Various | Asian Takeaways |Normal Records | Various Countries

Asian Takeaways is a 20-song compilation of mostly Chinese-language tunes from the 60's and 70's. These cuts marry the melodic and harmonic sensibilities of Asian folk music with the instrumentation and song structures of (due to a little cultural jet lag) 50's-70's western pop. For convinience sake, we'll call this "the Mao sound." It's a term with all the makings of a great genre name: First, the creators of the music it pigeonholes are sure to hate it. Second, it's equally accurate (this pop flourished in the era of the Cultural Revolution) and inaccurate (it was flourishing everywhere BUT mainland China). Plus it rhymes with its close cousin, the "Now Sound."

Some trademark Mao Sound characteristics: vocals that marry the nasal tone of chinese opera with the slow vibrato of Japanese Enka; a loungy "Meta-Rock" feel and lyrics concerned mainly with love; surfy Fender guitars drenched in reverb playing pentatonic melodies that never resolve quite as the Western ear expects; pipa, erhu and other traditonal instruments trading licks with farfisas and wacked-out organs; inventive horn arrangements (often played a little out of tune); and a general sense of budding cosmopolitanism, exemplified by words or phrases sung in English or Japanese and covers of songs from those countries. The Mao sound is a fascinating and unfamiliar world of crossed cultural signals, deeply affecting once you get used to it and infinitely better than the boring mainstream shlock that dominates the region now that its gotten Western pop "right."

If this review runs ridiculously long on introduction, that's fitting. Though beautifully packaged, Asian Takeaways has no liner notes at all. It's also a little lacking in focus. Though most of the twenty recordings come from the Chinese diaspora in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, none of the vast number of Taiwan-recorded hits are here. The five Korean songs and one Japanese song seem out of place geographically and in many cases, stylistically.

Nonetheless, there are plenty treasures here. Malaysia's Chang Loo is probably the standout. Her old school singing style mixes amazingly well with the moddish rock arrangement of "At Three Springtime"--you can just imagine the turtle-necked Malaysian kids shimmying to this one. "When Will You Come Back Again?" sounds like it comes from the same session and is just as satisfying. This version of the well-worn tune benefits from the hip juxtaposition of pipa and other traditional instruments panned left and surf guitar panned right and Chang's sweetly melodious delivery clinches the deal.

Inventive arrangements benefit even some of the throwaway tracks on Takeaways. Thu Su Yung's voice and delivery are lightweight on "You Can Be Anything In Life," and if the lyrics are as bad as the title translation, I'm glad I can't understand them. However, the cut is saved by an arrangement that literally has all the bells and whistles.

The Mao Sound has a lot going for it. It will appeal to Now Sound fans yet challenge them melodically. It's a basically unexplored goldmine for Exotica listeners while being the antithesis of that genre: instead of Western pop trying to be exotic, here we have something truly exotic trying to be Western pop. Check out Asian Takeaways and give it a few listens--after your ears adjust, you may find yourself, like me, scouring Ebay for old-school Asian pop gems.