hulika

Author Topic: Color It Red: Pop Fiction  (Read 4279 times)

Offline zimdude

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Color It Red: Pop Fiction
« on: September 03, 2000, 10:56:06 PM »
My apologies, I have not yet learned to write a formal review.  

I just wanted to say, I love it, especially "Reverie" and "Upside Down."  These songs are so sweet.  

As with the album's name - yes this is more pop-y than Color It Red's past two outings in 1994 and 1997 - hmm one album every three years!

The pictures inside are also cute.  I would go for a poster :)

Offline jazzbo

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Color It Red: Pop Fiction
« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2000, 10:59:52 AM »
Quote from: zimdude
As with the album's name - yes this is more pop-y than Color It Red's past two outings in 1994 and 1997 - hmm one album every three years!

The pictures inside are also cute.  I would go for a poster :)


This is actually the most professionally-sounding Color It Red album ever. There are probably several factors we can cite for this:

1) <b>The band actually has better musicians now.</b> I mean the old line up had its charm but the music was always quaintly kludgey. Now the band can go into jazz-oriented territory and get away with it. It's like the songwriters (Cooky and Barbi) had wanted to explore jazz but were hampered by the band's abilities - the second album had some jazzy bossa nova/samba things with Pete Canzon on sax and flute, but these tended to sound awkward. The new band has no such limitations.

2) <b>Mike Villegas as producer.</b> He's had plenty of practice and time to grow as a music professional, not just yer typical guitarmeister in a band (Rizal Underground). Loved his production of Cacai Velasquez, and producing CIR was like old home week for him since he was their original guitarist and sessioned with them a lot in '97 before they settled on their current configuration.

3) <b>Interesting choice of session musicians.</b> Particularly Butch Saulog on keyboards - what a nice piano solo he put in on the opening track (and first single) "Halika". Butch's style leans towards a blues/gospel sound and he was able to put in a chunky approach in his playful solo here. Tots Tolentino also drops in some sax now and then - sounds a lot better than Pete in the last album (or Joe Ingarra who played with them on stage).

Offline alooficon

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Color It Red: Pop Fiction
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2000, 05:16:18 AM »
Yup the album might be Pop-py in its title but this one definitely sounds different from the last two albums. Kaya nga daw Pop "Fiction".
 
  I liked Reverie too, especially for its poetry ("until what once brought me heartache, brings comfort to me"); Upside Down for its jazz lounge sound (hmmm...by the way did Mike Villegas compose one of those commercial jingles on TV belonging to a bank? sounds like his...); Ginuhit ng Langit, which sounds like a good wedding song and for being(I think) one of those honest to goodness songs about true love, not just a superficial lab song.  Sumigaw Ka sounds like a song from a previous CIR album, but one that this album can't do without since its sound is something that an old/original listener would probably look for.  The saxophone effect, of course sounds new. Halika and All You Got to Do is something that sticks in your brain (with the "parap-pap-pap-pa-pa-pa" and the "du-dut-du-du-rut-tu"), and sounds like subtle funky jazz with a little rock on the side.
   
   Definitely, this album is the best output yet of CIR.

Offline jazzbo

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commercial?
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2000, 05:36:19 AM »
Quote from: alooficon
 
Upside Down for its jazz lounge sound (hmmm...by the way did Mike Villegas compose one of those commercial jingles on TV belonging to a bank? sounds like his...);


Upside Down is one of my favorite tracks, and when I analyze it, it sounds like something that could have been done by the old Sergio Mendez and the Brasil 66 (listen to "Pretty World"). It may sound cheesy to some but I've always liked antique bossa nova and Brazillian chord progressions. Mike Villegas could have written that bank jingle - his day job is as an inhouse writer/arranger for Hit productions, which primarily does jingles and sound design.