November's Chopin (CD+VCD)

Pop star Jay Chou (Zhou Jie Lun) has just released a new album recently and has attracted a lot of attention in the Chinese community these days. With his first five albums all becoming mega hits, this latest work only confirms what we already know: Jay is the king of Chinese songsters. And in spite of coming a few months after the summer release period, the new songs are brilliant and well-worth the wait.

The first track "Nocturne" (yie qu), which was released on the air waves in advance, is a beautiful, sentimental song laced with the lonely echoes of classical guitar and piano. The combination of classical sound and rap vocals, as we all know, is vintage Jay. "Blue Hurricane" (lan se feng bao) is the hardest rock number and reminds us of "Coward" (nuo fu) and "Trapped Beast" (kun shou zhi dou).

After that, the mood suddenly changes with the calm and beautiful ballads of tracks three and four. This album has no shortage of lovely melodies that remind us of "The Poet of the Piano" Chopin whom Jay greatly admires. Track three "Hair Like Snow" (fa ru xue) begins with a high tone that fans will recognize as a new and fresh vocal range from Jay. The song has an oriental sound a la "East Wind Breaks" (dong feng po) and mixes Jay's special blend of traditional instrumentation and rap. "Black Sweater" (hei se mao yi) is a sorrowful ballad that seems like a new type of song in Jay's repertoire. Jay usually relies on piano and strings in his ballads; but this song surprisingly brings the guitar to the foreground. "Black Sweater" also features Jay's lyrical handiwork and guitar recital in the introduction. The simple and sad lyrics of this track will touch the hearts of fans everywhere.

The fifth track "Deserted on All Sides" (si mian chu ge), which Jay wrote himself, is the most interesting song on the album as it talks about the artist's travails with paparazzi photographers. Both comical and cutting, the melody has an air of seriousness that clearly expresses the artist's anger. The mixing of Korean rap by producer Michael Hammar is also very cool.

The sixth track "Maple" (feng), with lyrics written by Devon (Song Jian Zhang, affectionately known as "Bullethead") of the band Nan Quan MaMa, is a romantic ballad with melodious background strings that are so typical of Jay. The lyrics by Devon also fit perfectly with an autumn ambience.

Fans who appreciate heartwarming tunes like "Adorable Woman" (ke ai nu ren) and "Starry Mood"(xing qing) will love "Romantic Cellphone" (lang man shou ji). This avant-garde melody reveals how couples everywhere exchange short messages and pictures to express their love through mobile phones. In an album full of excellent songs, this modest tune will probably become a favorite among the ladies.

Track number eight "Counter Scale" (ni lin) is a Jayesque hip hop number featuring lyrics by Huang Jun Lang, who also worked on the words for "Checkmate" (jiang jun) and "In the Name of the Father" (yi fu zhi ming). The musical style here follows closely in the footsteps of the previous tracks.

After revealing a bit of manly pride, the next track "Malt Candy" (mai ya tang) is an all-embracing love song. It has a tad more rock rhythm than you find in "Simple Love" (jian dan ai). The last formal track on the album is "Coral Sea" (shan hu hai), sung as a duet with Lara (Liang Xin Yi), who is the only female member of Nan Quan MaMa. It is a big-hearted love ballad that sounds familiar and surprising at the same time. Dueting with Lara really comes off well as the track is probably destined to be a hit among karaoke lovers.

As bonus tracks, the album includes two songs from the hit movie Initial D: "Drifting" (piao yi) and "All the Way North" (yi lu xiang bei). Even though the bonus tracks do not match the album theme, fans won't mind because the songs clearly reveal Jay's unique personality. These 12 unforgettable songs interweave 100% Jay with new melodic streams, while the autumnal theme and the contemplative mood give the collection an exceptional polish. Beyond a doubt, this is Jay Chou's finest album thus far.