On The Run (Taiwan Preorder Version) (With Notebook) + Jay Figure

However, you might have suspected that Jay had gone berserk with the album's first single, the Western country-style romp "Cowboy on the Run" (Track 1). Written as a full-blown country track, Jay and lyricist Huang Jun Lang pack in as many stereotypes about the Old West as possible into the lyrics while Jay belts them in his typical unusually hyper speed. With the singer sitting on a pink wooden horse on the cover and standing in front of a 50s diner (which were not around during the era of the Old West) on the album photos, "Cowboy On the Run" almost seems to be Jay spitting in the face of critics who have complained over the years that the R&B wunderkind needs to shed his style. Only an artist with the popularity of Jay can actually pull off something like this and not be ridiculed by the general public for it. In that case: Well played, Jay Chou.

Those who are worried that "Cowboy" might set the tone for the entire album need not worry, as the rest of On the Run sticks fairly close to what can be expected of a Jay Chou album. The songs can be split into three categories: ballads, light rock, and energetic alternative pop. The ballads start off well with "Rainbow" (Track 2), a light rock ballad whose first half features only a single guitar strumming for its arrangement in order to highlight the melody. As more instruments and accompanying vocals set in, they actually further enhance the melody rather than detract from it. The result is an affecting single that's as well written as it is well produced.

The best ballad on the album though is "Green Vase" (Track 3), the obligatory "east-meets-west" ballad that combines Chinese traditional instruments with R&B-style elements. Again, Jay emphasizes a simple melody over complex arrangements. With a repetitive yet catchy chorus, the song is effective because of the melody's simplicity, and the inclusion of traditional Chinese instruments doesn't even sound particularly contrived this time around. However, by the time "I'm Not Worthy" (Track 7) rolls around, the ballads begin to sound repetitive and formulaic.

On the Run signals a Jay Chou that is slowly beginning to solidify his style into its own pop genre. As more pop stars take up his seemingly unique brand of rap-meets-Mandopop hybrids, Jay himself begins to increasingly rely on that established style to keep fans around as well. In this album, he does try a new thing or two with not just "Cowboy", but also with sunny American rock-pop tracks such as "Sweetly" (Track 9). However, they are nowhere near memorable enough to be indicators of where Jay should take his music in the future. Considering that he's had songs about domestic violence and death, On the Run is Jay's lightest album to date. Since the Chinese title of the album literally translates to "I'm Busy", one does wonder whether he really was too busy to compose songs with heavier impact in the past year.

Nevertheless, at least the album has a consistent tone, notable tracks, stellar production, and even a cowboy dancing in the wrong time period. But for a Jay Chou album, it lacks the ambition of his earlier works - even if it does deliver more than what tends to be required.

by Kevin Ma