Album 4 (Song Jai Ma Glai Chit)

Tai Oratai

*****

Tai's albums usually open with a big tune, drenched with pathos, which ensures the disc starts with a bang. Song jai ma glai chit is the closest we get here. It's a typical Tai ballad of a poor working girl and her family trying to get by, but which lacks some of the impact of her other big songs and has nothing that marks it out as really special.

Track 2, Yaa khit yanglai, is lighter, but more successful. This is Tai on the sunny side of the street: this time the girl arrives at the factory just in time, works hard but has friendly colleagues, and has a little money to save at the end of the month. The tune and accompaniment are distinctly perky, making this a pleasantly undemanding listen. The fourth track, Nang baep ngaan bun, is even less weighty: a comic look at a girls' night out at a temple fair. It's all very well, but it's far removed from Tai's strengths, and she fails to really bring it to life.

Sandwiched between these two songs is the more characteristic Bawk jai yangngai di, which has an attractive accompaniment which includes an acoustic guitar. It's a nice example of the wronged-woman genre which comes complete with a video of CGI flying photos. Perhaps the most enjoyable song on the album (if you put your sense of taste to one side) is track 6, Khue hak rue baw. The occasional ethereal backing vocals are a particularly nice touch in this mawkishly sentimental love story.

Two other songs are notable as curiosities. Firstly track 7, Hak maa tae chaat gawn is mor lam like you've never heard before, and if God has any mercy, never will again. This leaden attempt at lam phu-tai is utterly lifeless and depressing, though at least if you watch the video with the sound off you can enjoy Tai's lovely red dress. Finally, the album closes with Kam sanya ti Galasin, which combines two genres: the abandoned woman and the somewhat less common "Galasin pong lang" genre (other examples being Honey's Sao Galasin sin wang, and Duang's Sao Galasin). In this case the pong lang references are slightly less contrived than usual; it's a decent, if not great, track, and thus an appropriate end to a mediocre album.

Track listing

Track number	Song title (Thai)	Song title (Romanised)
1	ส่งใจมาใกล้ชิด	Song jai ma glai chit
2	อย่าคิดหยังหลาย	Yaa khit yanglai
3	บอกใจยังไงดี	Bawk jai yangngai di
4	นางแบบงานบุญ	Nang baep ngaan bun
5	หน้าจอรอสาย	Na jaw raw sai
6	คือฮักหรือบ่	Khue hak rue baw
7	ฮักมาแต่ชาติก่อน	Hak maa tae chaat gawn
8	เพื่อนใจสมัยเรียน	Puean jai samai rian
9	ฝ้ายขาวที่ผูกแขน	Fai khao ti puuk khaen
10	คำสัญญาที่กาฬสินธุ์	Kam sanya ti Galasin

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