Asia 50 – Nhat Truong/Tran Thien Thanh
If Viet Nam War’s politic is a boxing sport, no one punches the controversial bag harder than Asia production. In Nhat Truong/Tran Thien Thanh dedication, Asia, once again, elevated the art-of-war music and visual. Inducing the ebullience of an adrenaline rush, the show opens with explosive gunshots, flashes of bomb bursts, and smoke of ashes. Accompanied by the battling stimulation of the musical arrangement, Thanh Lan approaches “Anh Khong Chet Dau Anh” with a heart of a combating woman. Her voice soars with braveness and her face expresses courageousness. Her strident performance packs more heat than the oven door.
Even though the video is filled with political propaganda, Asia have managed to balance it out with mesmerizing performances from start to finish—even Trish and Asia 4 are listenable in the remix of “Tinh Thu Cua Linh.” Asia’s musical producers, especially Truc Ho, have an ear for making old tunes sound fresh and clean. “Bay Ngay Doi Mong” is a gorgeous bossa-nova orchestration with the invigorating mesh of violins, saxophone, and piano. Both Truc Mai (old generation) and Y Phuong (new generation) bring their unique voices to the tune. Another delightful arrangement is the simple picking-guitar on “Ta Tu Trong Dem,” a song I loved when I was a kid, and hearing Phuong Dung’s ageless voice floats over the rumba rhythm strikes a nostalgic chord.
“Han Mac Tu” is a savory gap-bridging performance between Thanh Thuy and Y Phung. The contrast between Thanh Thuy’s thick, raucous voice and Y Phung’s thin, clear vocals produced an intriguing effect. Y Phung is pretty damn hot too (hopefully she won’t turn trampy any time soon). Speaking of appearances, Kim Anh’s figure looks amazing for her age and in the sky-blue ao dai (long dress). Her slightly raspy voice is marvelous next to Tuan Vu’s warmness. While we’re on long dress, what Diem Lien puts on—the black dress, the pearl necklace, and the hairstyle—epitomizes a Vietnamese woman.
Nguyen Khang is a bit disappointed in “Khi Nguoi Yeu Toi Khoc” with Ngoc Ha. He doesn’t hit the high note like he gets to do at the end of the program with the group collaboration, in which he is assigned to take charge of the bridge. Don Ho’s rendition of “Tinh Dau Tinh Cuoi” isn’t so bad, but he could not surpass Ngoc Lan’s version. In “Tinh Co Nhu Khong,” the young Anh Minh is even better than the wannabe-young Mai Le Huyen. The attempt of pairing up Da Nhat Yen and Pham Khai Tuan is a huge mismatch. Putting a rhythmless dude who could barely pull off a two-step move next to my dancing queen, what were they thinking? Should have let her run the show herself.
The most bone-wrenching performance is Lam Thuy Van and Lam Nhat Tien’s “Nguoi O Lai Charlie.” The cries of Lam Thuy Van’s voice combined with the image of a helmet positioned on a gun gave me a chill. Asia 50 is undoubtedly an audacious political statement. Too bad the video is filmed after the talented songwriter Tran Thien Thanh/singer Nhat Truong had already left us. Imagine how much more powerful it could have been if we could hear the man himself talks about his own work. Now that would be priceless.
Don,
That buon ghe, Nam phai dang cong tac khong cach nao xem duoc DVD nay. Phai doi den thang 6 ve lai My, moi xem duoc.
Nam tim duoc mot bai cua Thanh Thuy thau truoc 75: Quan Tri Than Yeu. Don co khong?
i just finished watchin da dvd…totally agreed wid u abt da political propaganda…geez neva seen such production that maximised their army costumes so much like asia…its like every show has got to be 1 song wid performers dressed in them…im seriously over it.
i didnt expect to sit through da whole show cos frankly im not a fan of tran thien thanh’s music, surprisingly i quite enjoyed it at da end. i like don ho’s performnace of ‘tinh dau, tinh cuoi’, he always delievered such great satisfaction with every performance. my most fave song of da dvd was ‘chieu tren pha tam giang’, always like da song and it was well sung by Le Uyen eventhough Thien Kim missed her queue on da lip sync…but da worst song on da whole dvd for me has got to be ‘hoa bien’…Da Nhat Yen was tolarable on her own, but together wid Khai Tuan….ewww…i cannot stand da guy…hes always come across sleazy and ’35 con de’ somehow…it grossed me out…and they’re not even compatible (vocally/physically), its one big mismatch just like donny said.
wat i also noticed and u donny also mentioned it was how ‘amazing’ all da older generations look? their skin are so superly botox smooth and how ‘chinky’ all their eyes were.its one thing da false lashes are so damn heavy, but wid all da nip and tuck they ran out of skin to lift their eye lids up. they all looked so sleepy and quite frankly a lil scary. have any of them heard of growin older gracefully? when will they let nature takes over without any intervention? things ppl do in da name of beauty…and also da show makes mr Tran here such a womaniser. all da hot oldies were denyin havin anythin to do wid him romantically…onli stricli on professional level…well da man is no longer here to tell us anythin otherwise…mr Tran is da man…
and donny on my last note
‘ an artist’s works onli worthy after his death’
“A beautiful lady is an accident of nature. A beautiful old lady is a work of art”
- Louis Nizer
Mimi – I totally agree with you about PKT. I can’t watch him perform either. Gosh, it was even worse watching him trying to dance.
