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starting information 

Faye's new studio album, and third album from EMI, titled "Only Love Strangers" was released around the world on September 10, 1999. This page will compile all the info for you, so you only have to go to one place. The track listing  can be found below.  Only 2 songs have Canto counterparts (track 11 (equal to 5) and track 12 (equal to 6)), and it comes with a free VCD!

ALBUM TRACK LIST 

1. Beauty With Time	7. Passing Clouds
2. Moon At That Moment	8. After The Beep
3. Hypnotized	9. Overthrow
4. Only Love Strangers	10. Spectacular
5. Butterfly	11. Guarding The Fields
6. Century of Loneliness	12. Postman

BONUS VCD TRACKS

1. Pepsi "Wish" Commercial     2. Spectacular MTV   3. Behind the Scenes of Pepsi

with the help of... 

Producer: Alvin Leong Executive Producer: A Production House LTD.
Production Co-ordinator: Tommy Chui Mastering Engineer: Anthony Yeung
Promotion Consultant: Grace Kwo & Chui Li Kuang Image Direction: Tomas Chan
Photographer: Cheung Man Wah Make-up Artist: Zing Hair: Elaine Wong
MV Director: Susie Au Artist Manager: Ms. Katie Chan

more information 

The title song "Only Love Strangers" is a cover of the Zhang Ya Dong song of the same name that was released in late 98 on his self titled debut. I think Faye likes his music a lot, as she released his album under her "A Production House" label. Faye isn't the only one whose voice will be heard on the album. Tong is in on the action again! In the song "Only Love Strangers" Tong  says the line "come on baby".. Awww! It's said that Faye had to teach Tong how to say it, and then Tong started running around. So Faye was chasing Tong Tong around the studio with a microphone trying to get it recorded! Haha!!

Faye's new look in the album is EXTREMELY sexy, and I think she looks really cool and chic! You can see the pics all scattered around this page, and you'll see what I mean! She looks like a ROCK STAR! You can see the album pics at Faye Wong Lovely Gallery. Tomas Chan did a really great job with the styling!

Faye only wrote one song in the album and that is "Spectacular", which was written for the Pepsi commercials. You can see some stills from the commercial, that are similar to the MTV, below. This song was also the first single from the album. Go to Faye's Big Big World for bigger pics! I really do like this song, as it has a kinda alterna rock feel to it, and the MTV is great!
 
 

The VCD that comes with the album has the making of the Pepsi commercial and the "Spectacular" MV. This is my favorite part of the VCD! It's so cute to see Faye and the photographer and everyone all have fun shooting the scenes. You can see some of them below.. They aren't that great, but they're cute.

The second plugged song was titled "The Moon At That Moment", and the third plugged song is titled "Passing Clouds". There are 2 MTV's for "The Moon At The Moment", because there is a smoking Faye in the video. And Singapore and Malaysia have a strong anti smoking campaign going. So a "sleeping" Faye was added in the 2nd version. The MTV has a Faye with headphones, hair drying, cell phone, sleeping and smoking, and they all interact with each other! It's really cute. "Passing Clouds" is sad also, but is extremely pretty. In the "Passing Clouds" MTV Faye is in a dress, but the dress is part of the wall.. It's kinda gothic and a little scary.. Finally at the end of the MTV Faye becomes detached from the wall. Both of these MTV's premiered on Channel V on September 6, 1999! You can download the MTV for "Passing Clouds" here. And the MTV for "The Moon At That Moment" here.

Faye said in a recent interview with Channel V, that one of her managers by the name of AH FOON wrote a song for the album as well! The song's title is "Overthrow".  Faye stated that she wants her fans to pay CLOSE attention to the lyrics of this song! Faye said that the songs she likes the best on the album are "Hypnotize", "Only Love Strangers" and many others. She also said "that this album on the whole is quite nice to listen to." Faye has been shooting many, many MTV's lately. In an interview with CR2, Faye said that 2 days ago she was shooting a MTV, and Tong came to see her at work. Tong then started to cry, but no one knew why and thought it was because she wanted Faye to give her attention. Finally, someone told her that her mom was working. Tong replied "I know, she's just working too hard!"

downloads 

Pepsi "Wish" commercial ~ Spectacular ~ Spectacular MTV ~ The Moon At That Moment

                        Passing Clouds MTV    Moon At The Moment MTV

Note: You must have winzip because some of the files have to be unzipped.

8DAYS - SINGAPORE
Reviewed by Louis Sung
Only Love Strangers
Faye Wong (EMI)

This is undoubtedly Faye Wong's most successful attempt at marrying indie sensibility with mainstream appeal. The idea itself is nothing new; after all, Faye's been at it since her '94 Random Thoughts album. But what's amazing about her latest release is the ease and assuredness she and her producers have done in walking the tightrope between it being listen-able and pushing the musical envelope.
The album opens with 'Beauty With Time', a psychedelic number heavy on reverb and digital distortion. Surprisingly, this is followed by the sweet-sounding 'The Moonlight Then'. Things then really pick up with 'Hypnosis', a hip synth-driven track laced with a shange (mountain folksong)-like chorus. Equally riveting is the title track, a laidback tune enlivened by her daughter TongTong's "Come on baby" punctuations and angelic laughter.

