Looking back, looking forward

MANILA, Philippines - He is giving his previously-recorded songs a second chance, while the band only wants to define its pop-rock leanings. That’s the feeling you get after listening to Gary Valenciano’s Replay and Imago’s Effect Desired None. With the albums’ songs and stories, you can’t help but desire to press the replay button again.

“It’s to satisfy the craving of the people,” Gary V dispels rumors that Replay is a filler album. “I will never release something just for the sake of.”

Replay is the answer to the requests of those who like the “other” songs of Gary V and believe they could be hits in their time. Playing Gary V’s 25th album on your CD or i-phone, especially for an ‘80s baby, is like hearing a familiar tune, relishing its rawness and debating with yourself if the old song is new.

“We don’t know,” says Gary why some songs didn’t make it to the Most Requested Song list or to the Top 10 charts. “Sometimes, it’s all about timing. With The Shout For Joy album, we never had the intention to release Take Me Out of The Dark. It was just that a radio station played it for the Holy Week and after that, people requested the song. It became the Song of the Year.”

Gary adds it’s also similar to the albums of Rico Blanco, Urbandub and Sarah Geronimo. Here, only a few songs will wow the listener but only one will become a hit.

Replay has One Hello, He Won’t Let Go, Home, Tell Me, Only A Friend, Did It Ever, Sana Bukas, Ikaw Lamang, Kailan Pa, Alam Ko Na, More and More, For You, Shake It Off, Face to Face, Ohhh, And I Love You So and Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo. The 17 songs were culled from Gary’s 20 plus albums.

Gary didn’t tweak nor change the songs’ original arrangements although he was tempted to do so. After all, the artist in Gary is simply looking back in this musical outing.

Imago, on the other hand, is still “blushing” after hits Taralets and Sundo were released from the album Blush. That’s when the band became a household name and people could identify Imago from other Pinoy rocking bands.

“Perhaps, we’re still blushing,” says lead vocalist Aia de Leon of the band’s success in the local recording scene. “We are surprised. And it has been a wonderful journey.”

The first two years saw a busy schedule for Aia, lead guitarist Tim Cacho, bassist Myrene Academia and drummer Zach Lucero. Thus, it took them four years to follow up the “youth-oriented, bubbly” Blush.

“It feels happier (in spite of the heavy sound) and you feel refreshed,” says Aia of Imago’s latest album titled Effect Desired None. The 10-track album is also a sneak peek into where Imago wishes to bring its music forward.

You will be treated to pop-rock tunes such as Bawal, Ang Huling Yakap ng Mundo, Sutil, Sa Ngalan Mo, Yahoo, Effect Desired None, Premonition, Can I?, Sagad and Spare Change Glitter.

Aia, who is also into writing lyrics and creating melodies, shares the ditties speak about friendship, love, life, connections and affiliations. A listener can find a song that fits his present state of mind. As Aia puts it, ”No foreign artists can match the (sentiments/sincerity) of a Pinoy artist (shown in songs). Matatamaan ka talaga.”

That’s perhaps the magic of OPM — evoking familiar feelings told straight from the heart.