HTC, I’m a work of art then. :P
Miyo,
Like this?
http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/dress-up/wigs/old-dame.html
:)
HTC,
No. More like this ! http://www.photobotic.com/images/photos/van/old%20woman%20beach%20vendor.jpg
Miyo,
Then you really are not an accident of nature! ;-)
But I AM beautiful ! :)
“Beauty is beauty because of the cruelty of selection”
-His and Her Circumstances
… and critics can be so cruel
Asia production a “mesmerizing performances from start to finish”? What were you smoking? Any company that takes advantage of the older generation’s sentiments to sell their product is taking a cheap shot below the belt. Freshies doning army uniforms, toting AK’s and dancing, now I agree that’s a mesmerizing feat but it ends there. The younger singer’s voices are mediocre at best, with the exception of Ngoc Ha. It’s so obvious that Thanh Lan, Thanh Tuyen, Kim Anh although have aged, their voices are much stronger and distinctive. The younger generation learn from Karaoke but Mr. Critic didn’t seem to mind.
This gives me an idea…
Gonna mix Trish videos with some old propaganda clips.
Not all younger generation singers oversea have strong voices but their voices are good enough to sing pop/rock/hip hop and love songs which perfectly suit their performances. Karaoke is the best method to learn singing Vietnamese songs.
“…
You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in the crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
…”
-You’re Beautiful-James Blunt
Nếu coi băng nhạc mà cây súng M16 của QĐ/VNCH nhìn ra cây AK thì thiệt là biết thưởng thức quá cỡ …Trong tất cả các nữ ca -sĩ hát trong băng này (Asia50) mà tên bắt đầu bằng chữ Thanh …
Chỉ có Thanh – Tuyền là nên tiếp tục ca hát ,các Bà khác nên nghĩ đến chuyện hưu non là vừa rồi ..Không thấy gương đẹp của Minh – Hiếu sao ?
How can you compare Don Ho and Ngoc Lan? same song but everything else is different,starting with the gender…they’re both awesome in his/her own way…
Ngoc Lan >g>r>e>a>t>e>r>>>t>h>a>n> Don Ho
Do not agree with Shang. We still love Thanh Thuy. Her voice is still hot till now. Anh Khong Chet Dau Em, ThanhThuy can hit the high note and low notes that nobody could in that DVD. Sorry, You like Thanh Tuyen then put her in your damn side. Maybe you are the same person to tell us that Thanh Tuyen is so beautiful too, hahahaha.
Bringing James Blunt up here is equivalent to a suicidal attempt. Stick to jazz & TN, my friend. But what the heck, I like that man & his music more than I should. Now bring on the stones.
Sorry, I havn’t been here for a while, but the last time I came here, I remembered reading something about Donny not writing anymore about Vietnamese entertainment companies anymore. I wonder what happened, as he’s continued. Can someone tell me (or link me) to this info? Cos I’m kinda confused .. sorry.
Hung
he said he’s not doing any more pbn video reviews… and that’s “Paris” not “Poughkeepsie By Night”
maybe there’s something still to be said for the town with the funny looking name.
This is starting to irritate me. Guys, this is Donny’s blog, he does whatever he want, however he pleases. You don’t happen to think he created this whole thing to be worshipped as God, do you ? If people were to come to your home and disrespect you as host, how would you feel huh ? Have you any manners ?
My beautiful lady Miyo, :)
James Blunt, suicidal.. ? Come on! The video clip might have give you that impression. However, the lyric does not. Even in the beautiful song “Goodbye My Lovers”, the guy is just trying to accept the truth and move on. Anyway, you’re right. It is not a thread about James Blunt.
And hung,
You’re missing the point of this discussion (and so did I!:)). It is not about if Donny can or cannot write about Vietnamese entertainment companies. It is about asia50. You can either join in or stay out. The host can dictate what he want to do in his domain. BTW, do you remember if he said “Read my lips…”?:) Peace.
another great performance by Dang The Luan , I love that guy, he just give me the chill. I my opinion that was Don Ho’s finest performance of this career , and I had follow his for the last 12 years . Great job Don Ho . I can’t not wait for Dang The Luan to cut his first CD.
