Khanh Linh – Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua
Vietnamese-songbird Khanh Linh flies freely on her debut Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua (Nightingale Sings in the Rain). Unlike Ngoc Khue’s Ben Bo Ao Nha Minh (By Our Pond), Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua does not strike the shocking chord, but the strength is in the relaxing and easy-listening experience. Khanh Linh’s soft, sweet and sensuous voice gives Duong Thu’s folk compositions a fresh rebirth, even though they have been successfully covered by notorious names like Hong Nhung, Thanh Lam and My Linh.
Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua consists of five tracks from Duong Thu and five from Ngoc Chau who is Khanh Linh’s older brother. Ngoc Chau is also responsible for the splendid production for the album. The flute and the piano on the title track, “Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua,” are simple but seducing, and Khanh Linh makes the song sounds as if Duong Thu has written it exclusively for her. Her soprano voice is impressive when she emphasizes the word “hot” (bird sings). She almost sings opera but with a much lighter touch. The new-age vibe on Duong Thu and Nguyen Cuong’s “Hoi Tho Mua Xua” (The Breath of Spring) is sharp and ingenious. The exhilarating-saxophone break gives the song a drop of smooth jazz. On “Bai Hat Ru Mua Xuan” (A Lullaby of Spring), Khanh Linh starts off with a soothing a cappella then follows by a breathtaking fusion of horn and strings.
On Ngoc Chau’s compositions, Khanh Linh flows her heartfelt emotion effortlessly into “Dieu Khong The Mat” (Something Can’t Be Lost), a beautiful devotion to the mothers. The modern version of Miss Tam (“Co Tam Ngay Nay”) has both the traditional folk melody (the flute) and contemporary fresh tempo (the beat). Embedded in between the old and new sounds, Khanh Linh’s weightless vocals make “Co Tam Ngay Nay” an attractive hit. However, the record departs from the folk standards on “Qua Tang Trai Tim” (A Gift for the Heart), in which the guitar riff gives a rock attitude. Then the album-closer “Tam Biet” (Good Bye) leaves listeners with a slow pop. Hopefully, these two tracks are only her experimentations. She sounds best on soulful folk, not trendy pop nor hard rock.
Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua may be one of Duong Thu’s most sung songs. (The record is probably held by Bai Hat Ru Cho Anh). Besides the versions by Hong Nhung (with arrangement by Quoc Trung), Thanh Lam, My Linh and now Khanh Linh, HMHTM was also recorded by Tran Thu Ha (with another arrangement by Quoc Trung), and by Le Dung in a tape about 10 years ago.
hey,
randomly happened upon your site awhile ago, and noticed you have an interest in hip hop AND Vietnamese music…which is what keeps me comin’ back. :)
check out Common’s newest album, Be. good stuff.
Julie, you can read my words on Common’s Be.
Personally, i like Khanh Linh in Do Bao’s album Canh Cung much better. In the album, she sings 2 songs: Bai Hat Cho Em (The Song for You),and Dieu Hoang Duong Nhat (The Most Unbelievable Thing). She hits high notes effortlessly, yet her voice doesnt sounds technical like in some of Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua’s songs. Canh Cung is a collection of some of my fav singers: Tan Minh, Tran Thu Ha, Ho Quynh Huong, etc. thinking u’ll enjoy it.
Quan, You can find Canh Cung on here too :)
As for your point about technical on HMHTM, I think she sings naturally and effortlessly as she always does.
oh. oops. hehe.
some songs on hoa mi hot trong mua seems to be “too old” for her youthful voice, in my opinion. it makes her sound technical compared to herself singing Ngoc Dai’s or Do Bao’s songs. in that hmhtm, for me, only 2 songs stand out: hoa mi hot trong mua and de toi lang nghe. anyway, she’s recording a duet cd w/ Tung Duong.cant wait.
oh, btw, ur site is amazing!!! i’m luving it.
best,
Thanks, Quan
I really like the sweet soprano sound that khanh linh delivers. very soothing like you said. so i decided to get her cd… and not the $2 reprints made in the US but the one with the official green stamp of the viet post office which is like $7 more. Generally the sound is the same on both discs but I like the extra info that usually provided in the authentic cds. this particular cd doesn’t offer any lyrics though that i’ve found in other viet imports.
my bad. i looked at the text inside the album cover more carefully and what i thought were just credits for the songs were in fact actually lyrics. what an awesome cd.
hi!
chuc thanh cong
minh la mot phan cua linh
ko co
This CD is the best CD I heard. I heard this song: Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua sang by Hong Nhung and Khanh Linh. to my opinion, Khanh Linh sings it so well like a bird make the melody of this song sound more relaxing. This CD definitely worth listening to.
I am from Singapore. I really enjoyed Khanh Linh’s sweet, smooth high voice.She is really fantastic.