ReImagine Leslie Cheung--Live Show

ReImagine Leslie Cheung was not only a double album release, it was also a one-night concert in Hong Kong. March 1, 2012, Cantopop artists who had contributed to the album, and some who had not, performed a selection of works featured on the album before a live audience. This concert was filmed, paired with the studio recording, and distributed as a boxed set comprising 2 CDs and 2 DVDs. Taking the performers out of the studio and putting them on stage before a live audience allowed some artists to shine, while the shortcomings of others were magnified by the live setting.  I am not well versed on the multitude of Cantopop performers active in Hong Kong today. I am familiar with about 20 artists, generally the most popular veterans of the Cantopop scene, the "stars," if you will. A number of the artists who participated in the ReImagine project were unfamiliar to me and, truth be told, there may be good reasons for that. Those previously unknown to me generally are lesser talents who do not command the same attention and respect as the stars. Like popular music everywhere, many aspire to be stars, but only a handful possess what it takes to truly reach the top echelons of the profession.I could catalog many essential qualities that separate the stars from the rest, but I think one fundamental distinction will serve here. There are singers and there are performers. Singers approach a song as music--a melody--first and foremost. They sing words, but often they do not "deliver" the song through its lyrics. Performers, on the other hand, focus on communicating something through the performance of the song. They are not content with simply singing the musical notes and words on the printed page. These are merely a starting point for sharing something much richer with an audience. A performer is always aware of the audience and seeking to make a connection with it. Many mere singers have finer vocal instruments in terms of pitch, timbre, range, etc. than some of the stars. But whose who are simply singers do not deliver the emotional immediacy and excitement or rivet the attention of the audience the way a charismatic performer can. A performer draws the audience in and captivates them, while a singer merely sings at and for an audience, but there isn't much emotional connection. A fine voice alone is not enough.One of the things that was most remarkable about Leslie Cheung was his riveting performances, both on stage and in studio recordings. His voice is a living thing possessing a thousand colors, each one of his performances is worthy of Sheherazade and her 1,0001 tales of wonder and imagination. Music and lyrics are vehicles for creating an entire richly nuanced world for the audience. Leslie never just delivered a melody and lyrics, he always invited the listener into a world that he created, a world he wanted the audience to experience alongside him as he fashioned it through performance.Faced with such a legacy, it is not surprising that many of the performers in the ReImagine concert fall far short of the bar set by Leslie Cheung. He is destined to be remembered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest performer in Cantopop history. Those who fared best were the talented top-tier performers who have forged their own signature style and polished their stage presentation. Those who suffered in comparison were those who didn't bring as much to the table in terms of talent and experience, though it wasn't just a question of experience. One seasoned veteran, Prudence Liew, performed "Left, Right Hand" in a histrionic manner worthy of a Las Vegas review that was truly cringe-worthy. Other singers whose performances didn't convince were Stephanie Che, who merely went through the motions in "Die as Dreaming, Live as Drunk." Perhaps she thinks her deadpan monotone delivery is cool. It is not, it is boring. Keeva Mak shouldn't have been put into a gender-bending lesbian-esque number with her weak voice that breaks on every other note and her timid performance style. Shame on the producer for tormenting Keeva (and the rest of us) with this unwise attempt at kink that only makes the viewer want to see Leslie's over-the-top gay boys night out music video 100 more times rather than be insulted by poor Keeva's embarrassing performance.Robyn and Kendy should stay on the coffee house circuit, which is about the only place one would want to see their cutesy two girls with accoustic guitars and tiny, tiny voices that won't stay in tune shtick. At 17 can't come out of hiatus fast enough. Against that gold standard, Robyn and Kendy are an embarrassment. Alex Lam should join them at the coffee house. His father may be a Cantopop legend, but Alex performs in a manner that is so small and internal, you keep looking at the stage trying to find the performer.  I wonder who was passed over to include Alex in this project? But the lowest of low points has to be Kay Tse's vain attempt to perform Leslie's signature song, "I". The little girl voice, combined with the jazzy arrangement, works against the message of the song. In many ways "I" was Leslie's coming out song. He wrote the melody and asked the lyricist, Lam Jik, to start the song with the line, "I am what I am," from . Given its source, it is pretty clear what the intention of that line is. Hearing Kay Tse deliver the line as a virginal ingenue goes beyond subverting the message of the original version of the song. Again, it is very hard to know what the intention of Alvin Leong was in his selection of this song with this arrangement for Kay.Even a Cantopop veteran can get into hot water trying too hard to reinterpret Leslie when that interpretation is highly mannered and frankly irritating. I know many in Hong Kong consider Eason Chan to be the current king of Cantopop. For five years now, I have been trying to figure out why. His performance at the Reimagine concert did nothing to dispel the mystery. Eason's rendition (I am being kind, I could have chosen a much harsher word) of "The Coldest Day" begins on video with Eason wearing a typically bizarre Eason Chan outfit (black cap with large pompom and dark glasses) singing the song acapella. Perhaps taking to heart Leslie's attention to lyrics, Eason sings each phrase painfully slowly, punctuated by what feels like an interminable pause between each line. He continues in this highly mannered and irritating fashion for several minutes. Just when you feel like you can't stand anymore and are reaching for the fast forward button on the remote, the orchestra swells and Eason pops up on stage via the center stage elevator to sing the song at a frisky tempo with a great deal of emoting. At the end, the audience applauds enthusiastically and I am left once again to wonder what it is about this performer that strikes such a chord with contemporary Hong Kong audiences.But not all of the performances were as disappointing or mystifying as those just enumerated. Karen Mok delivers a fine version of "Little Star". She had a close and tender friendship with Leslie, whom she calls Uncle Leslie during her testimonial at the end