Panaginip

In 1995, Philippine rock band Alamid released their second album, Panaginip ("Dream"). The band's first album, 1994's Alamid, was a strong debut effort, and displayed much energy and creativity on songs that ranged from blistering hard rock/metal to heartfelt ballads. Unfortunately, it appears there wasn't enough creativity left over for a second album, as Panaginip is a bland concoction of mostly uninspiring tunes. The few bright spots include the opening track, "Sama-Sama" ("All Together"), a forceful, penetrating rocker at par with the best of them; and "Batibot" (slang for "little kids"), a catchy tune that shuffles on a reggae-influenced backbeat. Almost on the same level is "Merry X'Mas," which examines the many injustices in the Philippines and everywhere else: "Merry Christmas to all the hungry children/Merry Christmas to my abandoned friends." Alamid displayed a social conscious on the debut album as well, as heard on "Chaotic World."

The rest of the album's 12 tunes have little to offer. One of them is an acoustic reworking of the grand "Sama-Sama," which loses much of its majesty in this version. The ballad "I Love to Know" attempts to capture the magic of "Your Love," a popular song from the debut album, but it falls short. The title track is a medium-paced outing that the band tries to kickstart into something special, but the songwriting is weak and it never takes off, even with the help of searing guitar lines. All in all, Panaginip is a disappointing outing from a band that showed so much promise on its debut.