A beautiful album from 1994 by Faye Wong featuring her hits from films such as ‘Chung King Express’ and ‘Mermaid Got Married’ and an album showcasing Wong’s artistic side and her awesomely beautiful vocals and cool music. This earlier album release shows why she ranks high on the list of Mandopop singers ever and why she is on Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling Cantopop artist ever. Stylish presentation, beautiful vocals that are experimented artistically in various musical settings and Faye Wong is just overall an awesome artist!”
ARTIST: Faye Wong (Wong Fei) (王菲/王靖雯)
ALBUM: Sky (Tian Kong) (天空)
LABEL: Cinepoly
CATALOG #: C70046/CP 50183
DURATION: 44:38
RELEASE DATE: 1994
- Sky
- Chessman
- Angel
- Shadow
- Sky (unplugged)
- Miss
- Fixedness
- Reserved
- Break Loose
- Vow
I remember watching Faye Wong in the Wong Kar-Wai film “Chung King Express” and instantly fell in love with her music and her spunky personality.
Her songs showcased her awesome vocals, her songwriting ability and also cool music but most of all, not settling with a certain singing style, she did things her way. Especially how she is known for her yodeling (she even participated in a Cocteau Twins track where she yodeled who she collaborated with in other tracks).
Her music has attracted fans around the world and she has been designated the title of tianhou (heavenly queen) and of course, attracted many International fans through her “Final Fantasy VIII” song “Eyes on Me”.
But back in 1994, I made my first Mandopop purchase with “Sky”. At the time, the album was among her few Mandopop albums released but also received rave reviews for her artistic expression.
The first track “Sky” was a song I first heard in the film “Mermaid Got Married” starring Ekin Cheng and Christy Chung. A beautiful ballad.
The second track “Chessman” is a song that I just love because of its musical arrangement and Wong’s vocals. I just love that orchestral feel of the song.
The third track “Angel” was the ending theme for “Mermaid Got Married”. I used to listen to this song a gajillion times in my car. I just fell in love with her vocal style in this song and very stylish and how she sings throughout the song in the background, it’s just a Faye Wong style that I just love!
The fourth track “Shadow” was a track featuring another well sung track that utilized acoustic guitar and percussion.
The fifth track “Sky” (unplugged) features a different version of the first track which was more ballad and had an earthy, symphonic feel. This version features more acoustic guitar, harmonica and bongo drums.
The sixth track “Miss” is another track that has an orchestral feel and a beautiful ballad.
The seventh track “Fixedness” is more or less a rock instrumental with Faye Wong humming for the first half and then nearly two minutes into the song, we hear Faye Wong singing.
The eighth track “Reserved” is awesome! The song just starts out with only Wong’s beautiful vocals. No music until the second verse. This is probably my favorite ballad from Faye Wong. Just wonderful!
The ninth track “Break Loose” is the cover of the popular Cranberries song “Dreams” which was used for the Wong Kar-wai film “Chung King Express”. This version features the mandopop version while the actual “Chung King Express” version featured the Cantopop version.
The final tenth track titled “Vow” is an awesome song that I actually fell in love with after I heard her sing this song live. Awesome! I loved how traditional instruments were used in the song and just a very beautiful song.
The CD insert booklet is actually quite stylish. One thing I love about Faye Wong albums is the use of photography and this booklet features cool photos and the lyrics are handwritten. Very stylish presentation.
It’s been a few years now since I pulled this CD out and listened to it. Throughout the 90’s, I listened to this album so many times over and over again because it’s a beautiful album and even 14 years later since the original release of this album, the music still sounds fresh and cool today.
Not only is this album stylish musically, vocally and even the album insert itself is quite stylish. “Sky” is a remarkable album that I’m happy to own.
Fourteen years later and still, definitely recommended!
