taking flight album review - an SG entry

sarah released another album, her fourth one, last july 20-something. i honestly forgot, since it was released in pinas lang naman, not here in the US. but my ever-loving bro bought me the album. pushing as far as going to 2 SM malls just to get me one. awwwww. =)

but i wasn't able to contain myself, so i asked him to rip the CD for me, and send them through email. he willingly obliged. awwwwww ulet. hehehe!

so even when i don't have the CD yet, halos kabisado ko na yung mga kanta sa new album ni sarah! but maramot ako, i won't share the digital copies.... stop piracy! by orig CDs! naks!

i told myself i won't post a track by track review of the album, but i couldn't help myself! wehehe! i think i might have shed all secrecy of my identity if i will post my review here.... kung bakit, it's for folks to find out. hehehe!

I'LL BE ALRIGHT
- i don't know what else to say about this song... a really good one to release the album with as carrier single. it sticks to you like suman. hehe! i won't be surprised to hear this on Teachers' Day presentations. or a Graduation Song Dedication. i credit that comment on the phrase "i'll make you proud". if you listen to it really intently, it can bring you to tears. and it seems to "climax" long enough for you to really cry your heart out. i hope when sarah performs this live, she won't birit the words, it's perfectly touching the way it is.

IKAW
- a close second to "Close to My Heart" on my faves list. somehow, this reminds me of Kitchie Nadal and Barbie Almalbis' style of singing... freeform-like and sort of syllables running over into the next. hehehe! i admire the "controlled" style, seems like all syllables need to be enunciated for a fixed tone, a fixed meter, a fixed everything. if you are playing the song at a really low volume, you can almost hear only "a"s on the syllables, like some sort of a tongue twister, hehe! a fun song all-together, very catchy tune. i wonder if they considered this song for other rocker artists. hehe!

I'M SORRY
- intense from start to end! soulful-with-birit sarah unleashed! hehehe! the first few parts of the song reminded me of the FreeStyle band when they were starting... but come the birit part, whoa, all-sarah! i was driving when i listened to this song at full volume, and i didn't realize i was flooring my gas pedal and i'm tensed up while the birit part was playing. after non, parang nakahinga rin ako. hehehe! ang taas! *makes an imaginary visor with my hand, and looks up to the sky*

TIME TO LET GO
- nobody comes close to blending voices perfectly with sarah's but mark b. sayang nga lang kasi bandang dulo na sya kumanta, pero carry na rin, para talagang inaabangan eh. hehehe! very nice blending, they were like the Pinoy version of Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson as far as complementing voices is concerned. it was supposed to be a sad song of goodbye, but it's not as heartbreaking as Close to My Heart's melody, but it works just the same. sarah's voice... so full of passion especially at that duet part. i can almost see her getting lost in the performance, stomping her feet to the rhythm, bending forward, bending her knees..... and holding hands with mark. hehehe!

SO
- nice song as a whole. mala-corrs nga ang dating. pretty laid back both in the vocals and the music. i thought it was a little country-ish, just a little more modern. Parang bitin nga lang, just when I was starting to get lost in the music, natapos na? More! More! Hehehe!

CLOSE TO MY HEART
- my #1 fave! the melody is so enchanting. and sarah's voice is so soothing. this song can easily put me to sleep if i play it on loop. hehehe! actually, this is the perfect song to play after a long day at work, really relaxing. my #1 pick on the album. something in the melody feels so heartbreaking, probably because it's just solo accompaniment. but it worked cause it actually highlighted sarah's clear voice and perfect diction. glad she didn't do birit on this one... i love the whispery-style of singing she used here. the "vocalization" near the intro gave me chills, seriously! that beginning part, it's like hearing an angel's voice!

WHAT IF I
- when the song started with the audio balance alternating from left to right, i thought i was gonna get some motion sickness (i was driving when i listened to the song for the first time), but it did gave a different feel to the song. btw, sarah wooing a guy in this song? nakakatuwa lang. hehehe! i love the arrangement, background vocals were cool too, they sound "young". i think i'm starting to like sarah songs with strong piano sounds. it seems to highlight her voice even more.

MISS
- rocker sarah at her best! this song can be a contender against Kelly Clarkson rock-girlpower-kickass songs. It’s on my top 4 fave songs in this album. at first, i thought this is a teenybopper song, but as soon as the chorus played, there goes rocker sarah crooning the cutest of rock songs. catchy tune and great recall factor. i love the laid back diction... like "sarile" instead of the stiff "sarili". btw, is it just me or did the background vocals really said "mes na mes kita..."? i let out a chuckle when i first heard it. hehehe! added to the laid back "atmosphere" of the song. bere nays!

I'LL BE HERE
- bfs. best friends song. hehehe! why do i have the image of The Champions singing this song together? probably because of the collective background vocals? it has that beyonce-style of singing, vocal acrobatics and all that jazz. on the bridge part, i thought there was an awkward pause. hehe!

MR. DEADMA
- kulet! pa-cute yung voice ni sarah dito ah, and it fits perfectly kasi ang kulit ng lyrics! ang diin sa word na "torrrpe" ah! hahaha! i wish there were more playful tones on the melody though. it seems like it was trying to follow after the melody of "Miss", which is more rock-oriented. this would probably be a dance song if they had less electric guitar and more drums. just a thought. but as is, it's a tap-your-feet-to-the-beat song.

KAHIT NA
- a classic OPM song in the making. a really soulful, heartfelt rendition from sarah. i can feel it in my gut that this song will go further than this album... it will outlive it. it will make a good theme song for a movie or a teleserye. and i also bet that this will be a karaoke favorite in the future, since it doesn't have the over-the-top notes. hehehe! i'm saying this based on experience that i wanted to sing along this song. hehehe! very nice lyrics as well, kudos to chuckster! glad they arranged it in a way that the words don't seem "hurried"... glad they made it a ballad than a pop love song.

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all in all, i looooove the tracks on this album, lahat pang-release single!

in comparison to Becoming, i think Becoming has clear-cut differences in the song, like the countryish "Baby Blue" is definitely hard to overlook as a country song, or "Is This Love" as an R&B, or "You Mean The World to Me" as a dance/latino-ish one... with Taking Flight, there are more merging of genre into a single song... like "Miss" is rock for me, but at the same time, i can't help but associate dance moves with it. hehehe! there are also more "hardcore" pop songs on this album, bordering on ballads. in other words, Becoming seems to have more variety in the types of songs because the songs clearly differ from each other.

the songs in the Taking Flight album are all within sarah's element... more experimentation was in Becoming, giving us quite a "fresh air" of sarah's versatility. but Taking Flight takes us back to classic sarah, with hints of rock and soul. Taking Flight is definitely more laid back nga, and i agree that it suits sarah's age.

i noticed that the songs i loved the most in this album are those with just solo accompaniment, or those with hints of rock.

great job to everyone behind this album! CONGRATS TO SARAH!!! i'm sure another platinum na naman to!!! love love love it!