Wang Lee Hom 《Heart Beat》

It has been over a year and five months since Leehom had released 《Change Me》. Now, Leehom returns with 《Heart Beat》, continuing to fuse Chinese-style music with rock and roll and pop music, demonstrating his genius work and magnificent voice.

The album starts off with the rocky and fun track "Love Appropriately" (track 1). Leehom decided to go creative with the lyrics to the track. '得體' in Mandarin sounds like 'dirty', and the meaning of the two words are expressed in the song. In the song, you will also hear Leehom's wide vocal range. Although the song is a new attempt in trying rock, it is only satisfactory compared to his 'chinked-out' style of music.

The title track, "Heart Beat" (track 2), is a love ballad; it is very soft and soothing. However, is nothing like "Kiss Goodbye" or "Forever Love"; the melody is more upbeat and it gives an R&B feel. Also, every instrument in this song, including guitar, piano, bass, and drumbeat, is done by Leehom himself. Fantastic song!

I immediately fell in love with "Sun That Has Been Washed in the Spring Rain" (track 3) when I first heard it. Maybe because it reminded me of "Rhythm of the Falling Rain". "Rain" is a topic that Leehom always wanted to experiment with. Composing music for so many years, Leehom always hoped to have his own 'rain song'. The song is very calm, simple, and relaxing, which makes it very easy to listen to. Also, Leehom's dad co-wrote the lyrics to the song.

The song "Everything" (track 4) is a lovely ballad which greatly demonstrates Leehom's beautiful voice. Leehom sings with a lot of emotion, and you can feel his singing efforts put into the song.

It is very unique how Leehom sings the title of the song in "I Have No Reason to Pay Attention to You" (track 5). It seems as though there is a blip or scratch when he sings that line. Although Cantonese is not Leehom's native tongue, I find Leehom's lyrics to the song very similar to the vocabulary of Cantonese. I find the tune very catchy, and it is definitely worth a listen.

"Another Heaven" (track 6) is a duet with Super Girl Jane Zhang. With two great voices, they complement well with each other. Leehom has collaborated with other female singers in recent years, and Leehom tends to overshadow the girl (not including Cass Phang) because he sings too high key. But Jane has the ability to make her voice shine. She also added her dolphin element of singing into the song, making the piece an even more peaceful and calm.

The lyrics in "Puppet" (track 7) talk about not wanting to be your puppet, which I find to be fun and wacky-sounding. The sound from the electric guitar is a way to emphasize the rock in Leehom, but he can be rocker.

"Script" (track 8) is another slow ballad very similar to what Leehom specializes in, and I feel that there is nothing too special to the track other than Leehom's emotional singing.

"Competitor" (track 9) makes me think of "Can You Feel My World", especially the rap part of the song. Leehom takes on the rap in a mid-tempo voice and I find the song more appreciating when following the lyrics. I didn't really like this track because "Can You Feel My World" is not my cup of tea.

The entire album ends with "What's Up, Rock!!" (track 10). I didn't really like this track when I first heard it. As a matter of fact, I was very negative toward it because of the English chorus, "What's wrong with me? Wro-o-ong with me...." But after listening to it more and following along the lyrics, the silly tune started to catch on. Also, other than the electric guitar, Leehom adds the sound of pipa (and or guzheng) making the song a crossover between rock and Chinese traditional music.

My rating: 9/10
Compared to his last album, I believe this one is better. Leehom's Chinese writing has improved much, and he also used less rap in the album.

Release Date: December 29, 2008

Track List:
01. 愛得得體 Love Appropriately
02. 心跳 Heart Beat
03. 春雨裡洗過的太陽 Sun That Has Been Washed in the Spring Rain
04. Everything
05. 我完全沒有任何理由理你 I Have No Reason to Pay Attention to You
06. 另一個天堂 Another Heaven ft. Jane Zhang
07. 玩偶 Puppet
08. 腳本 Script
09. 競爭對手 Competitor
10. 搖滾怎麼了!! What's Up, Rock!!

"Heart Beat"

"Sun That Has Been Washed in the Spring Rain"

"Everything"

"Another Heaven"

"What's Up, Rock!!"

Get your copy of Wang Lee Hom's 《Heart Beat》!

*Credits to yesasia, youtube, and tudou