Mikeru On Chinese Music Today

Anyone expecting Eason Chan's latest Cantonese album H3M to be anything as fresh as his previous album Listen To may be a little disappointed. Written and produced along with the band for his ongoing world tour (each member, except for band leader Pal Sinn, contributes one song) as a commemorative album, Eason's first Cantonese album in 17 months is a return to his Cantopop roots from his days at the now-defunct Capital Artists. With almost no usual Eason-style genre-bending this time around, H3M consists almost entirely of easy listening Cantopop ballads made for easy consumption by the mass audiences. For fans of his later works, the album is considerably more monotonous than his recent albums, but with Cantopop fans already declaring this the album of the year, H3M may become the textbook example of the great cultural divides even music can have.

Musically, H3M is a continuation of sorts from Eason's 2008 Mandarin album Don't Want to Let Go. The general atmosphere of the album is fairly light, mostly with ballads that lean towards easy listening. It never even approaches the heaviness of some of his earlier hits, and most songs are ready for challenging Karaoke renditions. The only exception to the rule is the fun, big band song Allegro, Opus 3.3 a.m. (Track 1), a breezy mediation on lyric writing. Songwriter Gary Tong's twisty composition allows Eason to have fun stretching his vocals, showing his full versatility as a vocalist. The dense composition also poses great challenge for lyricist/comic illustrator Siu Hark, who refers to some of Cantopop's greatest lyricists to tell a story about a lyricist's frustrations while writing the ultimate love ballad, and comes up with something wonderfully self-deprecating, even though the speed of the song makes most of the second half incomprehensible.


As an admirer of Eason's versatile musical sensibilities, H3M is naturally a bit underwhelming. This is certainly his most accessible album in years, simply for its resemblance to his early musical style. However, in terms of Eason's 13-year musical journey, this album is one step too far to the past. Eason's music has always been ahead of Cantopop trends, and this album simply follows it. Then again, it would certainly be unfair to judge an album based on a musician's 13 years' worth of music. The favorable response by Hong Kong pop fans so far is not entirely unbelievable, as H3M is an album that slowly grows on listeners with its easygoing atmosphere, Karaoke-friendly music, and sometimes meaningful lyrics. However, an Eason Chan album should be judged at a higher standard than just any Cantopop album. Even on a typical Cantopop standard, H3M earns only a passing grade.