The Leaves Are Red by Yip Sai-wing
It's sad to see Yip Sai-wing, drummer of now defunct legendary rock band Beyond, perform a bubblegum Canto-pop ballad with teen idol Niki Chow.
His awful duet was recently aired on a TVB music programme to promote his new album, The Leaves Are Red.
Yip, along with other members of Beyond, used to look down on this kind of shallow entertainment. His awkward appearance on the show is proof that the local rocker is well past his sell-by date.
Yip's 10 new songs - packed with Beyond's dated style - will take listeners down memory lane.
Guitar-driven songs such as Our Dreams, Colours and Sale sound like rock music from the 1980s. The album's love ballads - although catchy - are no better than the '90s overly sweet and artificial pop.
On the plus side, Yip's songs carry a healthy dose of positivity. Uplifting tracks such as One Place, One Dream will remind Beyond fans of the good old days when Yip's consistent sound was complemented by the technical brilliance of guitarist Paul Wong Koon-chung and talent of late lead singer Koma Wong Ka-kui.
Unfortunately for Yip, the band as a whole was much greater than the sum of its parts.
