Music: Jay Zhou's "Ye Hui Mei"
Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 4:14 pm
I know this is way overdue, but I thought it would be better if I listen through the album a little longer before I write anything.
By now everyone knows that the album's name is also Jay's mother's name. What people might not be aware is that Jay also switched to a new record label. There isn't much of a difference though since Jay holds the rights to all of his songs and the record company only serves as a publisher.
Back to the songs. To be honest, there's hasn't been much difference between Jay's last 3 albums, except that with him being the best seller, he can easily find the resources/money to package each song better. An example would be track 1 "In the name of the father" is the first plug song. A good song enhanced by great arrangement and an even better MTV. The same with track 3 "Sunny day", where the MTV version included a little music solo that's not found in the album.
Perhaps the thing that I like the most about Jay is his creativity. Who would've think of using the sound of ping-pong balls in a song? Well Jay did and it works great in track 4 "Grade 3 Class 2". Track 5 "Eastern windbreak" combines the traditional Chinese pipa with present day pop. People who liked Jay's previous hits like "Nun-chucks" and "Dragon punch" will like track 11 "Double sword", which is also another great MTV.
There are relatively few ballads in this album. Track 6 "You can hear it" is the advertising song for a mobile phone network, and the "commercialness" made it somewhat of an outcast from the rest of the album. Track 9 "Love on the edge" is another one, with lyrics written by his "good friend" Vivian Hsu.
Out of the 4 albums Jay has made so far, this is perhaps the most "uncommercialistic" one of all. It might take a little time for his fans to digest through.
Rating: 8/10
Recommenations:
Track 1 "In the name of the father"
Track 3 "Sunny day:
Track 4 "Grade 3 Class 2"
Track 5 "Eastern windbreak"
Track 11 "Double sword"
By now everyone knows that the album's name is also Jay's mother's name. What people might not be aware is that Jay also switched to a new record label. There isn't much of a difference though since Jay holds the rights to all of his songs and the record company only serves as a publisher.
Back to the songs. To be honest, there's hasn't been much difference between Jay's last 3 albums, except that with him being the best seller, he can easily find the resources/money to package each song better. An example would be track 1 "In the name of the father" is the first plug song. A good song enhanced by great arrangement and an even better MTV. The same with track 3 "Sunny day", where the MTV version included a little music solo that's not found in the album.
Perhaps the thing that I like the most about Jay is his creativity. Who would've think of using the sound of ping-pong balls in a song? Well Jay did and it works great in track 4 "Grade 3 Class 2". Track 5 "Eastern windbreak" combines the traditional Chinese pipa with present day pop. People who liked Jay's previous hits like "Nun-chucks" and "Dragon punch" will like track 11 "Double sword", which is also another great MTV.
There are relatively few ballads in this album. Track 6 "You can hear it" is the advertising song for a mobile phone network, and the "commercialness" made it somewhat of an outcast from the rest of the album. Track 9 "Love on the edge" is another one, with lyrics written by his "good friend" Vivian Hsu.
Out of the 4 albums Jay has made so far, this is perhaps the most "uncommercialistic" one of all. It might take a little time for his fans to digest through.
Rating: 8/10
Recommenations:
Track 1 "In the name of the father"
Track 3 "Sunny day:
Track 4 "Grade 3 Class 2"
Track 5 "Eastern windbreak"
Track 11 "Double sword"
Oh well.