It is remarkable how the album effortlessly lines up one excellent tract after another, such as the wrenching folk ballad, 'Overturn', and of course, the hi-techno-ish 'Exciting'. My personal favorite, if I'm forced to choose one, is the Cantonese track - one of two here - entitled 'Postman'. A sequel of sorts to her earlier hit, 'Appointment', it comes complete with thought-provoking lyrics by Lin Xi. Throughout the album, Faye's vocals shimmer with their trademark crystalline timbre, made edgier by an undercurrent of nervous energy and a slight tinge of hysteria. Definitely the best Chinese pop album to emerge this year.

DAY & NIGHT MAGAZINE - MALAYSIA (thanks to Fayehunt for sending me this one)

Reviewed by Leslie Loh

Much like the year end bonus I look forward to every Faye Wong album with eager anticipation.
It has always been a tough juggling act for Faye who tries to maintain a balance between mainstream pop and alternative music. When she gets too adventurous, like in the ground breaking  Mandarin album Fu Zao (Impatient) it scares away her mainstream fans and her recording executives. You can find this brilliant album selling at Victoria Music for RM10.99. Sad, but true. Since her change of music styles in the Cantonese album Wu Si Luen Seong (Random Thoughts) in 1994, Faye has never made an album that sounds the same as the previous one. In fact, apart from her self-titled debut Mandarin album (1997) with EMI which I find too safe and boring (save for the sublime You're Happy, That's Why I Am Happy Too) , every album of Faye's after Daydreaming - be it Cantopop or Mandarin pop - is a classic of some sort. My favourites are Random Thoughts (1994), Sky (1994), Di Dar (1995), The Decadent Sound of Faye (1995), Impatient(1996), and Toy (1997). Random Thoughts  was a gem for its successful marriage of Cantopop with Western alternative pop. Sky's exquisite sound ( both Faye's vocals and recording quality) left the Taiwanese in awe. Di Dar and Toy were delicious for they gave Faye Wong the trip-hop/trance sound The Decadent Sound of Faye sees Faye Wong reincarnated into a modern Teresa Teng with alternative sound, it is indisputedly an all-time-classic album! Impatient was mind boggling  for it brought Faye Wong back to her roots of Mainland China alternative rock. So, where does this leave Only Love Strangers - the subject of this review? Musically, Only Love Strangers is like Di Dar Part 2, and with a reason too.  Faye has reunited with former music partners, Adrian Chan and CY Kong, the duo largely responsible for Di-Dar. Kai Dao Tu Mi opens up the proceedings with a powerful electronica sound. Oh my god, what new a sound this is. Faye in her Shirley Manson-like distorted vocals, is terminally cool: this is my choice for the best track and it really bodes well for the rest of the album. Cui Mien (Hypnotize) is quite addictive and has me gasping in joy: Lin Xi's abstract lyrics enhance the hypnotizing effects of this superb song. Pai Nien  Gu Jit (Century of Loneliness) is a larger-than-life industrial pop sound which benefited from some great arrangement. For a taste of Faye's pristine vocals, look no further than in Tui Fan (Overthrown) , a serene ballad with minimal instrument backing. Trust me , the sounds emanating from my audio research valve amp and Apogee ribbon speakers are pure heaven. Those expecting strong ballads are in for some disappointment . As decent as Hu Tiat (Butterfly) is, it still falls short of  the standards I would  expect from Faye.  Another mild disappointment is Pepsi Commercial Theme song, Jin Cai (Spectacular) . In fact, composer Zhang Ya Tong is a bit below par in this outing. Only Love Strangers may not be a shattering album, (in fact I'm still waiting for that elusively perfect Faye Wong album) but when its good, its simply too good for the rest to catch up. Experimenting with the boundaries of music is a tricky act that demands a  lot of skills. In this respect, Faye Wong deserves full credit once again."

what I think - my review 

I personally love this album to death! Faye's voice is at it's best and the songs are much more rock / alternative sounding, with the exception of about 2-3 songs. I think the album's song are much better than those on "Scenic Tour", and the pictures are much better. Not so much the digital graphics, but the pictures of Faye herself. Anyway, Faye used some vocal distortions in the first track, and I think the whole album has a little bit of a western feel to it. Below you can find my review of each song.. The highest rating is 5 (being the best) and 1 (being the lowest).. All opinions expressed are STRICTLY my own! :) Coming soon.

pictures 

from the album

promotional

 

don't touch me

 
 
 
 

lyrics 

(all translations below are from Bunnies Everywhere)

Beauty With Time Moon at that MomentHypnotizedOnly Love Strangers 

Century of LonelinessButterfly Passing Clouds After the Beep

SpectacularGuarding the Wheat Fields Postman 
 
 
 

E-Mail me at: deesun@wongfaye.com

Only Love Strangers - A page from Sianz's site.. Pretty cool. :)