Music: Teo's Transpacific Television

Pete Teo's no overnight success: in fact, he's had successful careers as a writer of TV music for the UK's Channel 4, and as a Hong Kong based Canto-Pop star.

Then he turned his back on music and took a proper job until one of his old friends turned up one day and (figuratively speaking) smacked him around the ears until he picked up his guitar again.

His first solo outing, Rustic Living for Urbanites, was widely acclaimed from the UK, via the USA to Japan but received little attention in Teo's native Malaysia.

Not that Teo didn't come to the public eye in other ways: in the time since Rustic Living was released, he's written film scores and appeared in several Malaysian films, a number of which have gained awards at international events.

Rustic Living was especially noteworthy for its use of pan-Asian instruments. Even without Teo's gritty voice and lyrics that are uniquely Teo but with a hint of Leonard Cohen and Harvey Andrews the instrumentation made for a totally unique album: think YoYo Ma without the pretention.

But when Teo did Rustic Living live, the nature of the music changed almost completely: in came lounge music that no one could talk over: a totally absorbing experience which, with retrospect, hinted at the direction Teo was taking for his next album Television. Most noteable of the differences was pushing the piano up front in riffs that remind of.... oh, just listen and play "spot the influences." On Sunday Best Shoes, for example, the piano (but not the overall production) is clearly influenced by early Billy Joel. And that rarely heard sonic trick the guitar harmonics makes a fleeting appearence, too.

And now the new album Television is out, a year late, but sooner than the most recently announced deadline. There are still Asian influences: Angelita Li's vocalisations would indeed fit Ma's northern Asian themes. And the ehru still haunts with that unique ability to find the soft spot in the brain that says "don't ever stop doing that."

But the influences haven't stopped at Asia's horizon: in comes a pedal steel guitar, in come lyrics that explain a little bit more than before, rock drumming takes the place of Oriental percussion.

Yes, where Rustic Living was Trans-Asian, Teo's Television is Trans-Pacific. "Into the Storm" is a classic rock song in the style of The Band, indeed, give him a red scarf and in dim light, Teo might even pass for Robbie Robbertson. And it has a "lead out" that could be the new "Layla." Hell, covers bands might add it to their repertoire to give us a break from Hotel California.

If US radio stations don't put Teo on rotation, it's a travesty. And if the BBC doesn't play it on e.g. Iain Anderson on Radio Scotland or Mike Harding on Radio 2, then it's doing the licence payer a grave disservice.

Of course, they may have trouble pigeonholing Television: it's not folk, it's not rock, it's not MOR and it's not AOR - but then again, it's all of them.

Underpinning it all is one thing: Pete Teo is an oustanding writer of music with a flair for lyrics and he has a talent for picking superb people to play his music with him.

Television is much less dark than Rustic Living: Teo might almost be happy - almost but not quite. The songs are not so personal, not so anguished. But they are no less full of meaning and impact. And as with Rustic Living, but for completely different reasons, it's an album for musicians, too: there is just a mad amount happening from beginning to end. It should be too complex, but it isn't. The production is outstanding. Big production houses really should take note of just how good music can sound if the quality of the production is right.

Radio and record shop friendly, Television should put Teo where he deserves to be.

Don't be under any illusions this is not transient pop - it's a classic and it's only been released a week: if you can't afford this album, put your grandmother on eBay. But Teo being Teo, you may not have to ask much for her for this lavishly packed product: in Malaysia, it retails for just RM29.90 - that's about USD7. Oh, come on: sell her for USD20 and buy Rustic Living, too.

Outside Malaysia, for now, you might have to order it by internet from Teo's website at www.peteteo.com.