I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, Tracy Huang's third English album, was released in 1977.
There are several gems in this album that test Tracy's singing skills like never before. One of the most memorable numbers, and for me, her best English song from this EMI period, is LONG LONG TIME. Tracy's voice here is at its most intense and explosive, rugged and etched with the shadow of angst and pain. Her handling of her voice in maneuvering between the lower and higher notes of the song is skilful and confident, her uninhibited singing straight from the heart, extremely refreshing and moving.
Another number that I personally remember with much fondness is BABY I'M A WANT YOU/ EVERYTHING I OWN, which contains the similar explosive and dynamic qualities that I described above, especially when she sings EVERYTHING I OWN with so much conviction and forcefulness.
Tracy's treatment of folksy tunes and country songs have always been extremely effective and moving. I therefore like very much her interpretation of several of the songs of Simon and Garfunkel: SOUND OF SILENCE, SCARBOROUGH FAIR and, in this album, the rousing closing number, HOMEWARD BOUND. The lyrics of this song evoke the inevitable sense of loneliness and isolation of the wanderer and his restless existence: "Everyday's an endless stream of cigarettes and magazines, and each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories, and every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be homeward bound". Yet the music is cheery, almost high-spirited, with the forceful chorus causing the song to sound almost like a rousing march. Tracy sounds like she is enjoying herself very much, packing as power and strength she can in each homeward bound" and "home". It is therefore a very direct, simple, and honest song, one that belies a core of sadness but which does not reduce it to sentimentality.
IF NOT FOR YOU is remembered because of the quirkiness and idiosyncrasies of the voice of the guitar and Tracy Huang's lively and breezy singing. MIDNIGHT FLIGHT shines in the warm and harmonious sound created by interweaving Tracy's voices.
If the power-packed numbers from this album display the most impressive qualities in her voice her treatment of the slower ballads is equally moving and skilful. One of the best slow numbers in this album is LOVE HURTS where Tracy's voice in the opening is pure, luminous and sparkling with much emotional depth. Her treatment of IT AIN'T EASY COMING DOWN and ALL OVER THE WORLD is similarly masterly.
Tracy Huang has a knack of being very accurate in her choice of English songs and singing style in these very early recordings. Although her works do not profess to have any lasting artistic significance, and are merely collections of the commercial hits of her time, she has, through her
own unique vocal qualities, breathed new life into these old songs, as well as stamped her indelible personal flavour onto them, making them her very own signature songs. And this difficult task of rejuvenating an already popular song and creating new dimensions to it, may be an art of its own.
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