Jimmy Chyi Chin - Silk Road (What's Music) With his long, straggly hair, tight jeans and leather jackets - not forgetting his trusty guitar - Taiwanese singer Jimmy Chyi Chin has always given the impression of being a real hard rocker.
It is always a surprise to put on one of his albums and listen to his pensive and heart-rending outpourings of love. Chyi's sharp, clear vocals obviously run in the family. His sister, well-known folk singer Chyi Yu, shares the gift.
Silk Road is in keeping with Jimmy Chyi's previous albums. While not of the same folk song genre as his sister's work, Silk Road is pleasant and soothing.
A lot of the songs are acoustic, featuring keyboards and guitar, which is Chyi's forte.
Cold Rain (track 4) is a good case in point since it features only Chyi and his trusty guitar - very basic, simple and real.
Yet, on other songs, the arrangement features the lush backing music that is common on a lot of good Taiwanese releases. In Night Night Night Night (track 3), for instance, the lush string sounds bring out Chyi's pitch perfectly.