Hi Hung, Donny did say that he wasn’t going to write anymore reviews, but too many people asked him to continue (including myself). So he’s writing them again.
As for Asia 50, I was quite surprised. Originally thought it was going to be boring, but many of songs were easy to listen to, except for Trish and Asia 4.
I was diasppointed with Thanh Lan’s performance. Sure, it was dramatic with the crying and wailing, but vocally, she was not as good with this song as she was in the past. Even Lam Nhat Tien’s version was better.
Many of the young singer and older singer pairings were awful. Le Uyen and Phuong Dung started off their songs brilliantly, only to have the performances turn limp when Thien Kim and Thai Doanh Doanh enter the stage.
Phuong Dung, Thanh Tuyen, Thanh Thuy, and Le Uyen still have beautiful, strong voices.
Of the younger singers, Ngoc Ha, Diem Lien, Lam Thuy Van, Nguyen Khang and Lam Nhat Tien were quite capable.
Thanks for imforming me guys. I know whats going on know.
To htc:
Lol I wasn’t criticizing Donny or anything, I was just a little lost. Thanks for the advice though. =)
Oh and thanks to TL & Joseph too. I apologize to Miyo, but I wasn’t saying what Donny should and should not write, and was just passing through.
Asia 50 was good ^^ I liked it too. It was nice hearing all those remixed songs such as Hoa Bien, Tinh Thu Cua Linh, etc. Overall a great video ^^.
*now, not “know”
-to donny pleze write more reviews.
-to everyone thanh lan’s performance was the best.
-asia 50 is a very good video.(some of the songs were best performed by older singers such as cho anh sinh so nha)
Agree! Now young people only asks for each other’s phone number. :)
phone #s are so passe
young people request (not ask) for im screen names
alas, i’m no longer young…so i settle for your emails. hehe
Lol =] ..
I wonder when the next Asia is coming out. Can’t wait.
Donn
sure which side you are at Asia or Thuynga ehh!
Finally I watched the video…Chit chat for fun… I love it. There are many singers in this video. All the singers did good in here except Doanh Doanh. May be that’s why she sung a short part. All the couples match perfectly even Da Nhat Yen and Khai Tuan. Thanh Lan’s voice is not good as in the pass but her unique voice still perfect suits for the song and to sing for the opening of the show. It brought me back to the pass when I saw her in the film-soap opera mix with Nhat Truong, the song was sung by her in the scence where the young student Mong Thuong (played by Thanh Lan) is waiting for her lover’s soul to visit her every night, eventhough it turned out that her lover didn’t die. The technique to combine young and old singers are good, otherwise I would feel old and bored to hear just the old singers, if only listen to the young generation singers then I would miss the feelings of the original, the pass, the memory. All the ladies who are kind of sources for TTT’s love songs denied have had relation with him. However, they all admit he is a talented, attractive and romantic guy. The last part of the show is a little bit touchfull with the used to be popular singer My Lan, Nhat Truong’s last wife, holding her son and sings the part …something about a young widow with mourning…
It is my opinion only.
Man I have never been so disappointed in the replies as these people up here have made. What a special and beautiful program put together by Asia and people dissing from the political propaganda and the uniforms to the voices of older generations. Asia is clearly an anti Vietcong company and i think that many of your readers are pro Vietcong Donny, iono about you. But anywayz, TTT is a writer who dedicate his whole life to praise the heros of the South and Asia did a great job of carrying on that theme.
Well, there are still some of us in this post like to listen to the voices of old generation singers and we think their voices are beautiful and strong. Singers in army uniforms are the best outfits for this video because the songs are written about the soldiers in different millitary organizations and their love. Maybe people, specially young generation, don’t pay attention much to the lyrics, don’t know well about the background of the songs or weren’t able to sympathize with what happened in the past during war, so they made comments like that. I don’t think many of them are pro Vietcong.
As much as ASIA gets flack for repeating the “war” theme over and over again, I’m actually glad they do. They are the only company that has the balls to have a statement. Could you really fault them for celebrating Heroes? And this program is far from a war only themed show. They address TTT’s music which is all over the map. Its not perfect, but its pretty close.
I am disappointed with most of the comments. It’s 2006 guys, 31 years after 1975. The war was over long long ago, wake up! The VCs shouldn’t be so proud of winnning, taking over VN but to look at the mess they are creating. Overseas VNese shouldn’t feel so bad of losing. It’s 31 years ago! My general philosophy is that I will not engage in any political discussion with any 50 years old Vietnamese or older. There are so much hatred and animosity on both camps. Those VNese of 50 and over are almost always carried over that winning and losing attitude which is no longer needed. I can only hope that they will use that extra energy to rebuild whatever they took down!
