Credits: www.wangleehom.com

Heroes of Earth ("HoE") was the album that turned me into a Leehom fan. It was in 2 words, sheer brilliance. While it dazzled me, it also got me wondering how he was going to top his effort in his follow-up.

I guess rather than try surpassing or even replicating HoE's success, Leehom has opted instead to sidestep that and do something quite the opposite.

The result is the album, aptly titled, Change Me (改变自己).

On all counts, Change is everything HoE isn't.

I'm not griping about the change itself. In fact, I love it when musicians take the risk and throw me off my seat with something totally out of the ordinary.

And Leehom's been one such musician who has constantly done so. I've got all his albums since Forever's First Day, and in every release, there's almost always something bold/offbeat/unpredictable.

However, after my very first spin of Change, my instant reaction was, That's It?

That was despite 12 really decent tracks. (Ok, make that 11. Track 4 doesn't count.) I guess I'm greedy, but decent is not good enough for me when it comes to a Leehom album. I need my fix of Leehom experiments, but somehow this is glaringly missing from Change.

I guess I've been too accustomed to him delivering brilliance. So when he goes safe and easy, I feel kind of shortchanged because we all know he is capable of greater stuff.

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I think I would have liked this album much better if I were not that big a fan, because expectations aside, this is actually a very palatable album, with not a single track I'd skip. It's simple, unpretentious, happy pop music that'll have you singing and tapping along in no time. I guess Leehom has reached the stage where he's stopped taking himself too seriously, and is comfortable enough writing on first instincts. Unlike in his previous albums, he makes no attempt at producing anything cutting edge. Instead, the album waxes nostalgia more than anything else. He seems to have taken a step back after his hip-hop/rap foray. Now it's back to basics -- a departure from the sophistication and grandeur of his chinked-out albums -- with nothing too fanciful or dramatic.

Imo, the most notable thing about this album lies not so much in the music, but in the humour and playfulness. Many of the songs in Change make references to songs from his previous albums (and sometimes even to songs in Change itself). Cockney Girl, for instance, sounds almost like a parody of 盖世英雄 [Heroes of Earth] (lyrically, that is). It starts off with the exact same lines as HoE, before he makes the disclaimer, "But this time the story takes place in London." Ha!

My favourite reference however, is in the title track, Change Me. He actually reused the controversial 放开你的心 [Open Your Heart] sample which he had allegedly plagiarised from Usher in the 3-4 second interval between the chorus and the second verse. It sounds to me like a subtle dig at his critics, "So you're saying I plagiarised? Here we go again..." I'm not sure whether I'm reading too much between the lines, but if he really did intend what I thought he intended, then I must say, that dig was pretty clever.

The most likeable song in the album, I suppose, has to be 我们的歌 [Our Song]. It's got great hooks, a catchy melody, and positive, happy lyrics. But it's really the line 如果世界太危险/只有音乐最安全 (when the world gets too dangerous/only music is the safest) that does it for me. Music as a respite - that just hit the nail on the head!

My personal favourite, however, is Cockney Girl. It sounds very much like 竹林深处 [Deep in the Bamboo Growth] from Shangri-La, but it's a more polished, and a more cleverly layered version. It's one of those songs where you'll discover something new with each fresh spin. I just love how the song progresses in steps. If HoE is a random collage of sounds, then this song works like a systematic mosaic. I'm not saying that I prefer this to HoE. Both are brilliant in their own right, but they hit me at different spots. This song's currently on constant rotation in my MP3 player.

Other notable tracks: 不完整的旋律 [Incomplete Melody], 爱在哪里 [Where is Love], 爱的鼓励 [Love's Encouragement] (imo, way too McDonald's-ish, but the jazzy piano interlude just salvaged the whole song for me), 你是我心内的一首歌[You are a Song in my Heart] (intentionally tacky, and in such a cute way), and of course, the title track, 改变自己  [Change Me], which is such a joy to behold live.

At the end of it all: I'd have to say, this is a decent one which has its moments, but it's certainly not his best. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this going easy thing is just a passing phase, because this Leehom fix was just not potent enough for me. What it lacks is edginess. Hopefully, the next time we hear from him, he'll be back with something more compelling, and something with some added dimension.