Reimagine Leslie Cheung release includes 2 CDs of the studio recordings and 2 DVDs of the live performance. In addition to all of the artists who participated in the studio recordings, the live show features additional artists and some songs that were not recorded for the CD set. Notable additions to the program are Anthony Wong, who collaborated on an EP with Leslie in 2002 under the title “Crossover,” and the Chung Brothers, popular Hong Kong Gospel artists. Universal made sure that its most popular artists were included in some way in the event. The final result, both studio recording and live show, is mixed and reflects the strengths and challenges that characterize the Cantopop music business in Hong Kong today.[if gte mso 9]> 0/w:Zoom 0/w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery 0/w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery /w:WordDocument <![endif]

StartFragment[if !supportEmptyParas]It must be admitted that the intent of the project was laudable:  reintroduce Hong Kong and Chinese fans to some of Leslie Cheung's most musically creative and pioneering recordings, and update them for contemporary tastes and talents. The quality of this corpus of songs, Leslie's performance of them, and the exceptional original arrangements truly are hard to equal, and it is almost inconceivable that they will be surpassed except by another exceptional musical talent. The bar was set very high from the start by selecting such stellar material that is well-known in masterful original versions. Expectations were understandably high on the part of Leslie Cheung's fans and a certain amount of trepidation is felt by any fan when confronted with any re-working or even straight-ahead cover of songs associated with the beloved superstar. I must admit that I am a huge fan of Leslie's music, and in particular recordings from the era covered in the Re-Imagining Leslie Cheung project. For that reason, it really is impossible for me to be entirely impartial. I must also admit that with the exception of a few artists, I am not a fan of Cantopop music, especially not in its current incarnation. That said, there are some truely bright spots in this undertaking, a lot of middling efforts, and only a few performances and arrangements that would have been better left off the album or out of the concert. Another way to look at this project is as a gauge of the current state of Cantopop, which rests on the laurels of its mature stars and tries desperately to find the next "big thing" to keep the money flowing and the fans interested in its younger artists.

Studio recording and live performance are very different animals. It is well known that artists who sound great in the studio may not be the strongest or most interesting performers on stage, while some artists seem unable to capture the charisma and creative spark of their live shows in the sterile conditions of the studio. Also with modern studio technology, it isn’t that hard to take a mediocre talent and produce a recording that sounds great. For that reason, analysis of the studio recordings will focus much more on Alvin Leong’s arrangements than on the performances themselves. The review of the live concert will look more closely at the actual performances by the artists and what they were able (or not able) to bring to the stage in their reinterpretation of Leslie’s songs.

It must be a daunting task for any Hong Kong singer to be asked to cover a song closely associated with Leslie Cheung. His voice and delivery were unique and gave each song a rarified quality that no other singer has been able to duplicate. The arranger, Alvin Leong, realizing this tried to craft arrangements that are very different from the original recordings. It is evident on the Reimagining recordings and concert that any time the arrangement approximates the Leslie Cheung original, unless the singer has a strong and distinct voice and delivery style, the the new version suffers in comparison with the original. Artists able to hold their own, both with the new arrangements and by comparison with Leslie were veterans such as George Lam (who relies now on years of experience and artistry to compensate for an extremely diminished voice), Eason Chan, and Kelly Chen. Hins Cheung took “Red” and ran with it, making the song his own in the R&B arrangement he was given. For whatever reason, Sandy Lam’s version of “Passing By Dragonfly,” while charming enough, still makes one wish for Leslie's original. The new version is over-orchestrated and over-produced and becomes nothing short of a cacophony by the final chorus. Returning to Leslie’s version is like a drink of cool, refreshing spring water after an overly-sweet soft drink. Karen Mok’s voice lacks the vocal range and intensity needed to convince with her version of “Love Stealing,” although the new arrangement is quite alluring. The seductive element in Leslie’s original cannot be found in Karen’s rather sweet version despite the fact that she played the object of Leslie’s obsession in the original music video.

[if !supportEmptyParas]  [endif]Video:http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/4096753New versions that radically depart from the originals but are totally convincing include Swing’s rendition of “Love in Houston” and Mr.’s “Blamefully Beautiful”. Swing’s version is notable for the decidedly up tempo and swinging delivery that is not implied in the original recording. But since one-half of Swing is Eric Kwok, who penned the original composition, Swing’s version may in fact be closer to the composer’s original conception. The case of Mr. is particularly interesting. Mr. is a Hong Kong pop rock band and has truly re-imagined one of Leslie’s signature songs, “Blamefully Beautiful,” as a furious rock anthem. The arrangement is out of left field, yet adds such an interesting dimension to the song that it is easily the stand-out studio and live number. The energy, freshness, and originality evident in this version are like a shot in the arm and show that Cantopop isn’t entirely moribund.

