Faye Wong anyone?

[gorgon_123]

If anyone has seen Won Kar Wai's excellent film Chungking Express you probably noted the Cranberries song "Dreams" that was sung in mandarin (?) by a Hong Kong based singer named Faye Wong.

That cover is just amazing and so I went online to learn a wee bit more about Faye Wong and I was just wondering if anyone has any of her albums and can comment on them? I just might take the plunge myself

[Vertigo-1]

Dunno too much about her, but I've heard her before, from the song she did for Squaresoft for Final Fantasy 8. They paid her like 1 million dollars just to do that one song!!! She's ok I guess...I much prefer Coco Lee though.

[dhwilkin]

I used to have around ten mp3s of various songs from her before my hard drive crashed a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I don't remember which ones they were or which albums they were from. I do remember enjoying all of them. I plan on getting a few of her albums sooner or later. So personally, I would recommend her songs.

[gorgon_123]

wow - she must be a big deal in Japan for her to warrant mega bucks for just the one song.

I'm slowly convincing myself to take the plunge here thx guys!

[Vertigo-1]

She's a pretty huge pop star in Hong Kong, so in a way, Squaresoft did what it had to to get her to sing the song. It was more of a symbol of how "all out" they were going on FF8. What's sad though is the song ain't even that good...she probably does better singing in Chinese than in English.

[Possum]

That's just a matter of opinion. I rather enjoy her song "Eyes On Me."

[dhwilkin]

I just downloaded a bunch of Faye's mp3s, so I'll give my specific opinions on them either tonight or tomorrow. Also downloaded some of Coco's mp3s as well, since I haven't really heard any of her stuff besides CT,HD.

[Vertigo-1]

Possum, you ever hear Coco Lee's song from CTHD? Hearing that song is why I rather appreciate Coco Lee over Faye Wong. Coco just seems to have a much more dynamic voice.

Basically, after hearing Eyes on Me, I can't believe Squaresoft paid 1 million for it...I say that song doesn't sound as good as it probably could've been because Faye's voice pratically starts breaking up all over it, as if she were hitting her limit. Like somebody running out of air? Ahh I dunno...I'm just critiquing the voice here, and only on one song...like I said, maybe she's pretty good on her typical CD.

Now, Final Fantasy 9's "Melody of Life" by Shiratomi Emiko was a nice one...

[Possum]

In my opinion, comparing Faye Wong's voice and singing style to Coco Lee's is like comparing a Sennheiser headphone to a Grado headphone. Each is good for a different purpose or style of music. I enjoy listening to BOTH Faye Wong and Coco Lee, but you're bound to get a different level of enjoyment, maybe less, if you interchange these two singers with the songs they've sung.

[dhwilkin]

Just finished listening to those mp3s I downloaded. I think Possum hit the nail on the head w/ his comments about each singer being best suited for different types of songs.

I'll keep my song descriptions short, since these are only mp3s. Still, they're good enough for this purpose. Unless otherwise noted, these are not sung in English.

------------------
Faye Wong
------------------
Angel - Relaxing, peaceful, her voice just carries you gently away.

Century of Loneliness - I didn't like this one. Her voice just sounds too slow and gentle for the fast (grungish?) rock background.

Devotion - A gentle lullaby type of song that goes well w/ her soft, wistful voice.

Dreams - Cover of the Cranberries' song. Pretty good, though she seemed to fade out before I was ready for it on a few verses.

Eyes On Me - From FFVIII. Sung in English, this is a very romantic ballad. Faye sings gently, but passionately. 1 million dollars is overkill for pretty much any song, IMHO, but I could definitely see her being well paid for this one.

FFVIII Ending Theme - Now this was kind of bland to me, at least the vocal parts. Not bad, just not interesting.

I'll Marry You Tomorrow - Again, not bad, just not particulary interesting. Greater emotive range would've been greatly appreciated.

Miss You Night & Day - Bah, just realized I only got half of the song. What I did hear had potential, as she definitely sounded more into it, w/ a playful, intimate tone.

