Back to the ‘80s

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

In case you haven't noticed it yet, there is a revival of the Pinoy pop music of the 80s, the hits of such singers as Zsa Zsa Padilla, Gary Valenciano, and Sharon Cuneta once more complied, digitally remastered, in new compact disc collections.

It is a master stroke in marketing, of course: to put together the songs recorded by these singing stars of the previous generation and sell them as collections. This is the generation that has grown to be the community’s earners and movers and shakers, and therefore the market that has the most disposable income now.

Of course recording companies have been reissuing the songs of Manila Sound, the music of the 70s, when Original Pilipino Music first punctured the popularity of foreign singers in the local scene, thanks largely to Imelda Marcos who made sure, among others, that radio stations played at least one OPM every hour.

Thus you have songs like “T.L. Ako sa Yo,” “Dahil Mahal Kita,” “Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko”, “Bakit ka Ganyan” and a whole slew of VST and Company disco ditties, “Awitin Mo, Isayaw Ko,” among them, which a few years ago rode the retro wave.

Of course the most dramatic and successful re-issue was that of Apo Hiking Society about seven years ago, when their songs like “Awit ng Barkada” and “Ewan” were revived by the popular bands of that year. A follow-up was made on that, but did not quite do as well as the first one.

Now you have the ‘80s. Cuneta’s 54 song-collection comes in four CDs, and includes “Mr. DJ”, the song that launched one of the Philippines’ most successful music and movie careers. Valenciano’s latest collection includes the sentimental “Where Do I Begin?” the theme song of the international tearjerker “Love Story.” Basil Valdez has one, and it has his inimitable rendition of “Ngayon at Kailanman.”

It is Padilla’s “18”, however, that is most interesting, not only because the lady has such a powerful voice that has a distinctive nasal twang to it, but because she doesn’t have many albums of this sort, one where almost all songs are familiar.

It is a two-CD collection, each with 18 of Padilla’s memorable songs.

Volume I includes her stunning rendition of “Don’t Give Up on Us,” the song originally sung by David Soul, making it sound like it was hers originally as she gives it her own signature.

Padilla, however shines even brighter in Morris Albert’s “Feelings,” displaying the power of her voice, vulnerable, dramatic, distinctive. The Tagalog songs here are Padilla’s signature records, Willy Cruz’ “Sana’y Maghintay ang Walang Hanggan,” and “Kapag ang Puso’y Sinugatan,” and Vehnee Saturno’s “Mula sa Puso”

In Volume 2, Padilla sparkles with Eleanor Farjeon and Mon Espia’s “Morning Had Broken.” Somehow, this is one song that comes truly alive with Padilla’s mellow and happy take, refreshing, indeed, like a new day, when everything is a promise about to unfold. It conjures images of a long drive on the edge of a mountain, taking in the first rays of the sun piercing through the trees, the light slowly taking over the world.

She follows that up with “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” an almost religious rendition that is at once inspiring and comforting, as Padilla pushes her voice to beautiful heights, while keeping tight control of her performance.

All told, this album is a definitive collection of the best of Padilla – and a memory lane of the ‘80s, with all the loves and pain, the troubles and joys those years had brought us.*

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