*****
How successful one finds this album will depend on what one thinks of Nok's voice. It's certainly distinctive, but one one gets beyond the nasal timbre, there's a basic lack of subtlety and character — we're left with superficial sobs in the tung ballads and overly-strident open notes in the lam pieces.
Siang Jaak Sao Lao is Nok's signature song, and the
one that made her a star. It has a great marching rhythm, which continues
without interruption throughout the song. This is one of those songs which makes
mor lam/luk tung distinctions irrelevant, combining the
rhythm and instrumentation of lam with the vocal
intonation of tung.
The other songs on the album are less distinctive: as one might expect from Master Tape's other female artist, this is Jintara-esque in the mix of mor lam and luk tung, the production and the writng.
The mor lam tracks are not Nok's forte: she doesn't
seem quite comfortable in the lam breaks, holding back
rather than putting her heart into it, but track 6 — Valentine
Pai Rak — especially is engaging, and they make a welcome change of pace.
The remainder of the songs are luk tung ballads; by no
means bad, but not spectacular either.
The production and writing of the lam tracks show the strongest Jintara influence, with Nok performing in front of a few dancers and a studio backdrop, while the keyboard dominates the instrumentals. The tung videos are more original, with Nok herself playing the lovesick girl on tracks 7 and 8.
Evaluating this album as a whole is both difficult and ultimately irrelevant.
Eleven of the songs are pleasant but insubstantial fillers, while the title
track is so good that the disc is worth buying for it alone. However it's worth
is in the writing rather than in the performance: it would be nice to hear it
from a singer with more expression in her voice.
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