Martin sings for broken hearts

Martin Nievera claims to be an expert in affairs of the heart, but I guess as most of you out there surely know, that is only as far as singing love songs goes. Outside of that, his batting average is quite spotty. In fact, it makes one wonder when or if he will ever finally make the enduring homerun. Despite this, he goes about singing songs of love for a living and in the process provides those caught up in romantic situations with choice pieces for their personal soundtracks. His last hit CD outing Best Wishes has been doing just that for several months now. It is described as a wedding album and is made up of old favorites that celebrate the successful lover.

I have to admit though that I prefer to listen to Martin doing brokenhearted songs. It is during these instances when his claim that he is a "soldier of the emotions of the people fighting for a cause he is not sure of" rings so true. The guy pours out all his guts and lets people in on every nick, dent, crack, break and even the repair jobs that his heart has ever had. So all those out there who have ever felt that they have been taken through the same wringer, give a listen to Martin’s new release and find a kindred soul.

The album is aptly titled When Love is Gone and it is made up of break-up songs. Ironically, this collection is the unlikely offshoot of the success of Best Wishes. Martin suggested that since he is an advocate of equal opportunities who is very good at both "hello" and "goodbye" in his relationships, then it is only right for him to do a broken- hearted album as the follow-up release. Thus was born When Love is Gone, a tribute to every stupid decision ever made because as love expert Nievera says, "the outcome is always the value of the decision."

The album mixes covers of foreign hits with original Filipino compositions. The songs included are Hanggang Langit, Nasaan Ka Man, Minsan Lang, Naghihintay, Never Said Goodbye, Before You Said Goodbye, There’s No Easy Way, Let Me Be the One Sorry Song, a duet with his soulful buddy Brian McKnight, Separate Lives, a duet with Zsa Zsa Padilla, I Don’t Want You to Go as another duet with Ima Castro, Barry Manilow’s Somewhere Down the Road, James Ingram’s Just Once, and the title cut.

Then there are the three songs that I believe are the highlights of this album. There is Martin’s version of John Farham’s Please Don’t Ask Me which is a really deadly break-up song. Another is his new take on two contemporary classics composed by Louie Ocampo, Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin and Kahit Isang Saglit. A love story inspired both these songs and Martin has always believed that they should be performed together. He finally does it here.

The third one is the album’s centerpiece track and the first single release. This is Goodbye, which is another Ocampo song with Martin as collaborator. It was originally performed by Regine Velasquez. This time around though, Martin sings it with the former Mrs. Nievera, the lovely Pops Fernandez. The collaboration is the result of a cruise they took around Europe recently with their two sons, Ram and Robin.

The trip ended a bickering period of many years. "We enjoyed it very much and we are best friends again," he says. Check out the Goodbye music video for proof of this new and better relationship between these two. But, take note, no reconciliation happened. "Pops knows me so well," is the reason he gives. Then very unselfishly, he adds, "She can certainly do better."

Martin marks his 23rd anniversary in show business this year. His is a career crowned with an impressive number of successes like top-selling albums like Roads, and the Forever series, sold out shows here and abroad, top-rating TV shows and others. It is just too bad that his marriage is not among them. Neither are the other relationships that the public got wind of. On the other hand though, do you think his singing would be as expressive if they were?