Type: Collection (various artists), Lyrics are included with the album
Genre: Rock
Review
The yearly Metropop Song Festival is a celebrated event on the Philippine music scene and is a competition that honors songwriters. The songs are performed by various local singers. 1998 Metropop Song Festival contains a number of strong songs, both in songwriting and in performances. Surprisingly, considering that easy listening music dominates album releases by local artists, there is nothing that can be termed easy listening on the album. Instead, most songs have a sophisticated, soulful tone to them, including three of the album's strongest songs: "No Other Man" composed by Trina Belamide, the soaring "Bring Back the Times" composed by Eunice Saldana, and "Why Do Lovers Change?" composed by Junn L. Sta. Maria and Peewee Apostol. "Never Had a Chance," starts on a quirky, Björk-like vibe, but moves to a grand pop-soul chorus. The winning entry, "Mabuti Pa Sila" (They're Much Better Off), composed and performed by Gary Granada, also has one of the weakest melodies and probably gained notice because of its eccentric lyrics. Along with "D'yos, D'yos" (God, God), though, "Mabuti Pa Sila" is one of the least overtly Americanized offerings. Still, it's a shame that "Mabuti Pa Sila" won the grand prize considering the strength of the other entries. The ethnic-styled "D'yos, D'yos" is more interesting, too. ~ David Gonzales, All Music Guide
