*****
Mor Lam Sa On 13 contains some much more engaging material than Jintara's last couple of albums, although all of the best songs are covers of earlier works recorded by Honey, Jintara or both. Despite the lack of originality, the album as a whole is an enjoyable look back at an earlier age which is too often overlooked in the frenetic pace of new releases.
Bawk hak paan DJ makes a low-key start to the album: it's a fairly typical slow ballad, but with enough of interest in the pin and saw accompaniment to be worth an occasional listen.
Unusually, most of the videos feature a troupe of male dancers.
Track 2, Huang faen daen chum num, is where the album really starts to get into its stride, as is indicated by this song, rather than the first, being the title track. It's a classic mor lam song which opens with an attractive long gern section; the pace is steady rather than exhilarating, with well-sculpted vocal lines. The instrumentals are dominated by an interacting pair of keyboards, one of which is set up to sound rather like the accordian from an old sea-shanty. Another notable feature of this track, for better or worse, is the first of several appearances on this album of a vocoder-style effect used in dubious taste on Jintara's voice in the choruses.
The third song, Pa pa namta suem, raises the tempo a notch further, propelled from the start by a driving bass line and instrumental sforzandi. This is a cover of Honey's Khaw laeo mai taeng; two more Honey covers are tracks 8 and 9: Sao rong-ngan baan jon, covering Sao na pawa rak, has another beautiful gern section, while Pop rak ngan khaeng rue has a thumping rhythmic opening; it's another version of Honey's Sao Galasin sin tawang, which Jin earlier covered as Namta chim kang rao pa on Mor Lam Sa On 8.
Num Bhua Khao sao Pontawng opens with a delightful gern featuring pin, khene and guitar, before turning into a bizarre up-tempo ballad which combines the abandoned girl and comic katoey motifs, to surprisingly satisfying musical effect. Song hak khuen ai is in a similar vein, but with a remorseless pace and a touch more drama.
Fan pot fan lue is a cover of one of Jintara's own earlier songs, Som nam na tua eng, again from Mor Lam Sa On 8. In this case the re-make is wholly unnecessary, the main difference being the more perfunctory lam break; nevertheless, the song itself is still a great one, and always worth hearing again.
Track 7, Buat laeo yaa ni rak, is a generic lam song with nothing to distinguish it from countless others, but the last song, Huang mae yaam glai baan brings the album to an interesting close. It has an unusually close blending of tung and lam elements, with the vocal line moving from the one to the other with no clear breaks.
| Track number | Song title (Thai) | Song title (Romanised) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | บอกฮักผ่าน ดี เจ | Bawk hak paan DJ |
| 2 | ห่วงแฟนแดนชุมนุม | Huang faen daen chum num |
| 3 | ผ้าป่าน้ำตาซึม | Pa pa namta suem |
| 4 | หนุ่มบัวขาวสาวโพนทอง | Num Bua Khao sao Pontawng |
| 5 | ส่งฮักคืนอ้าย | Song hak khuen ai |
| 6 | ฝันโพดฝันเหลือ | Fan pot fan lue |
| 7 | บวชแล้วอย่าหนีรัก | Buat laeo ya ni rak |
| 8 | สาวโรงงานบ้านจน | Sao rong-ngan baan jon |
| 9 | พบรักงานแข่งเรือ | Pop rak ngan khaeng rue |
| 10 | ห่วงแม่ยามไกลบ้าน | Huang mae yaam glai baan |