Hidden Track EP (CD+DVD) DVD Region All

Music x Movie = Hidden Track EP (CD+VCD) ~ Jay Chou

Jay Chou doesn't have to look back on the days he entered the show business some two years ago as his popularity soars exponentially up and well beyond others. Jay, the future hall-of-fame contender in the music industry, has definitely entered the league of Asian superstars and been ranked as the most famous male Asian singer of this generation.

Recently , the new king-of-Asian-pop has also tried his luck at shooting movies. The title of Jay's brand new, debut movie is "Hidden Track" (Yes, exactly the same as the EP's). The backbone of the story revolves around a hidden track, which is a mysterious track played only after every other song on an albumhas been played.

As part of the master promotion for Jay's new movie, Sony Music (TW) has released an EP, named after the movie "Hidden Track", with two songs from it. The EP also comes with a complimentary 11-track "Ye Hui Mei" MV clip VCD, which is a gift for all his gorgeous fans' unconditional support.

As for the two songs on the EP. First, both are from the movie "Hidden Track". As for the theme song "Track" (CD, Track#1), it is, to the present reviewer's humble opinion, one of the best in Jay's alreadyhuge collection of emotion-venting songs. About the second "Broken String" (CD, Track#2), not only is it neatly written and composed, but Jay also excels in these kind of relaxing pieces with ease.

As regards the 11 MV clips shown in the "Ye Hui Mei" VCD, most are of very high quality and some are shot as if it were a movie! For example, Jay acts as the head of the Mafia in "In the Name of the Father" (VCD, Track#1). The western, exotic background and the heavy opera-flavored music serve as contrast providers and set the mood of the song.

And in "Class 3B" (VCD, Track#4), Jay acts as a competitive table tennis player. Words fail the present reviewer when he talks about his feeling on the song, though he is sure that it does bring up enough doubts and "question marks" in life for listeners to think for days. Music of "East Wind Breaks" (VCD, Track#5) sounds "old school", is sad but attractive, while its lyrics are classy, poetic and beautiful.

A footage from a Hong Kong-based telecommunication company TV advertisement is used in the music video of "You Heard" (VCD, Track#6). "You Heard" is touching although the flow of the story is not logical at all. As for "Dual Knives" (VCD, Track#11), you can really forget it as it is crap.

Recommendations: "Track" (Track#1), "Broken String" (Track#2)

Reviewer: Stephen Lee (Li ZhongYan - Hong Kong)
Translator: theDan (Chen EnNeng)