There are several differences between the studio album and the live performance. Neither Anthony Wong nor the Chung Brothers participated in the studio recording, but both give stand-out live performances. For a number of years now Anthony has been performing “So Close, So Far” live accompanied by an audio track featuring Leslie’s voice, and this is what he performed at the Reimagine Leslie Cheung show. It would have been a real treat if Anthony had covered another one of Leslie’s songs as he is one of Hong Kong’s best at re-imaging the work of other artists. But I also cannot see him taking someone else’s vision and arrangement and performing it. Anthony and his team of musical associates at People Mountain People Sea are old hands at crafting radical reworkings of well-known hits, beautifully illustrated by 1997’s "People Mountain People Sea" album, in a haunting reworking of Faye Wong’s “Undercurrents” used in Stanley Kwan’s film “Hold You Tight,” a  marvelous album of  Joseph Koo songs titled “Tomorrow’s Song,” and 2011’s concert of Joseph Koo compositions marvelously recast, reworked, and reimagined. 

Overall, it must be admitted that the rearrangements of Leslie’s songs are not entirely successful. They tend to be dense and busy, and are often mixed in a way that can obscures the vocal line. Compare any version on the Reimagine Leslie album with Leslie's original and you will be struck by how clean, precise, and controlled the arrangements are on those original recordings. They leaves plenty of space to fully appreciate how beautifully Leslie articulated each and every word he sang and a world of emotion can be savored in every utterance giving even the simplest vocal line a complex array of feelings. Leslie imbued not only every line, but each syllable with shape, dimension, and an emotional cast. He tended to sing in a relaxed even delicate manner despite the richness of emotion expressed in his voice. Singing from the heart is perhaps the secret to Leslie’s ability to move his listeners, regardless of how many times they have heard a particular song. Of all of the singers on the Reimagine Leslie Cheung album, Kelly Chen comes the closest to capturing the delicacy and precision of Leslie’s delivery. She brings a genuine sweetness to “Four Seasons” that is totally appropriate for this song.

Some of the arrangements are intriguing, at least in part. The beginning of “Love and Honor Oneself” performed by Kary Ng is quite fascinating, with the vocal sounding like the singer is singing the languid R&B-ish intro into a telephone. But once the song shifts into “normal” mode, it becomes much more ordinary. Something similar happens with the haunting and lovely introduction to “Loneliness is Harmful” sung by Alex Lam. Yet once Alex gets to the first chorus, his flat delivery drains any interest out of the number. Reimagining “Red” as an R&B song for Hins Cheung was brilliant. Hins gives it his all and delivers a flamboyant, emotion-packed performance that stands as a viable alternative to Leslie’s tango-inflected original.

Some artists were not well served by the song they were given. It takes a singer the caliber of a Jacky Cheung to sing Leslie’s iconic song “Chase”. For whatever reason, Alvin Leong decided to stay very close to the original arrangement and asked Eric Suen to perform it. Eric did not manage to pull it off. Listening to his version is like listening to American Idol contestants take on iconic pop numbers made famous by music superstars. The wisdom of having Kay Tse sing “I” with all the sweetness and innocence of a teenager should also be questioned. This was Leslie’s song of self-affirmation in the face of gossip and years of criticism, especially around his sexual orientation. In many ways, the song is a response to those years of rumor, innuendo, and tabloid speculation. In the voice of an ingénue, the song loses most of its power. It is a song of maturity, not the innocence of youth. Among all of the breathy little-girl voices (even heard in mature singers in their 40s!) was Stephanie Che with her dark alto. “Die as Dreaming, Live as Drunk” was selected for her to sing, but the rather wooden delivery dooms this song. Then there is the case of a good singer being ambushed by the arrangement. Hacken Lee has a great voice but he was not well-served by the arrangement for “Dreaming of the Inner River” which had him singing loudly the entire song to compete with the overly ornate orchestration. Again, a comparison with Leslie’s original provides a stark contrast. Leslie’s dynamic contrasts and precise rhythmic delivery makes the original a masterpiece. Hacken Lee should be sad that such a rich song was reduced to so little in the hands of the arranger.

Overall, the Reimagine Leslie Cheung studio recordings are a disappointment. The arrangements are over-stuffed, too densely orchestrated, and have too little dynamic contrast. Compared to the original versions, there is much less of musical interest in these performances than the originals. Even in the hands of good singers, it was an uphill battle to shine in these new arrangements. There is also the handicap of being restricted to Universal’s stable of performers. A common complaint heard about current Cantopop singers is that they don’t have the voices, charisma, or music ability of earlier generations of performers. If this album is any testament to the current state of Cantopop music, I would say that these criticism are, sadly, all too often not wide of the mark. Perhaps those who are not ardent fans of Leslie Cheung, or younger fans who are not very familiar with the originals will find a great deal of enjoyment in these studio recordings. For the rest of us:  we always have Leslie Cheung’s inimitable originals.

(to be continued)

Part 2 will review the DVD of the live concert in Hong Kong on March 1, 2012 

EndFragment