Jenny-fa

Wow. Do mine eyes deceive me? Or is this another ultra-impersonal review?

依然范特西 (Still Fantasy) is Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou’s (周杰倫) seventh studio album, officially released September 5, 2006. Because I absolutely insisted on purchasing the CD+DVD version from YesAsia.com by mail order, the CD arrived just two days ago, about three weeks after I initially made the order.

Hahaha… you just gotta love the U.S. Postal Service…

At any rate, sorry for the lateness. Just humor me and allow me to ramble on a while longer.

I don’t rightly know what I had been expecting this time. I mean, I’d already been bored out of my mind with my current, absurdly extensive Jay Chou collection, mostly because I took the pains of committing all of his songs to memory. I’ve even considered dropping him from my list of all-time favorite singers, simply because I haven’t heard any new material from him. But Still Fantasy, amazingly, reaffirmed my loyalty and devotion to him and has now caused me to feel ashamed of those thoughts.

Anyway. Still Fantasy. It features ten top-notch, high quality, and immensely enjoyable tracks. But this time, Jay breaks his tried-and-true formula and shows a lot more… class than usual. What I mean by that is that he showcases more of his singing talents than his rapping abilities, resulting in less “rap tracks” than previous albums and some very splendid ballads, including “千里之外 (Faraway),” a duet with famed Taiwanese ballad singer 費玉清 (Fei Yu Qing), and “迷迭香 (Rosemary),” which ventures into the realm of bossanova. (I suppose his backup singers aren’t too thrilled by getting paid less this time around… unless they were paid the same amount as usual, despite the scarcity of work for them to do… but then, would they… aaaah! I sense myself drifting! Must get back on topic…)

In addition, the name “Still Fantasy” is an obvious reference to his sophomore album, Fantasy, which many consider to be among his best works. However, I feel this comparison is a tad unfair; while some of the songs may be reminiscent of Fantasy’s style, Jay Chou has really branched out into some other music genres since we last saw him in November’s Chopin, and compiled a refreshingly new and fun album.

…

OK, OK, I was also wowed by the fancy tri-fold cardboard CD case and the glossy CD booklet with its uber-impressive high resolution photos. AND, if I may be permitted to digress further, the DVD that came along with it was fricking AWESOME. Jay looked so good in the “夜的第七章 (Twilight’s Chapter Seven)” MV, and the Making Of documentary was hilarious. I also loved Fei Yu Qing’s appearance in the “Faraway” MV… the moment where the red curtain pulled back to reveal him on the stage was pure magic.

I know that almost every one of my reviews invariably become endorsements of the respective book/artist, and I do apologize. But I really could not help it this time. (So, if it will be any small consolation, I shall try to thoroughly abuse DBSK some time later. OK? Buh-bye.)

Still Fantasy — track listing

1. 夜的第七章 (Twilight’s Chapter Seven)
2. 聽媽媽的話 (Listen to Mother)
3. 千里之外 (Faraway)
4. 本草綱目 (Herbalist’s Manual)
5. 退後 (Retreat)
6. 紅模仿 (Red Imitation)
7. 心雨 (Heart’s Rain)
8. 白色風車 (White Windmill)
9. 迷迭香 (Rosemary)
10. 菊花台 (Chrysanthemum Terrace)

Track 10, “菊花台 (Chrysanthemum Terrace),” is the ending theme to Zhang Yimou’s newest martial arts film, Curse of the Golden Flower.

Jenny-fa’s Verdict: 4 stars (out of 5)

Related links:

• Alfa Music’s Still Fantasy official site
• Official Curse of the Golden Flower site
• Buy Still Fantasy (CD+DVD) (Taiwan Edition) @ YesAsia.com