Jeffrey Hidalgo (Intimate Mood)

In 1998, Philippine male singer Jeffrey Hidalgo released Intimate Mood. The album is dominated by slow, easy listening love songs, a style of music quite popular in the Philippines. Hidalgo possesses a silky, smooth voice full of depth and charisma. He easily hits all notes and is comfortable in all ranges. Regrettably, there isn't much diversity on the album, and only one song of ten, "Changes," isn't a slow love song. "Changes" was written by Boom Dayupay, leader of premier local hip-hop group Kulay. The song is very modern and features a soulful melody laid over a dreamy, hip-hop-styled backbeat. Hidalgo handles the song smoothly and with panache, which bodes well for performing more adventurous numbers. The easy listening love songs tend to sound alike, although some are better than others. The opening, "Laging Bukas Ang Puso Ko" (My Heart Is Always Open), for example, has a better-than-average melody and features a sweet, contemporary jazz-styled saxophone introduction and several saxophone fills. Hidalgo brings passion to the song. One of the album's best tracks is the closing love song "Does This Mean Goodbye," which opens with a tender piano introduction and features a strong, penetrating melody sung with delicate strength by Hidalgo. The other easy listening songs on the album are derivative; nonetheless, Hidalgo's performance is worthwhile, and his handling of the hip-hop-styled "Changes" is encouraging.