of the song. Neither Kelly Chan nor Sandy Lam were able to perform live, but did perform via a taped performance played during the concert. Kelly perhaps comes closest to capturing Leslie's vocal delivery in "The Four Seasons". It is all and all a charming, fresh vocal performance that enchants and captivates. The same is true for Sandy Lam, who knew Leslie for many years and collaborated with him on a hit song and music video. Her version of "Passing By Dragonfly" is beautifully reinterpreted in a manner that stays true to the feeling of the song as Leslie performed it, but personalizes it in the manner of a Sandy Lam song. Both Kelly and Sandy turn in very satisfying performances.Anthony Wong collaborated with Leslie Cheung on an entire album project, the EP. Like Leslie, Anthony displays a sensitivity to language and a high degree of engagement with the lyrics when he performs. Trained in stagecraft and acting with the avant-garde theater group Zuni Icosahedron, Anthony typically combines words, music, stage, and audience in his engaging, engrossing, and sometimes electrifying performances. Here the scope is more limited, but he still draws the audience into the performance and has the added advantage of performing with Leslie's voice as part of the vocal track. The audience recognizes what a marvelous performance they have just experienced and show their appreciation with warm applause.Another standout is Hins Cheung. I was familiar with the name, but not his work. Watching his rendition of "Red," and "Missing You," I discovered a new Cantopop performer who really impresses me. The man has some pipes and performs the R&B arrangement with style, passion, and precision. He knows how to connect with an audience and used costuming and gesture to enhance his impressive performance. The man is a major  on stage, with a stage presence every bit as commanding as a leading tenor performing at La Scala. Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blAwhVmDUIk&feature=relmfuBut the biggest surprises of the night were the performers I had never seen and only two I had heard of before. The producer of the DVD wisely grouped these artists together in a block. The Chung Brothers began the set. They are two brothers who perform blues-tinged gospel music and are better known to the Christian music set than to your average Cantopop fan. But they turn in an effortless, tasty blues version of "Without Love." One brother sings and the other plays harmonica. The song swings and is a delight. The performance is light, gentle, and free of pretension. My only regret is that the Chung Brothers were not included in the studio recording.Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooH5GpZbwGI&feature=relmfuAfter a colorless performance by Alex Lam of a fascinating arrangement of "Blamefully Beautiful," the vocal duo Swing takes to the stage. I had no idea who Swing was, but was immediately won over by their energy, infectious charisma, sweet harmonies, and spot-on musical interpretation. Looking at the program booklet, I see that one of the members of Swing is Eric Kwok who is also listed as composer of "Love in Houston," the song Swing performed. Their reinterpretation of the song is 180 degrees from Leslie's original but, since the composer of the song is one-half of Swing, and the arrangement is such a satisfying new take on that composition, it was one of the great revelations of the ReImigine Leslie Cheung project.Video: http://youtu.be/tbZM68Z_kFsAn even more radical reinterpretation of one of Leslie's hits from the 1990s was turned in by the rock band Mr. Electric guitars, bass, and drums play an intro that sounds nothing like anything heard on a Leslie Cheung album. Then the singer sings the first verse accompanied only by a driving bass and drums. It takes a few seconds to even recognize the song as "Blamefully Beautiful." But the real surprise comes with the chorus, which is given a full driving rock treatment. This version is virtually unrecognizable from Leslie's original version, but it works on so many levels, infusing the composition with new energy and a new sound. Truly this is the most successful and exciting re-imagining of Leslie's music in the show.Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV09rleV7AM&feature=relmfuNext the band is joined by Swing and Alex Lam for a blistering rendition of "Big Heat," again in a raucous arrangement that puts a totally different spin on the composition.Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-IxsfaQMrY&feature=relmfuHacken Lee is trotted out at the end to wrestle with a horribly over-orchestrated, cacophonous, arrangement of that most beautiful of songs, "Bewildered." The original version and its accompanying music video are subtle and restrained. Leslie's preference seems to have been for clean, stripped-down arrangements that wouldn't overpower his voice. All of that has been thrown out in the new arrangement which has as many instruments playing as loudly as possible as they can for most of the song. Hacken Lee is at the mercy of the ill-chosen arrangement and his performance suffers accordingly. Things improve slightly with "Wind is Blowing," but Hacken has such a different way of singing from Leslie, which is quite apparent as the arrangement of this song sticks fairly close to the version Leslie performed throughout his career, that it is hard not to prefer Leslie's iconic reinterpretation of the Japanese classic. This isn't a style of music that allows Hacken to shine, it seems.After two hours of highs and lows, the concert finally comes to an end with a group rendition of that Cantopop standard that Leslie passionately embraced, "Star." Perhaps unwisely the song starts with a video montage from the Passion Tour DVD and Leslie singing "Star" in voice over. Once again, you get to hear and see all of the elements that made Leslie such a special performer. Within only a few notes, the performance has drawn in the captivated listener. But then Leslie's voice ends and the singers at the concert begin singing a line or two in turn. The contrast to what we have just heard is almost painful. Universal Music's experiment in "updating" Leslie's hits from the 1990s for the 2010s is drawing to a close. Perhaps Universal hopes that this project will give a shot in the arm to its current stable of performers. Or perhaps the hope is that at least some of these performances will trigger a curiosity about the original Leslie Cheung versions of these songs. Certainly Leslie Cheung fans would rather listen to his renditions of these songs than most of the reinterpretations presented here by Universal Music. By placing Leslie Cheung and his music alongside these contemporary versions, the gulf between what Leslie achieved and the current state of Cantopop music is sobering. A handful of artists are up to the task of creating vital and viable versions of the original hits. For the rest, those failed attempts will soon fade from the public consciousness and will in no way take away any of the luster from the Leslie Cheung originals.Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9BXc54jh6k