This album is a wonderful look back at a time when songs may have been just as cheesy, but at least the people knew how to write music and play instruments This collection of girl-fronted garage bands from Asia spans Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia Unless you were some greaser punk or musician in the 1960s, it s unlikely that you ve heard of any of the bands despite the fact that some of them seemed to have been pretty popular in their day Nancy Sit -- who is this and why is she so damn beautiful? Rita Chao fronts the band The Quests (who seem to appear with all sorts of other acts from around the same time) looks splendid in her mini-skirt and go-go boots But looks aren t everything How do they sound? Most of the songs are covers of American rock and soul hits from the 50s and 60s, but the kitsch value is obviously through the roof Rita Chao covers Hanky Panky in English and Yummy, Yummy, Yummy in Chinese, which is quite a wonderful trip Nancy Sit does a Chinese language cover of Love Potion Number Nine and Fever And hey, she figures what the hell and also covers Hanky Panky And that s just the beginning Most of the songs range from good to amusing, with my favorites being Kung See, Kung See, Let s Be Happy by Penny Lim and the Silverstones, and As Tears Go By by Naomi and the Boys, from Malaysia everything is well worth having a listen to for various reasons The recordings are appropriately raw and lo-fi, as it was meant to be

Copyright © 1997 Hemisphere