Now, a live-wire producer from Thailand's major record company, RS Public Limited, has realised that less can be more.

Suthipong Wattanajang is the guy behind a brand new album called "All for Men" that he guarantees is full of hits yet is not a greatest hits album.

The trick is that it isn't by one artist - but by three hit acts - Thanai "Tor" Phornphong, Titipan "Golf" Keyanon and soul/pop outfit Soul Out.

"I'm absolutely confident," says Suthipong. "Because of my experience in listening to music ... at least 1,000 hit tunes, I know a hit. The melody and content must be ear catching, that's all."

Suthipong, the executive producer in charge of RS's sub-label Melodica, says that he got the idea for the album after listening to complaints from young record buyers that other than a few songs - usually the first and second cuts - a 10-track album simply wasn't worth the money paid for it.

"Apart from the problems of violating the music copyright by copying songs from their friends, they felt they were wasting money on songs they didn't like.

"Some of them calculated that if an album is priced at Bt150, that works out to about Bt15 a song, so they should only be paying Bt60 for the four songs they actually enjoy.

"That's like the difference between a single and a multi-track CD."

 At Bt100 a pop, singles don't work out that much cheaper than full-length offerings, which are usually priced at around Bt150.

"What people fail to realise is that it costs a lot of money to produce a record, whether it's a single or an album. The cost of recording and packaging is the same. The difference is in the number of tracks. Bt60 wouldn't even pay for the cover."

But "All For Men" isn't just about calming youngsters who aren't prepared to pay. The producer says his male artists aren't the sort to set the teens on fire.

"This album wasn't released to please the kids," he stresses.

It should please those in a romantic frame of mind, though. Thanai offers folk style numbers, leading off with "Ther Mai Khoey Roo". Titipan comes out with smooth R&B/pop blend "Tua Khon Diew", while Soul Out smooch with "Khon Khon Nee Ja Mai Pai Jaak Ther".

"I think my song will remind people of their feelings in the past," says Thanai, a fourth year student at Chulalongkorn University and a music video star.

"It's about a man who is secretly in love with a girl. In our society, that's usually what happens to women."

"My song is about a lonely man who has no chance to walk hand in hand or sit with his girlfriend watching a movie or listening to music," says Titipan, who's also in his fourth year at Chulalongkorn and was the runner-up of the 2004 Freshy Boy contest at Pratunam Centre.

Soul Out's singer Peerakit "P" Siriwattanakul teamed up with guitarist Nattapong Kingsoda, bassist Piyachon Theerason, keyboardist Sakda Tamseewan and drummer Kiatpiroon Chaomoungkhang for the recording.

"It's about a man's true love but the girl is going out with another guy," he says of their lead track.

"Most of our numbers blend jazz music with pop and R&B," Peerakit continues.

"This album targets city people - from university freshmen to young working people who have left teenyboppy tunes behind and now want to listen to real music," says Suthipong.

"I think urbanites are looking for their own hits," he says confidently.

"That's what I'm aiming to give them."

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation