Chinese Music

Albums of Chinese music intended for the non-Chinese world are in very short supply. And many of the pop standards associated with China are not Chinese in origin; "China Nights," for instance, is Japanese. Despite having an incredibly rich and diverse musical culture, China seems to have lacked a major representative in America during the "hi-fi" era. Where was the Chinese counterpart to Tak Shindo?

At least one major label attempted an album of Chinese-themed pop, which is to say western standards with titles and instrumentation suggestive of China. Bob Lin Wu's Music for a Chinese Dinner at Home came packaged as "Dinner Music," complete with recipes for Chinese dishes instead of more illuminating liner notes. While Chinese-sounding versions of such chestnuts as "Chinatown, My Chinatown" made fine if irreverent entertainment, any sense of true Chinese music remained a mystery.

Most Chinese LPs are on Lyrichord, which did an extensive and commendable job but is only one label. Poetic, deeply affecting, and authentic but not stifling, this music should have been captured more extensively, or at least released more widely.

Buying: Albums of Chinese pop are sufficiently rare (except perhaps the mysterious imports with no English lettering) that most are recommended.