TRACY HUANG'S CAREER AS AN ENGLISH RECORDING ARTISTE: REJUVENATION OR DECLINE?
BY Reynard Cheok
Tracy Huang's career of recording in English has seen its share of ups and downs, more so perhaps than her Mandarin works.
The popularity of her English recordings undoubtedly reached in peak when she was with EMI in the 70s. Many of her English albums then (MISSISSIPPI, I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, FEELINGS, JUST THE WAY YOU ARE) were bestsellers and immediately propelled her to instant fame and recognition. Her first few English albums receiving such immense and overwhelming success, EMI decided to strike while the iron is hot and so released in rapid succession many of her English works in a short span of just five years. It is significant to note that during this period, the number of Tracy's English releases was almost double that of her Mandarin ones.
These English works of hers are, in fact, little more than just motley collections of the songs from the 60s and 70s. Even the choice of songs was not based on any artistic merit or significance that they might have, but on the fact that they were the most popular songs then. There is usually no coherent theme or concept underlying her English albums, and she does not seek to express her individualism and musical originality, the way she seeks to do in her Mandarin releases. The simple fact is that her English works were created primarily to conform and appeal to the commercialized tastes of the pop market prevailing in the 70s.
To a large extent, Tracy Huang's success during this period must be attributed to the fact that the timing was right. In that generation, where exposure to English pop music was not as wide as today, and where it was very unusual for an Asian to sing in English, people were easily impressed by the fact that a Chinese singer was able to do cover versions of English numbers. Given the fact also that English pop at that time was not as sophisticated as it is today, and where singing styles were simpler and more straightforward, it was possible for Tracy Huang to pull off an English number without paling in comparison to the original singer. A third factor is that it was just more economical to buy one English album of Tracy Huang which contains a wide spectrum of the greatest hits of the day, rather than fork out more money to purchase several of the original albums.
Having said that, however, it would be unfair to simply dismiss Tracy Huang's early success by attributing it solely to her being lucky enough to be able to sing in the right place at the right time, or to her delicate good looks. Although luck and an attractive personal appearance is crucial to a singer's initial success, his enduring relevance as a recording artiste can only come from sheer talent and ability to work hard, elements which last long after good looks have faded. Therefore, although Tracy Huang was merely doing cover versions, it cannot be denied that she did them exceedingly well; she took decisive and confident control of an English song, breathed new life into it, and transformed it into her personal number.
Diligence and sheer hard work too cannot be discounted. Being a non-English speaking Chinese, it was only through many hours of difficult memorization and coaching that she managed to get her English pronunciation just right. Credit must also be given to the professionalism of her producers and the musicians with whom she worked. In the care in which they arranged and played the music, to the effort taken in ensuring that Tracy's pronunciation and phrasing is as close to perfection as it could get, they showed a serious desire to create not just cover versions sung by an Asian singer, but an album that is authentically an English album in sound and style.
Tracy Huang's unique versatility, too, cannot be denied. As a singer who does both Mandarin and English songs, she has the ability to adopt radically different singing styles depending on the language in which she sung. Therefore, while her Mandarin numbers of the 70s are sung in a fixed and inflexible style, and contain strong Chinese classical influences, her English songs reveal more naturalism, more fluidity and variety in singing styles and interpretations. From the easy naturalism in MISSISSPPI to the angst in LONG LONG TIME to the delicate poignancy of HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE to the rugged cheerfulness in YOU NEVER CAN TELL, Tracy's English efforts reveal the many different facets of her voice, and her skillfulness in mastering songs from different genres. Indeed, in the 70s, it was her English works, much more than her Mandarin ones, which contributed tremendously to her growth and increased sophistication as a singer. Through the sheer variety and diversity of her English attempts she was able to consciously break out of the mould and stereotype that she could only sing middle-of-the-road Mandarin ballads. It is the naturalism and chameleon-like quality of her voice which she found in the 70s which has made her singing styles relevant even till today. And it is her courage for trying new things and different genres that has ensured that she remains at the forefront of musical trends and developments.
This tried-and-tested formula of rehashing popular hits, applied consistently in these 10 or more English EMI albums, was quickly abandoned when Tracy Huang left the company in the 80s. Being the astute singer that she is she must have realised from a very early stage that unless she managed to shift her act to the right place at the right time her career would soon fizzle out.
Therefore, from then onwards no longer was she just content or satisfied with crooning easy listening numbers that were found in abundance in her EMI releases. In CHANGES she opted for more upbeat and heavier rhythms and she even screamed with all the explosive desperation of I'M ALL CONFUSED. In PARADISE IN MY HEART she collaborated with Dick Lee in singing his original English composition of the same title and even decided to add a stronger pop music flavour to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. In TRACES OF LOVE she attempted an East-meet-West fusion as an old Mandarin classic was weaved into an English number. In the thematic album ESCAPE she chose songs reflecting the concept of escapism.
