Loving You: Lani's "highlight"  song
SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby A. Gil
Publish Date: [Wednesday, June 18, 2003]
The song Loving You is   always a highlight of Lani Misalucha?s live performances. She does its   intricate melismas or bird calls or whatever you call those notes, while   lying down on the stage. As everybody who has ever sang a note knows, it is   difficult enough trying to sing while sitting down, let alone do something   like Loving You while on your back. Rightly so, this gimmick never   fails to impress Lani?s audience. In fact, this song has sort of become her   trademark that some comedians have taken to singing Loving You in   their acts while lying down on stage a la Lani.

   Of course they do not do it as well as she does. In fact very few singers can   do the song right. You can count on your fingers, the ones who can hit those   notes correctly. In this country of ours, which I must say, is in eternal   fascination of singers who are "mataas ang boses," and these   range from Mario Lanza to Eddie Peregrina to Josh Groban, being able to do a   mean version of Loving You like Lani does, is regarded as quite a   feat. Check this out in her new album which is also titled Loving You.

   This is because Loving You is considered one of the most difficult   songs ever written. Singer Minnie Riperton, who recorded the original   version, composed the song with her husband Richard Rudolph. It is not by   Burt Bacharach and Hal David as erroneously credited in Lani?s album. Now   Minnie was one of those rare humans with a five-octave vocal range. Three is   normal for singers, four is impressive but five is definitely astonishing.

   Minnie recorded it for her first solo album Perfect Angel which was   produced by no less than Stevie Wonder. Minnie sang back-up vocals for him so   when it came time for her to launch her solo career Stevie gladly did the   producing chores. Loving You made number one in the Billboard hit list   in 1975. It was also unfortunately, Minnie?s only big seller. She was   diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after and she died four years later.

   Rather belatedly because she has been singing the song for some years now,   Lani has finally recorded Loving You. Taking its cue from the title,   the album is made up of love songs led by the first single release, Tila,   a new work by Lisa Diy and Chat Zamora. The other songs in the album are Sinaktan   ang Puso, Sayang at Sinayang Mo, Tag-araw, Tag-ulan, Makayanan Ko Kaya,   Forgive Me for Dreaming, Muntik Nang Maabot ang Langit, Ibigin Mo Ako, Malaya   Ka Na, Loving You, Di Mo Ba Alam, The Only One, My Love and I and Pinapangarap,   Pinapanaginip.

   This studio album ends the long wait for Lani?s followers. Enjoy it. She   sounds as good as you remember. Besides, given her preferences for live   shows, it might take years again before she does another one.
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