Album review: Yoon Jong Shin – ‘Monthly Project Album 2010 – April – October’

Album release date: April – October 2010
Genre: Kpop
Rating: 4/5 (exclude July)
Review by: jct

In these monthly projects, between April 2010 and October 2010, Yoon Jong Shin shows more musical ranges compare to his last full album (Vol. 11) which was filled mainly with love ballads. Here, he is able to once again demonstrate his distinct smooth vocals and excellent composition/production skills which makes him a well-rounded singer-songwriter.

Refreshing (April - June)
The monthly singles starts off with the April album, and the first song is his usual pop/ballad song, but the second track, “Rice Wine” is a light and casual pop song. The song “Rice wine” is actually just about rice wine since he did a commercial for it early this year. It’s actually quite unecessary to have this song here. The next monthly release focuses mainly on R&B/pop, especially the song, “Instinctively” with the guest appearance of Swings. Here, Jong Shin's distinct vocals fit the song very well. The June release focus mainly on pop with a tint of country music. Fortunately, his smooth vocals stand out so much that the slight background country beat can be easily ignored especially for those who are not a fan of country music.

… (July)

What is he thinking!! This is by far the worst song of his monthly project singles and his full albums. The two songs in this album have the same lyrics but different beats and arrangements. And they are fast-paced dance/disco tracks, - um, Jong Shin and dance tracks, no thanks - but the main issue here is the awful music beat that is beyond retro. We can call it trash, but that would be an insult to garbage. Seriously, the less said about it the better. 

Strong, Intelligent (August – October)

Fortunately, the August album is nothing like the July album. The ballad songs here capture the emotions through his smooth voice that fans are accustomed to. The September single is another ballad song, composed and produced by Yoon Jong Shin. However, it is completely sung by Kim Yeon Woo, and not featuring him as indicated by the album. This single definitely shows that Jong Shin still excels at composing and producing love ballads that are not generic or boring. The October single, “Can’t Live Without You” contains the same lyrics as the first song in the April album, but with different arrangements and beats. This version sounds better as it fits very well with his voice. Although, it is slower and similar to his traditional ballad, he is able to sing it with true genuine emotions.

It seems like Jong Shin is taking a slightly different approach in terms of production where he integrates different genres of music into ballad. However, these monthly singles reveal that he excels only in ballad/R&B/pop. Nonetheless, the monthly singles are a good effort.

Track list:

1. 그대 없이는 못살아 [Can’t Live Without You] (April)
2. 막걸리나 [Rice wine] (April)

3. 본능적으로 (Feat. Swings) [Instinctively] (May)

4. 성적으로 [Rationally] (May)
5. 넌 완성이었어 [You were perfect] (June)
6. 치과에서 (Feat. 조정치) [At the Dentist] (June)

7. 바래바래 [I hope, I hope] (July)

8. 바래바래 (Bossa Nova ver.) [I hope, I hope] (July)
9. 해변의 추억 (Day ver.) [Memories of the Beach] (August)

10. 해변의 추억 (Night ver.) [Memories of the Beach] (August)

11. 후회 王 (feat. Kim Yeon Woo) [King of Regrets] (September)
12. 그대 없이는 못살아 (늦가을) [Can’t Live Without You (Late Autumn)] (October)