Duy Manh – Loi Sam Hoi

Here he goes again. Duy Manh, the man who loves to bring pitiful pain, is back with Vol. 2, Loi Sam Hoi. After successfully captured the gamblers with his “Kiep Do Den,” Duy Manh is reaching out to the crack heads, dope fiends and vain poppers with “Loi Sam Hoi Cua Ke Hap Hoi,” a song that gives me an incredible chill in my spines every time I listen to it. The concoction of lust, eerie arrangement, Duy Manh’s drug-marinated vocals and his graphical lyrics brings back the body-hanging image of the young Vietnamese-Australian Van Nguyen. His puffy and breathy delivery combined with his emphatic phrasing creeps the hell out of me, especially after reading Nguyen’s last words. Is this a coincident or Duy Manh dedicated the title track to Mr. Nguyen?

When getting through his entire album, I want to smack the taste out of his mouth, but why hating on him? He just puts out what the people want to hear. As long as his albums sell like fresh shrimps, why not? He’s getting paid in full for being a dramatic clown, and he’s not alone in the game. We have Luu Chi Vy, Ung Hoang Phuc, Truong Dan Huy and a whole bunch of other cried babies robbing teenagers’ lunch money. I am sure young girls would be crying their eyes out when listening to Duy Manh begging for another chance on “Xin Em Cho Toi Mot Co Hoi.” He sounds so damn sweet and sexy when crooning, “Hanh phuc oi nhung ngay ta dam doi,” which truly translates as “It felt good when we fucked.” But hey, at least he’s honest enough to confess that he loves two girls at the same time on “Phai Chang Toi Yeu Hai Nguoi.” A man is as faithful as his options; even he is as lovely as Duy Manh.

Welcome to Duy Manh’s world: drug, gamble, money, love, confession and all real-life dramas. They say artists and musicians live on clouds, and Duy Manh is no exception. The clouds he lives on isn’t high up in the sky, but behind closed doors, and that’s where his music comes from. So what’s the topic on Vol.3? AIDS and HIV?