Joey Albert Albums

What The Critics Say

In 1998, Philippine female singer Joey Albert released Inspirations. The album is dominated by remakes of slow, middle-of-the-road American hits, some of which can be considered pop. Four of the album's 12 songs are Philippine compositions. The remakes of American hits include Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," Christopher Cross' "Sailing," Debby Boone's "You Light up My Life," and four others. Many Philippine albums contain remakes of American songs, as American music is very popular there. However, this doesn't speak well for original Philippine music. On the whole, Joey Albert doesn't fare well in her renditions of these well-known songs. While she doesn't sing off-key, her voice isn't very strong and her singing doesn't exude much charm or personality. Her handling of "My Heart Will Go On," for example, sounds flat and devoid of depth and personality. The same can be said for her version of Debby Boone's "You Light up My Life," which sounds stale. Joey Albert sings the right notes, but there is no spark and one wonders how she ever got a record contract. However, she sounds much better on two of the Philippine-composed songs, "Gaya Ng Dati" (Just Like Before) and "Sa Kanya" (To Him). Both songs are well-written, Joey Albert's voice noticeably has more depth, and there is charm in her performance as well. It's puzzling why she sounds better here when these songs pose no less of a challenge than the other songs. ~ David Gonzales, All Music Guide