Mon David’s My One and Only Love review
Mon David’s My One and
Only Love has presented itself as what could possibly be one of the most intimidating
albums to review. This has been clear since the moment I’ve first seen the
jewel case, which is plastered with credentials and hyperbolic compliments. If
I should end up not liking the album, I’d likely be told by disagreeing
consumers to read the Philippine Daily Inquirer comment, which would then be
followed by a derogatory "you just don’t get it" remark (or perhaps a "he’s much better live" comment). On the other hand, I
don’t think I’m doing everyone much service if I just agree to the general
consensus by simply being an echo because there’s not much else that hasn’t been said about Mon David’s brilliance. In both cases, I need to expend many efforts
in explaining myself.
Given the pressure, I would’ve actually shunned the album,
but I was won over by seeing 3 Bill Evans compositions on the track list.
Well, I’ll just say it right here and now: Mon David is very
talented, and probably brilliant (as an Inquirer journalist stated). His vocal
range is wide and he sounds like a more nasally-voiced Tony Bennett.
However, I do not like the album at all.
While the track listings are dominated with mellow and torch
songs, there are 3 hard-swinging big band songs. Let’s start with
the latter. Let Go is catchy, but is
ruined by Mon David’s scat singing: it sounds strained and silly (he utters
something like "let let lo lo bo lo le le lot let"). None of these problems are
carried over in Alone Together, but it
only becomes worse in ‘Yan ang Pinoy, which is another one of those "pinoy ako" (informal phrase for "I am
Filipino") novelty barf-fests. In this song, Mon David scat sings something
like "pa da pa pja do peno, pinas pa sa […] pap dot pa ding" (bading allusion?) with a few recycled scat phrases of Let Go. Try listening to
that song without bursting into laughter. Although not entirely verbatim, I swear
I’m not making any of these up.
His torch songs are a little better. My One and Only Love, Skylark,
Very Early and Waltz for Debby, with their sparse and tastefully-done backings, all
provide a glimpse at how the album could’ve been had it only focused on this
kind of music (answer: I would rate it higher). Very Early, Soulitude, ‘Nasa ‘Yo and I
Had a Dream are okay but they have the problem of being out of place - for
an album that touts Mon David as someone with the best jazz artist awards,
those songs sure do sound more suited for a Basil Valdez (a Filipino pop opera
singer) record. What’s even more baffling is the reluctance of using piano:
only few songs have it, which doesn’t make sense, because a significant portion
of the track lists consists of Bill Evans’ compositions (not to mention, Mon David himself cites Keith Jarrett as an inspiration)! Lastly, Abe Mu Ku (a colloquial term for "love
me") suffers from a spoken section that sounds extremely lugubrious, and the
whole composition could provide a good condiment for a pancake breakfast.
I don’t really put too much faith in awards and credentials,
and I can independently decide whether an album is good or not without knowing
how well it sold and how it was received by critics. What bothers me is
that I have faith in Mon David based on all the praises I’ve read about him from many different publications. After this review is posted, there might be a possibility that my
blog will see a transient public exposure. The most painful part of reviewing
this album isn’t that I might be criticized and badmouthed. The most painful part is that I originally intend to express a more
positive opinion; but after hearing the contents of the album, I am dismayed,
because I know Mon David can do better and I can’t help but shake my head in
disappointment as I ready myself for flame mails. Score: 2.5 out of 5.
