Search - Faye Wong :: Faye Wong

Floored!

11/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One word for this album: "WOW!" I went to China this summer and picked it up blind in a little record store down the street from where I was staying, with no idea who Faye Wang was. What a lucky find! She is relentlessly creative, yet doesn't let experimentalism overtake the quality and coherentness of her songs. I definitely recommend this album to anyone, Chinese Pop fan or not. Get it now, however you can!!"

Original

camm | 04/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the mud of so-called Cantopop shines the diamond that is Faye Wong. A pop star who has always insisted on doing her own thing rather than what others want, Faye Wong has actually managed to create an original album (not easy in the nightmare of sugary pop that is typical Hong Kong fare). The 'beauty from Beijing' actually contributed to writing some of these songs, and spent far longer on this album that is usually accepted in the Canto-pop industry - a brave step. The album is aptly titled - it may be the one she has spent the most personal effort on.'Faye Wong' spans many musical genres, fusing jazz, pop and the traditional sounds of the Chinese 'erhu' into some of the tracks, while others display heavier rock influences, and others are lighter pop. I found that one of the weakest tracks on the album to be the one penned by fellow pop star Nicholas Tse, "Vertigo", a conventional and rather unoriginal pop tune, but even so it's not bad.You may have to press skip on one or two of the tracks on this album if you're not accustumed to radical and sudden changes in genres mid-album, but otherwise this CD is worth the money!"

Faye's the ONE!

X|X | sInGaPoRe | 09/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Absolutely marvellous. 'Nuff said, this is Faye at her best in yr 2001, seeing her juggling with commercial mainstream and arthouse appeal and the end result is a totally original album that transcend many different music genres... This time round, she ditched her favourite producer Zhang Ya-Dong for others like Tanya, Liang Qiaobo, Wu Bai, Eric Kwok and etc, and the sound of her new album is distinctly varied and each stamped with her style and the style of the producer. Juz sample track 2 and 3, Et Cetera and Wrong Number, you can feel that Tanya was singing in her shadow somewhere behind. That is not to say a bad thing b'coz it is hard for anyone to interfere with Faye's pristine vocals. Once you hear how Faye's does her ballads, you WILL be completely blown off! Sample track 5, Flowing Year and weep at the tinge of melancholy she brings into the song. Though not heartwrenching, it is the wistfulness and pensively regrettance that echo from her ethereal vocals that will bring you to your knees.
Other outstanding tracks are track1,7,8 ( 'Wings of Light', 'Wandering Red Shoe' and 'The Idiot') esp. 'Wings of Light', it is a rock-out anthemn with Faye's vocals blending to the cacophony of electronic guitars, drums n bass, instead of soaring above her which she usually does ( in her previous albums tracks such as 'A Hundred Years of Solitude'). However, one track which I felt was totally out of the place was track 4, 'Sometimes Love Has a False Reputation', it sounds uninspired, insipid attempt of the lounge music and it left me cold and disgusted why did even Faye choose this material? However it was only one mistake, and its nothing compared to the overall shimmering quality of this album.
As usual, the main lyricist is Lin Xi ( the LYRICIST of Mando AND Canto-pop). No one writes lyrics as poetically beautiful as him and no one writes lyrics as experimentally daring as him.
'Along the way there are people who see through too early the contours of life and the enigma of fate
There are people who realize too late that everything is destined to happen and there's no escape' in track 9 'One Way Street' philosophise about life in such simple words, and it is this quality that Lin Xi possess which constantly surprise me. Another of his musing in 'Flowing Year'...
Sighz.... What more can I say? Go grab this album right now before it is a light year away from you.............!"