But the fact has become increasingly clear: her English works after EMI were no longer gaining the same kind of support and popularity as what her earliest works had received. As with her early popularity, these subsequent uncertainties in her career of singing in English must also be attributed largely to radical changes in market forces. As Asian markets became increasingly exposed to Western pop gigs and performances, the idea of a Chinese singer rehashing an English song, complete with the same music and singing style, no longer holds much appeal for audiences. Based on this alone, I believe the number of her supporters diminished, since they would prefer to listen to the original singers and not her.
As Tracy Huang continued doing cover versions she inevitably exposed herself to harsher and more intense scrutiny by the public, who would have higher demands of her, and who would compare her renditions to those of the original singers. Therefore, while she could simply have rehashed an English song in the 70s, doing this in the 80s only made her appear like a copycat and a second rate singer who was running out of steam. Moreover, the stereotype is that Tracy, being an Asian singer, would invariably pale in comparison with her Western counterparts, irrespective of how well she sings. Therefore, increasingly, I find that the only people who listen to her sing in English nowadays are her loyal fans, while the younger generations, weaned on more sophisticated Western pop, would simply deride her as an excessively 'Chinese' singer whose style is amusingly old fashioned and outdated. As a personal anecdote, I still remember once when she appeared on Rollin' Good Times singing TRACES OF LOVE in 1992. A secondary school friend of mine at that time giggled at her thick, long braids, her delicately feminine character, her stiff and wooden demeanour on stage, as well the waving and flowing of her hands in cliched rhythmic patterns, the way most Mandarin singers do.
The truth is, Tracy Huang is not just hip enough to capture the attention of the fickle and cool younger listeners of today.
Even for someone like me, who has not had much exposure to Western pop music, Tracy's two most recent English offerings, ESCAPE and PURE TRACY were at best, disappointing, at worst, close to being dismal. Tracy's singing by the 90s has become highly breathy and thin, to the point of sounding breathless and watery. Therefore, many of the songs in ESCAPE sound very weak and bland, even to the extent of being monotonous. Tracy's vocals in this album are too feminine and delicate and are unable to convey the numbers with much emotion or conviction. PURE TRACY, too, suffer from unfortunate inconsistencies in her vocal texture: while she sang ETERNAL FLAME with flair, one cannot say the same thing for THE TWELVTH OF NEVER, where her voice was fragile and even faltered.
PURE TRACY also suffered because it tried unsuccessfully to bank on the faithful formula of the early EMI albums: to rehash popular English songs of the moment. Hence, one of the major flaws of the album is that it is too predictable in deciding to play safe, and reproducing comercialised numbers like IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW, I CAN'T TELL YOU WHY, I COULD FALL IN LOVE, songs with no lasting appeal and which have already been sung to death. On top of that, these songs were placed strangely with older numbers like ETERNAL FLAME (which has long gone out of fashion), LOVE, and even THE TWELVTH OF NEVER. The collection therefore is rather incoherent and haphazard, lacking direction and thematic unity and, failing, ultimately, to rise above the unfortunate position of being little more than a motley mish mash of songs.
PURE TRACY shows very clearly that the old EMI formula no longer works in 1999 because rehashing a number denies a singer the chance to express her individualism and originality. This album, along with ESCAPE also shows, more seriously, that Tracy Huang may have lost her unique ability to sing English songs in a certain way, so as to bring out the very essence and spirit of an English song. It is not simply a matter of singing English words on a page, it is that indefinable something in terms on a singer's attitude and method of singing that makes an English number what it is. In fact, when Tracy Huang sings in English nowadays, my impression that she is an Asian singer who is trying to do an English number, but who fails to nail it because her style of singing, being too 'Asianised', is all wrong. She has lost her ability to simply let her hair down and let herself go and belt out an English number without inhibitions and reservations, the way she sang in the 70s. Instead, her singing now sounds as if it is carefully kept within a rigid boundary and she is unable break down this barrier so as to sing with greater ease and flexibility.
The fundamental problem that Tracy Huang has faced in the years since she left EMI, I think, is that she had to change her style of singing and choice of songs, but she has never been entirely accurate or certain in her changes, at least in the English department. Therefore, by playing safe in selecting commercialised numbers (PARADISE IN MY HEART, PURE TRACY), she risked being called unoriginal. By collaborating with Dick Lee in several lacklustre efforts which sound more like Mandarin songs than English ones (PRETENDING, ALL THAT YOU ARE, PARADISE IN MY HEART, COUNTING ON YOUR LOVE), she unwittingly introduced such a strong 'Asian' element into her English songs that modern listeners are left unimpressed. Then, finally, with her increasingly cliched 'Chinese' sounding English albums, complete with Chinese instruments in IT TAKES TWO and Chinese lyrics in TRACES OF LOVE, together with her new breathy singing style in ESCAPE, she may have alienated herself permanently from modern listeners of Western pop.
