From Straits Times Life!
[I]As of now, there is nothing more eagerly awaited in Asian pop
than the release of Jay Chou's sixth album on Tuesday.
Its title, November's Chopin, is either a reference to the
Taiwanese prince of pop's classical-piano training or inspired by
his live piano-duet routine with Yu Hao - a member of the band Nan
Quan Mama made of Chou's buddies and proteges. But there is hardly
anything remotely classical on the album, save for a chorale
prelude on second track Blue Storm.
This dark and brooding rap-rock number comes across as a sequal to,
or a derivative of, In the Name of The Father, the wildly popular
opening cut from his fourth album, 2003's Ye Hui Mei.
Critics who have long lambasted Chou for being formulaic after he
became a superstar, wills urely point fingers at otehr tracks like
Nocturne and Trapped & Surrounded (Si Mian Chu Ge). The latter
features his mumbly vocals and a shot-in-Venice music video,
co-starring actress Zhou Xun. But these immensely infectious tunes
will certainly go down well with the public.
Chou is also lucky that he has the services of longtime
collaborator, Vincent Fang, whose lyrics have been described as
post-modern, cinematic and larger-than-life. On November's Chopin,
Fang continues to evoke a sense of mystery, romance, isolation,
pandemonium and danger in song. It conjures a world not unlike that
envisaged in manga and anime - genres which intrigue Chou and
inspire his music.
On this album, his songwriting moves up another level, as evident
on a trio of noteworthy tracks - Romantic Handphone, Malt Candy and
Coral Sea.
Collectively, they make for a delectable serving of
bubblegum-flavoured and candy-coated pop. In particular, Coral Sea,
which features Lara Liang (the new addition to, and the sole female
in Nan Quan Mama), boasts one of the year's most memorable
duets.
Compare these three tracks with the two bonus ones (Drifting and
All the Way North, featured in the movie Initial D), and you will
get a sense of evolution in progress. [/I]
