Review

Well, they are in fact the 'little 3'. The latest young Thai boys to have a hip hop CD & VCD released by Grammy last December. They are about 13 years old & a review in Bangkok's 'Student Weekly' reveals that though the CD/VCD are very popular, the boys don't have perfect voices & they appear to have difficulty in fitting Thai words to the rhythm of the music. And they don't seem to pay close attention to what they are singing about. One minute about cancer, the next rabbits! But they had to admit there were some catchy tracks. Well, I thought they were rather cute & liked the rhythm. I could not find fault with their young voices which suit this type of 'music'. Grammy would *not release an album that was technically awful. I will probably buy the VCD as I think I would rather watch this one than play it a lot as a CD. And I play all of my CDs over & over. Like 'hip hop'? Then sample 'Big 3' at www.ethaicd.com. Just type 'big 3' into the search facility at the top right of the screen.

This was the first VCD/CD I have had from Thailand opened by Australian Customs. But they are paranoid about any chicken products coming from Thailand. However, they didn't hold on to it for long & it arrived pretty much on time. Well, as you already know, 'Big 3' are 3 not very big teens. Perhaps they are not quite teens, as none of them has had a change of voice. They have voices that compliment each other - so a good combination. Hip hop is their main style, but it is quite musical & of course a lot of rhyming words are used. They sing a couple of songs which are also pleasant. Visually, the VCD is bright, colourful & quite artistic. I first saw it at work on my Dell thin flat screen monitor & it looked so brilliant. Couldn't wait to get home to see it on the TV. GMM-Grammy did a great job producing such an excellent VCD. One of the 3 boys is Eurasian (possibly 2). But this one I refer to 'makes' the Group. From the eyes down this boy has Italian good looks with a *very western face. Looking at him is like looking at an Italian singing Thai. It doesn't seem quite right! He is no doubt a model. They are all great fun to see & remind me that boys from any country - even those we might think form exotic places behave & react exactly like boys from our own country. CHRIS LEO, when your copy arrives, could you please try to present a video of track 3 'Jai Hai Pai'? It is rather easy to understand, due to the video content rather than the words. And it is the best song. It features a very attractive (older) young lady coming down an escalator, with the 3 boys going up. You can probably guess the boys try to prolong the encounter. We all like children performing. If you like Thai children & you don't mind music being fun (rather than emotive or serious) then this VCD could be for you. This is one of those albums I feel should be bought as a VCD rather than a CD. It will be that much more meaningful. In Thailand by the way, there are model agencies who approach parents on the streets if they see them with good looking children - especially Eurasian children. You will recall that Ammer of Laffer Ammer was/is a model & actor. If Ammer was described in his own country as looking like a 'farang' westerner. They must be shocked by this 90% 'Italian' looking Eurasian Thai boy either speaking or singing Thai. When I first announced 'Big 3', in patricular the sound clips on ethaicd, one song appeared to be titled 'Ching Chong'. However it is actually 'Ching Chaung' and they use it to rhyme with 'Ding Dong', and replicate the pulling of a rope to ring a large bell.

Lindsay - Sydney, Australia