Thanh Lam – Tu Su

First of all, I would like to thank Hoang, a Visualgui.com reader, for providing me an album that I enjoy greatly. Tu Su is a showcase of both Thanh Lam’s artistic vision and her father’s (Thuan Yen) innovative composition. Thuan Yen must be exceedingly proud to have a daughter who can express his music gorgeously. I presume it runs in the family.

Tu Su is an aesthetically beautiful work of art that can be experienced from start to end without skips and many replays are necessary because of the brilliant collaboration between refined vocals, sharpened music, and tranquility poetries. The album kicks off with the sentimental “Em Toi” (poem by Xuan Truong) with the soothing traditional instruments. Together they have created an emotional and beautiful song. On “DangVi Tinh Yeu” (poem by Khanh Nguyen) demonstrates her skillful wordplay. The way she adorably recites, “Em dau co nho” shows her fearless attitude when it comes to push the limit.

On “Tu Su,” “Tinh Ca Mua Thu,” “Tim Anh,” and Thanh Pho Vang Anh,” she delivers breathless performances. “Tinh Yeu Khong Loi” could have been flawless if they didn’t include those nonsense remarks. Thanh Lam definitely exceeds Dam Vinh Hung vocally on this track but what is up with “Uh Yeah! Shake it like a white girl” (Not from Thanh Lam)? That kind of intro degrades the value of the song greatly. Fortunately, “Khac Vong” beautifully wraps up the album with a smooth beat and meticulous flow.

Similar to Tuan Ngoc, Thanh Lam has an incredible style of her own and she is an artist to be reckoned with. Tu Su presents both her passion for making music and her seriousness concerning her craft. Once again, my appreciate goes to Hoang for sharing with me this invaluable piece of music.