My Best Devotion ~ Julie Sue

Latest Albums

Sweet Comeback

Now that retro is so big, a colleague predicted that the '80s revival would soon hit Chinese pop. Su's return to Mandarin recordings is a case in point. The title track, a dance number, would have done any '80s disco diva proud. It's happy, it's mindless, and it's festive pop at its purest and best. But Su is equally famous for her gritty edge. Check out "River", her duet with Chang Huei Mei penned by the late Chang Yu Sheng. From the poetic words ("When you lie down/I turned into a river") to the bluesy-rock tune, it's the perfect platform for Su and A-Mei's vocal prowess. And the beauty is that their voices complement each other rather than fight for the limelight.

And for those old enough to remember, the album includes remakes of Su's classics such as "The Same Moonlight" (live) and "Yes or No". Her explosive persona is still in good form; and while the arrangements might seem dated at times, the numbers are an excellent marker of Su's heyday as the premier female rocker in Chinese pop. Few comebacks are as sweet as Su's.

(Extracts from 8 Days)

A-Mei may be Su Rei's ticket to the big time

There is only one way to listen to Su Rei --- loudly. Remember how her voice blasted through the screen in '80s box-office hit "Taken The Wrong Bus", which also made hits of songs like "Any Bottles To Sell?" and "Walking With Your Feelings".

Some hits in that movie, "Change", "Same Moonlight" and "If", have been given new arrangements in this 10-track Mandarin collection. More than 10 years hence, it is good to know her voice still packs as much power and emotion.

But one hopes she will snap out of her '80s mould after this album. There are signs she can refashion herself: She attempts soul a la Aretha Franklin and her rock duet with A-Mei shows she is determined to ride on the latter's reputation to break into the youth market.

A first, surely, for a veteran to use a relatively new star to re-enter the scene. Recommended tracks: "River" and "That's How Love Comes".

Rating: B+

(Extracts from The Straits Times)

Hear poetry in Su Rei's Hokkien Power Pop

Those who cringe at Hokkien songs should at least open their minds and give this album a listen. In the end, you might become a convert.

This is Julie's first Min Nan dialect collection since she started out in the mid-'80s as a leather jacket-clad pop-rock singer.

In Taiwan, there are two classifications of Hokkien songs: the blue-collar angstridden kind and the poetic angst-ridden type in semi-classical versions.

Performing and saying you like the latter is a sign of class and taste, in case you are wondering. Julie proves she has both qualities in this 10-track album. And with her unique lusty and edgy singing, she fleshes out vividly the sadness and loneliness that is typical of Min Nan pop.

The lyrics are not your run-of-the-mill woman-loves-man-but-did-not-work-out drama. Instead, feelings are never expressed directly but represented by lyrical images -- drying flowers falling off their branches, street lamps suddenly lighting in the yellowing dusk, the bum-boat quietly leaving the harbour.

Corny images to some extent but with Julie's brand of power and womanliness, she injects a lot of character into the music. So, before you dish this album to your grandparents, give it a chance. You never know what beauty lurks within.

Rating: A-

(Extracts from The Straits Times)

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