Shadow - Very nice. Intimate, wistful tone w/ some nice acoustic guitar accompaniment.

Sky & Earth - Soft, reflective tone here, kinda generic beat. Didn't hold my interest for the entire time.

Frusturation - Faster pace than her other ballads, even though it's still kinda slow. Works quite well, and lent a nice rhythm here.

--------------------
Coco Lee
--------------------
Can't Get Over - Sung in English. R&Bish beat, Coco is sultry & aggressive. Not bad.

Crazy Ridiculous - Similar to Can't Get Over.

Do You Want My Love - Ditto.

A Love Before Time - The last song on CT,HD. Coco has wonderful control over her voice, hitting passionate highs and husky lows equally well. Great song.
Mo Jing - Playful, yet sultry. Interesting beat, w/ a sing-song chorus. Very cool.

The Best Love - An intimate, passionate song. She seems less aggressive and more plaintive in tone. Maybe not her best style, but still a good song.

Stay With Me - Got a dance track here. She's actually not singing quite as fast the beat. She doesn't sound quite aggressive enough w/ the beat for me. Decent.


Whew, that was a lot of songs! Anyway, I have to agree w/ Vertigo's opinion of Coco Lee having a much more dynamic voice. Coco seems to have much better overall range, and she also has better control over slight tonal variations. She can do most any type of song well, though I think she excels at ones that call for either a sultry tone or faster singing. Faye, OTOH, has a surfeit of slow songs, and for good reason -- It's what she's best at. Faye has a wonderful voice for slow, intimate, gentle/wistful songs. So she's more limited in song types than Coco, but for the songs she's good at, I like her voice better than Coco's. All of this is IMHO, of course.

[Vertigo-1]

You might want to check this CD set out from Coco Lee if you want to see what she USED to sound like:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...349035-4524004

I have a relative from China that's a pretty devoted follower of Coco, and apparently the songs she sings nowdays is starting to follow in the footsteps of the Britney Spears revolution. And I have to admit, there's a massive difference between the above CD and her U.S. release CD "Just No Other Way". One is classy, mature and slow, the other just reminds me too much of Britney Spears. This is so similar to the way Mariah Carey changed too unfortunately, who is another singer I respect quite a bit...once very classy, now reduced to hip hop pop/rap. She still has one of the female voices ever to grace this earth nonetheless.

[coolvij]

I think whitney houston had a wonderful voice before she changed style......billie holiday has a nice voice.....and Ella is simply untouchable

oh whoops.....I think coco lee is ok........

(sorry for the OT)

[leon]

Yes Vertigo... it's known that Coco increasingly turned into a Mariah wannabe during the latter years at Sony. I think that's really why I don't like her at this point. I'm one of those who's totally incapable of appreciating Faye Wong, so I won't discuss what I think.

I'll always be more of a Sandy Lam person, if you know her.

Actually if you guys aren't aware, it seems that Coco's got another Mandarin album coming out (maybe already out?). Faye also has a release in the works, aiming for October release for now: 10 mandarin and 5 cantonese, don't know anything else yet. If this is a new album, it's supposedly her last with EMI.

[rand]

here's some of her song that I like, the arrangement is so good; I don't understand Mandarin/Cantonese but these songs are fantastic;
(somebody pls help if the pronounciation wrong)

- Tiang khong
- Tian Shi
- Ban tu er fei
- ni

..and some song her collaburation with cocteau twins.

[Tides]

Coco Lee cant HOLD a candle to Faye ! Faye's voice is just beautiful~! Each of her album has its *own unique style*. Never the same on each album. My DCM370+xvanc2+hd600 brings her out so beautifully.. as if I am right in the studio with her when she recorded the albums. 3 of my 5 discs in my Dcm370 are Faye Wong's latest 3 albums!


I have all Faye wong's album here.( Chinese and Japanese) EVERY SINGLE ONE. HUGE fan here. Been in two of her concerts !

Tides

PS. if you wondering, .. Yes I am Chinese and was Born in Taiwan, been here in USA about 11 years