Some overseas Vnese feel bad about losing but the issue is that VC is still bad for VN economy and her people. We should remember that only few countries are so corrupt and oppressive as VC.
Of course most of us here are not worried much about going hungry and homeless. But most Vnese there still live in deprivation.
I love this ASIA DVD, as i have always loved Tran Thien Thanh music. My friends, family and i love Tinh Thien Thu and hooked to its catchy tune and the story behind it. Tran Thien Thanh is master when it come to story telling through songs. Thanh Tuyen is a wonderful singer. Naturally clear (trong nhu suoi nuoc ) and strong. She is so passionate with her songs and that’s why she ahs a long career with many years to go. Thanh Thuy, Thanh Tuyen, Phuong Dung are ageless in their singing.
It would be much better if Asia could have a show for Nhat Truong/Tran Thien Thanh before he pass away. Therefore, he would have chance to tell us more about his own works, feeling…and much more about himself with his own voice. Also, we would have chance to support and show our appreciation to him more for what he had done for the Vietnamese music in the war before 1975. It’s priceless now, he is already gone!
I heard that both ASIA and ThuyNga has approached him but could not afford him!
yeah ok Truc Ho!!!
Have you link to download this DVD ?
quite interesting review you have here. enjoy reading it quite a lot. have to go against your opinion on ‘tinh dau tinh cuoi’ performance. i thought it’s one of the best song in the video and don ho’s performance and voice were exceptional i would have to say. would have to say that he’s still the best out there.
I liked this one, sure beats the PBN81. Though the damn army uniforms were starting to annoy me. Army guys are kinda hot but seeing Khai Tuan in one has put me off. Love Kim Anh’s performance the most, she always does a good job-well from what I’ve heard so far. My favourite was Ngoc Ha. Asia doesn’t market her as well as Thuy Nga does and she doesn’t stand out at much but I still love her. Thien Kim is starting to choose better songs-great voice, great girl, generally lousy choice of songs. I thought Thai Doanh Doanh did okay this time, but maybe after her ‘Nang Chieu’, anything is passable.
tui bay khung wa .ranh qua ha?tui bay dien nhu thang thanh nien dung ngoai cong vien.dung la 1 lu do hoi dang tap boi
Hi all, do you know any website can download DVD or CD ASIA 50 “Trần Thiện Thanh”? show me, Please! Thank
dude, agree with u about DNY pair up with the gay guy, PKT, i hate him, i hate his mouth when he singing!!!!
Hello, I’m Cao Qui. I’m living in VN with my family. I have just seen the Asia’s DVD ‘NT/TTT’. It’s really a good DVD. When I read this web, I feel disappointed with your writting. It’s true that the VN war was over 31 years ago, but we must see the achivement that CS is doing. The economic development is low and the humanitary is bad.
I myself was born and grow up in VN, but I still hate CS. I feel the things they do is all “gia tao” (sorry because I don’t now the meanning in E). When I watch this DVD, I really thank to Asia Entertainment. The songs in this DVD make me cry a lot. It helps me know about the time which CS and VNCH were fighting. And I know clearly the face of CS. So I especially thank to all singers who perform is this show. They all did their work hard and very well
cac ca si trong trung tam asia deu hat rat hay…very good!!!! dac biet la THANH LAN VA THANH TUYEN xung la la nhung giong hat bat hu….CO THANH LAN giong hat rat hay va dien xuat vo cung tuyet voi… i love you!!!!
i love THANH LAN, she’s very good and beatifull… i live in vn, she never died in my heart…
I Like Trish her song is nice and cute
I Love Dang The Luan Trish Thuy Trang Asia 4 Anh Minh Chosen Manh Dinh Thuy Huong Cardin Nguyen Ngoc Huyen Y Phung Y Phuong Don Ho Tuan Vu Chau Tuan Khai Tuan Minh Thong Diem Lien Le Anh Quan Lam Nhat Tien Da Nhat Yen Quoc Khanh Le Nguyen Philip Huy Thien Kim Le Uyen Nguyen Khang Ngoc Ha Anh Khoa Che Linh Mai Le Huyen Mai Thanh Son I Wish All Singer Together Sometimes We Will Come To Join Us Vietnamese Music.
I Love My Huyen Tuong Nguyen Tuong Khue Nhu Quynh Hoang Nam Lam Thuy Van Diep Thanh Thanh Vu Tuan Duc Dan Nguyen Gia Huy Manh Quynh Phi Nhung Thai Chau Ai Van Y Lann Tam Doan Thai Doanh Doanh Ngoc Minh Phuong Vu Tu Quyen.
I Love Bang Tam Too.