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Honoring a founding Chairman
By Gavin Phipps
Late Chairman vocalist Guan Yu, center, is the focus of
a recently released tribute album.
It may have been three years since Chairman frontman,
Guan Yu (冠宇) passed away of leukemia, but the
singer/songwriter has recently become the focus of a
special tribute album, which itself has become the theme
of a mini-tour.
Entitled Solo Flight (董事長-冠宇:單飛) and released by Taiwan
Colors Music (TCM, 角頭音樂), the album sees a handful of
Taiwan's more popular bands performing cover versions of
some of the vocalist's most hard-hitting and moving
material.
Forming the Chairman (董事長), or the "Boss Band" as the
combo was then known, in early 1997 with guitarist Ah
Chi (阿吉), drummer Jing Gang (金剛), bassist Ta Yue (大鈞)
and guitarist Hsiao Bai (小白), Guan Yu's ability to pen
what were certainly the most fiery and cutting-edge
tunes of the day saw the band fast become one of most
popular alternative rock acts in Taiwan.
His stage presence and song-writing prowess meant that
Chairman gigs, be they in smoky bars or a beach in
Kenting, were the closest Taiwan has ever gotten to
producing a live band with the passion and clout of The
Clash.
Complaining about fatigue and suffering from exhaustion
during the recording of the band's debut album in early
2000, Guan Yu battled on regardless. A mere six months
after the much-delayed album finally hit the shelves,
however, Guan Yu succumbed to leukemia and passed away
at home in Taipei on Sept. 22, 2000.
While tribute albums can often be disappointing affairs,
the team at TCM has come up with a fitting album that
pays a perfect musical salute to the late frontman.
Along with a selection of numbers performed by the
Chairman the album sees Back Quarter (四分衛), China Blue,
the Assassins (刺客), Sai Lu-lu (賽璐璐), Hsiao Tao (小刀樂團)
and Mayday (五月天) knocking out some fine covers of Guan
Yu's tunes.
Highlight's include Back Quarter's thumping ska-driven
interpretation of BG, a prog-rock styled adaptation of
Saturday Night (星期六的晚 ) by the elders of Taiwan's heavy
metal scene, The Assassins (刺客), and a moving
orchestrated version of The Last Drink (最後一杯酒) by China
Blue. |
