Album Review: Khalil Fong – ‘15’

Album release date: 2011
Genre: Soul/R&B, Retro Rock, Jazz, Cpop
Rating: 3/5
Review by: jct

After a two year hiatus, Khalil Fong returns with his sixth album entitled 15. On this album, he takes his music in a different direction than the one he followed in the past. His usual traditional Soul/R&B has been put on the back burner and replaced by Retro Rock and some R&B/Jazz. Overall, the album is heavily guitar driven which fits the album title as it is a reference to the age he began learning to play guitar.

A Different Path

The album starts off with a mid-tempo R&B/funk track, “Gotta Make A Change” which is about.social and environmental problems in the world as he sings smoothly, “Listen to the tree they see everything you do/ Look up at the sky can’t you see all the things you do become a sign/ That everything you do has a reason for leaving/ If you think there’s a way to change your life/ Then it’s now time to say that I believe.”

The album features a strong guitar presence which marks a different path that Khalil is moving towards. Although he experimented outside the Soul/R&B genre in his past albums, many songs on this album set a tone that are different from what his fans may be used to such as “曇花 (Epiphyllum)” and “張永成 (feat. Ghost Style) (Zhang Yong Cheng)”. Fortunately, the album is not completely devoid of traditional R&B/Soul and romantic ballads. Some examples include the title track, “因為你 (Because of You)” and “好不容易 (Not So Easy)”. The latter track is worth mentioning as it was written to commemorate his friend’s wedding. A 60-piece orchestra is also used to deliver the song which is about commitment to love as he sings, “Because I only love you/ I’ve already changed/ I realized/ Not so easy, not so easy/ Not so easy to find love with you.” Also deserving mentioning are “Over”, which is a R&B/Jazz track about a broken heart and “無菇朋友(Mushroom-less Friend)” which is a sound based word play implying innocent friend.

It is impressive that Khalil wrote the lyrics, composed and produced most if not all the songs, but the lack of traditional R&B flavour is somewhat disappointing. Although Khalil has smooth and soulful vocals, the guitar sounds is sometimes too strong and overwhelm his vocals. Longtime fans of his may have been surprised by the musical direction he went with this album, but there’s no arguing that it shows that he is capable of delivering new things and sounds comfortable in it. This album certainly represents a major leap in many aspects of his musical skills.

Delight or Disappointment

This album represents a bold change in direction for Khalil, who has mainly followed a tradional Soul/R&B path. Although R&B/Jazz are enjoyable, the Retro Rock genre may not delight those who enjoy mainly R&B and R&B/Soul as it is too heavily guitar driven. Overall his latest work will either delight or disappoint listeners depending on whether one can accept his new music direction.


Tracklist:
1. Gotta Make A Change
2. 曇花 (Epiphyllum)
3. 張永成 (feat. Ghost Style) (Zhang Yong Cheng)
4. 因為你 (Because of You)
5. 情勝策略 (Love Wins Strategy)
6. 無菇朋友 (Mushroom-less Friend/ Innocent Friend)
7. 自以為 (徐佳瑩合唱) (duet with Lala Xu) (Self-Assumption)
8. 二人遊 (Two Person Tour)
9. Over
10. Take Me
11. 好不容易 (Not So Easy)