Mr. Lonely

Von Arroyo's 2000 Mr. Lonely is dominated by easy listening love songs and poses little challenge to performer or listener. The title song, "Mr. Lonely," is a remake of the Bobby Vinton hit and uses additional lyrics written in Tagalog, the Philippines' national language. Von Arroyo has an excellent voice and can fluidly move between various registers. He hits all notes with ease and injects much passion into his performances. He doesn't compose, and much of the material he is given to sing is bland, but he makes it sound better than it should.

As with most albums in the Philippines consisting of easy listening love songs, the material tends to sound alike. There isn't much difference between the sappy "Aaminin Ko" (I'm Accepting It) and the sappy "Muli Ay Patawarin" (Forgive Again), for example. Nonetheless, Von Arroyo manages to make the opening, "Kita'y Mahal" (You're My Love), sound passable. The Latin-styled "Magpakatotoo Ka" (Be True to Yourself) is the album's only upbeat tune. The song is outstanding, and Von Arroyo easily handles this adventurous material. One wishes he sang more upbeat songs. Two of the better love songs are "Happy" and "Knife," both of which were written by international composers.

Von Arroyo does a beautiful job on these two songs and injects much passion and sincerity. He also does an excellent job on the mawkish "Mr. Lonely" and one can almost see the tears run down his face.