Tony Lambino - Harana (the original version)

Remember that popular Parokya ni Edgar song where they unusually become somewhat less comedic and they transform into something endearing and melodic?

Harana was an important song for PNE. All of a sudden, they are not just a band that does parodies or nonsensical tunes. Harana expanded the band’s target audience. The song made them accessible to women, sought after in all radio stations, and become relevant to all walks of life.

In PNE’s Inuman Sessions live album, you’ll hear Chito Miranda mention Tony Lambino. Almost thirty-somethings like me who isn’t clueless on Pinoy Showbiz would probably remember Tony Lambino as the guy that is often paired up with Geneva Cruz during their Smokey Mountain days. Ever since their quartet folded, Geneva Cruz has since become a veggie lover, Jeffrey Hidalgo is at times turning up in telenovelas and other singing gigs, and James Coronel is busy doing other endeavors. Tony Lambino is probably doing some “suit” job which puts him more on the boardroom than on stage.

Which is why this is a challenge.

I want to have a copy of the original version of Harana. Sure, Chito Miranda did an outstanding job owning the composition. It was so outstanding that only a little of my generation know that Tony Lambino was the song’s original singer. Sure, the PNE version has edge and made the song less corny (remember that Tony Lambino was singing in a generation where balladeers owned OPMlandia), sometimes you just have to check out other renditions and other versions of your favourite songs.

Add the fact that Tony Lambino was trained by the legendary Ryan Cayabyab. It is a given that Tony’s version has a meatier twang and has better range.

The only version I got from the internet is a MP3 that has a stinger that seems to be synonymous to a watermark. I will still hunt for a version that doesn’t have any “watermarks” on (the internet isn’t really spoiling me at the moment), but in the meantime I’m going to settle with this.

Game over.