When you hear the name Jackie Chan, the first things that naturally come to mind for most are stunts and action-comedy, and rightly so. What you may not know is that Jackie is also an accomplished singer as well. Today I wanted to feature the album Sing Lung (which is his Cantonese artist name). It’s actually a collection of mostly his older Japanese songs, with new lyrics in Cantonese. (Credit goes to to this page for the translations and harder to find info!) While there are better quality recordings of some of these songs, I picked this album for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s currently available on Amazon Prime Music, making it more easily accessible than most of his music. Second, I feel like it’s a nice collection of Jackie’s songs up to that point which really captures a fun mood which represents the overall tone of his music well, and hearing them in a different language is pretty cool – a good place to start for those who are new to his music or perhaps only familiar with his movie themes, like I was.

I also loved that a couple of my favorites were included: Track 4, Flight of the Dragon (theme from Armour of God films, or as they’re known in the US, Operation Condor) and Track 10, Hero Story (theme from Police Story).

So, who would I recommend this album for?

• Fans of Jackie in general. His music captures the sort of wholesome warmth we feel from him on screen.
• Fans of the ending themes from Jackie’s movies. Many of the ending credits to Jackie Chan movies feature songs by Jackie himself. If you enjoyed those, this collection is a great place to discover more!
• Fans of J-Pop and J-Rock. While this album is in Cantonese, I feel like fans of Japanese rock and pop will appreciate it. There are times when I’m reminded (at least musically, if not vocally) Megumi Hayashibara, one of my favorite Japanese singers.
• Fans of anime and anime soundtracks. Especially those of us who fondly remember 80’s and 90’s anime and the music that went along with it. There are moments on this album that feel reminiscent of opening and closing themes from that era, and even a couple that remind me background music from newer anime. (One in particular makes me picture Naruto taking a leisurely and happy stroll through the Hidden Leaf Village) 😉
• Fans of 80’s music. Like a lot of 80’s music, it’s quirky and weird, making it all the more lovable.
• Anyone tired of the radio. If you’re like me and quickly tire of hearing the same song every 30 minutes on a pop station, or the same 90’s rock hits every single day, try something new and exciting! There’s a whole world of great international music out there!

Join me tomorrow for the final part of my features: my top 5 Jackie Chan movies!

-Clint