ene
08-22-2003, 04:39 PM
The following review appears in Singapore, 8-Days magazine, page 73 :
'In the name of the father', the first lead song from this much anticipated album named after his mother, is admittedly a keeper, despite its lack of originality - the organ refrain that underscores the track is poignant and haunting, lending an air of Godfather-like intrigue to an average R&B composition.
The sampling of a bouncing ping-pong ball on the R&B/rap track, ' Class 3B', is also a cheekily brilliant touch. How very Jay Chou to take somethin from the western pop world and tweak it ever so cleverly. Much of the rest of the album, unfortunately, doesn't do half as much with sounds and styles that are already overplayed elsewhere.
Okay, so there's quaint traditional Chinese string instrumentation on 'here comes the eastern wind;, an otherwise feeble R&B ballet; an aggressive child rap on the unbashed Linkin Park rip-off, 'Coward'; and carefully apportioned syncopated beats and a neat tap dance sample on 'Dejavu', another R&B/rap number.
But surely such slight innovation cannot be the work of a so-called genius, right ? I'm not saying the has to reinvent the wheel every time he records a new album, but an AOR balled like 'A Fine Day' would definitely have been derided had it appeared on the latest Energy album.
Giving credit where credit is due, Ye Hui Mei is a good album; not something that would get him another Time magazine cover, if he indeed deserved the first.
Rating : 4.5 out of 5 stars
What song is Dejavu ? :?
'In the name of the father', the first lead song from this much anticipated album named after his mother, is admittedly a keeper, despite its lack of originality - the organ refrain that underscores the track is poignant and haunting, lending an air of Godfather-like intrigue to an average R&B composition.
The sampling of a bouncing ping-pong ball on the R&B/rap track, ' Class 3B', is also a cheekily brilliant touch. How very Jay Chou to take somethin from the western pop world and tweak it ever so cleverly. Much of the rest of the album, unfortunately, doesn't do half as much with sounds and styles that are already overplayed elsewhere.
Okay, so there's quaint traditional Chinese string instrumentation on 'here comes the eastern wind;, an otherwise feeble R&B ballet; an aggressive child rap on the unbashed Linkin Park rip-off, 'Coward'; and carefully apportioned syncopated beats and a neat tap dance sample on 'Dejavu', another R&B/rap number.
But surely such slight innovation cannot be the work of a so-called genius, right ? I'm not saying the has to reinvent the wheel every time he records a new album, but an AOR balled like 'A Fine Day' would definitely have been derided had it appeared on the latest Energy album.
Giving credit where credit is due, Ye Hui Mei is a good album; not something that would get him another Time magazine cover, if he indeed deserved the first.
Rating : 4.5 out of 5 stars
What song is Dejavu ? :?