The upshot of it all is that Tracy Huang's English music has always been in an uncertain state of flux, but she has unfortunately not been able to grasp the pulse and heartbeat of modern Western pop music, with its funky and hip attitude (Lauryn Hill), its rustic and raw appeal (Sheryl Crow), its cloying sentimentality cloaked in sophistication (Jewel), its rejuvenation and surprises (Madonna), its sheer force and versatility in singing styles and perfection in singing techniques (Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston), its avant garde and idioscyncratic character (Bjork, Tori Amos). Western pop music has changed much too fast and sadly, it has been almost impossible for Tracy Huang to catch up.
On the other side of the camp, people who grew up listening to her EMI works would feel increasingly alienated by this new and foreign Tracy Huang with her ceaseless experiments with new styles and sounds. I believe that many people from this category would have found her English albums in the 80s and 90s difficult to accept. Tracy Huang would therefore also have lost many fans from this side, too.
However, I personally would not like to believe that this is the end of the road for Tracy Huang's career of singing and recording in English. I would like to see her go away with a bang and not a fizzle. And I would like to believe that she has it in her to bring about a radical musical rejuvenation.
First of all, it would be highly unrealistic to expect her to become Alanis Morisette or Barbra Streisand because of the sheer differences in terms of their personalities as well as their vocals. However, Tracy Huang has the gift of a rich and maturely fragrant voice, one that can be haunting and gripping dynamic and powerful at times, mellow and lingering at other times. Personally, I think she has to inject more heart into her singing, the way she sang FIRST OF MAY, THE LOVE INSIDE with a lingering tenderness, the way she created a mood of suspense and mystery in SOMEWHERE, the way in which she brought out all the power and immense depths of imagination in CHARIOTS OF FIRE, and the way her voice twisted and wavered in IF I CAN JUST GET THROUGH THE NIGHT. Tracy's voice would have to regain some of its former glory and versatility if she wants to be able to recapture the market. She would also have to learn to use her voice not just to sing but to act out a story - to be a vocal actress, the way she did in IF I CAN JUST GET THROUGH THE NIGHT.
Second of all, she now knows that it is not enough to rehash songs, and that listeners would constantly compare her singing with that of the original singer, and that therefore she would find it very difficult to create any cover version that is uniquely hers. Therefore, instead of choosing songs which have already been sung with distinction and which she would find almost impossible to surpass, why not choose less well known numbers which she can recreate and sing in her very own way? Choosing numbers which are less familiar to the public reduces the risk that her renditions would be constantly compared to the originals and criticised if found wanting in any way. Indeed, she has already done this in LOVE and GIRL FROM IPANEMA and she should consider heading in this direction in future.
Thirdly, Tracy Huang's English albums should no longer just be empty collections which fail to record the singer's thoughts and feelings. It would be much better if she can choose songs which form a theme or which genuinely express what she wants to say. Commercial success of a song should never be the only reason why she decides to do a cover version of it. By injecting more individualism in her English works, she would be able to elevate them from being mere cover versions to being complete albums of flesh and blood. To use an example, the singer Chyi Yu selects songs with a discriminating eye, choosing them not because they are well known, but because they express something she wants to say. Tracy Huang should not be afraid to do the same, to inject more heart and soul into her English albums. It would be a most refreshing change.
Significantly, Tracy Huang's recent English albums have been very few and far in between, having only released one such album in 1996. Her emphasis, very clearly, is now on perfecting her Mandarin recordings where she does not face the pressure of being constantly compared with other singers, and where she can create songs without having to conform to the expectations that others have of her. Therefore, whether she would be willing to release an English effort anytime soon is anyone's guess.
Personally, I think she herself may be putting off this project, because of the increasing uncertainty as to whether her most current English work will be greeted with popularity. Similarly, it is with a mood of anticipation and uncertainty that many fans, including myself, await this long overdue album. The uncertainty lies in whether Tracy Huang will manage to bring her English singing career to a much needed new peak, or whether the new album will only disappoint and cause her English singing career to quickly fade into oblivion. The anticipation, however, lies in desiring to listen to the magic she weaves whenever she sings in English, and in the belief that Tracy Huang is shrewd and capable enough to create yet another musical surprise.
