Why I Like Tracy
BY Poh Lee
Tracy Huang has been around for quite some time now. I came across Tracy's music in 1977 when I was only 14 years old. Then I listened to all kinds of pop songs and was very undiscerning in my tastes. But I fell in love with Tracy's unique voice, she did not sound like any other artiste that I have come across. The first Tracy album that I bought was "I Don't Want to Talk About It". I think it's one of Tracy's best.
There were many other Asian artistes around during that time, but none seem to have that special X factor that Tracy has and still does. The kinds of songs that Tracy sang were simple and preppy, but yet very very catchy. Tracy is often accused of imitating Olivia Newton-John, but then Olivia did not have that full bodied, vital, and sometimes breathy voice that is distinctively Tracy's.
The works of Tracy have been one of the constants in my life. Things come and they go but Tracy has been around for a long long time. Most of her works provide a lifetime of inspiration for other artistes and also for ordinary people on the street (like me). I see in Tracy a determined individual who will stop at nothing to achieve perfection. I also see a person who is willing to take risks and is tireless, who is open to new things, and who is always on a journey to quest for new knowledge. Tracy's quiet and unassuming personality on screen is also very charming.
Tracy's works with EMI Singapore has had its greatest impact on me. The songs and the melodies in those early years has left an indelible impression that will be with me for the rest of my life. Up till today, I still love many of the songs in albums like "Feelings", "Mississippi", "I Don't Want to Talk About It", "Another Goodbye", "Portrait", "Tracy Goes Country", and "Songs of the 60s (Vol. II)". These songs are evergreens and have so much vitality in them. Today, I can play some of these albums again and again without feeling bored of her voice or the songs itself. In some of these songs, I have found the lyrics relevant to some point in my life, and these songs often bring back happy, sad, mixed, and fond memories.
Having listened to Tracy for over 22 years, her albums have special connections to different periods of my life. When I am listening to a particular album, I am sometimes brought back to the time and place when I first heard that album. "Mississippi", "Just the Way You Are", and "Another Goodbye" would remind me of my secondary school days. "Tracy Goes Country" and "Weekend" my high school days. "Somewhere in Time" my days in office. Hence, there is this special fondness for Tracy and her albums (and songs) which have been very much part of my teenage and adult life.
I never knew that when I first bought a Tracy Huang album, I will be continuing to buy Tracy albums for the next 22 years and more. Tracy has achieved what many other artistes can never dream of, the ability to stay relevant to a fickle audience that has an attention life span of a 3 month old baby. Yet I feel the ride for Tracy has not been smooth all the way.
The transition from EMI Singapore to Polygram was rough. Overnight Tracy almost changed her image. It looked like she wanted to forget her days of recording English numbers at EMI and started to focus on releasing Mandarin albums paused only by "Changes" and "Second Sight". "Changes" had some impact on me but "Second Sight" was quite forgettable. But then again, I was very busy with my studies at that time.
It was also during this time that I began to pay more and more attention to Tracy's Mandarin and Cantonese works. I remember liking "Vicissitudes" very much. "Purple Crystal" was daring and innovative. "Summer Dream" was so soothing and relaxing. I think I gradually stopped paying attention to Tracy's English recordings and even forgot that she once sang very well in English.
By the time Tracy left Polygram to join WEA, I was really getting busier and busier with life and with my studies. I still listened to her albums regularly but then I didn't really like her WEA English recordings very much. Some of the songs like "Don't Make Me Wait for Love", "Beautiful Sunday", and "Holiday" were excellent, but the rest were mediocre, a let down compared to her days of recording in EMI Singapore. I was seriously considering throwing away all the cassettes that I have bought over the years.
In retrospect I am glad I didn't. When I listen to Tracy nowadays, I realise that, like any other human being, Tracy did not want to remain stagnant, recording the same kind of music again and again. She wanted to experiment and to try new things. Yes, she had the courage to face challenges and to move on. This is evident in her newer albums released under Rock Records, EMI Taiwan, and Universal Music. Today I see Tracy as an innovator, and a very talented one at that. Through the years, her music has always captivated me, positively or negatively, and Tracy will always remain a very interesting individual that I admire and like very much.
