Toy and Help Yourself

Last updated

Toy and Help Yourself are two Cantonese extended plays (EPs) by Chinese recording artist Faye Wong when she was based in Hong Kong. In 1996, the last year of her recording contract with Cinepoly Records, Wong recorded ten original songs in Cantonese, all with lyrics by Lin Xi but composed by others such as Wong Ka Keung, Adrian Chan, and Chan Xiao Xia.

Contents

These songs were supposed to be released as an album in 1996 or 1997; however, Cinepoly decided to release the ten tracks separately on four occasions. Cinepoly later released eight of these songs in the two EPs entitled Toy and Help Yourself. The other two songs were included in later compilations.

Toy

Toy (玩具)
FayeWong Toy .jpg
EP by
Faye Wong
ReleasedFebruary 20, 1997 (1997-02-20)
Genre Cantopop
Length19:06
Label Cinepoly
Faye Wong chronology
Fuzao (Restless)
(1996)		Toy (玩具)
(1997)		Help Yourself
(1997)

Toy (Chinese : 玩具 ; Jyutping :wun6 geoi6) was released in February 1997, during Faye Wong's parental leave where she gave birth to her first child. The EP's cover photo depicts Wong in her home in Beijing, China, having moved back there after several successful years based in Hong Kong. [1] [2]

The five tracks on Toy would be Wong's most significant release of new Cantonese songs until her self-titled album in 2001. [3]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."暗湧" (Ngaam Yoong; Undercurrent)4:21
2."約定" (Yerk Ding; Date/Rendezvous)4:25
3."玩具" (Fu Yeen)3:00
4."敷衍" (Woon Gui; Toy)4:20
5."玩具" (Ngor Seun; I Believe)3:00
Total length:19:06

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [4] Platinum20,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Help Yourself

Help Yourself (自便)
FayeWong HelpYourself .jpg
EP by
Faye Wong
ReleasedMay 29, 1997 (1997-05-29)
Genre Cantopop
Length23:48
Label Cinepoly
Faye Wong chronology
Toy
(1997)		Help Yourself (自便)
(1997)		 Faye Wong
(1997)

Help Yourself (Chinese : 自 便 ; Jyutping :zi6 bin6) followed in May 1997. [5] Although this EP (like Toy) contained new songs, including the hit ballad "On Time" (守時), and was welcomed by fans, it received lukewarm critical responses, particularly for the three remixes of songs from earlier albums. The album cover was a photograph of Faye Wong taken several years previously.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."守時" (Sau See; Punctuality)4:12
2."守護天使" (Sau Wu Teen See; Guardian Angel)3:38
3."自便" (Jee Been; Help Yourself)4:56
4."Di-Dar"3:15
5."誓言" (Shi Yan)3:55
6."夢遊" (Moong Yau; Sleepwalk (Universal Mix))3:50
Total length:23:48

Other songs

Cinepoly's first releases of their remaining original recordings by Faye Wong were as follows:

'Unbelievable', on the 1997 compilation Not for Sale (菲賣品)
'Scary', on the 2002 compilation Faye Best

Be Perfunctory

Be Perfunctory (敷衍)
Perfunctory.jpg
Studio album by
Faye Wong
ReleasedNovember 22, 2015 (2015-11-22)
Recorded1996
Genre Cantopop
Length42:03
Label Chaotic Silence
Faye Wong chronology
To Love
(2003)		Be Perfunctory (敷衍)
(2015)

Be Perfunctory is the last Cantonese album by Chinese singer Faye Wong. [6] In 2015, a fan of Faye Wong purchased the Hong Kong publishing rights from Cinepoly (now under Universal Music Group) and started a company called Chaotic Silence in order to issue the ten tracks together in one album.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."敷衍" (Fuhin)4:20
2."自便" (Amjung)4:21
3."心驚膽戰" (Samging daamzin)4:18
4."守護天使" (Sauwu tinsi)3:43
5."守時" (Sausi)4:16
6."不得了" (Bat dak liu)3:52
7."玩具" (Wun geoi)3:00
8."我信" (Ngo seon)4:48
9."自便" (Zi bin)5:00
10."約定" (Joek ding)4:25
Total length:42:03

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye Wong</span> Chinese singer-songwriter and actress (born 1969)

Faye Wong is a Chinese-Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress. Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong. Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong at the age of 18. Debuted with the Cantonese album Shirley Wong (1989), she came to public attention by combining alternative music with mainstream Chinese pop. Since 1994, she has recorded mostly in her native Mandarin. In 2000, she was recognised by Guinness World Records as the "Best Selling Canto-Pop Female". Upon her second marriage in 2005, she withdrew from the limelight, though sporadically returned to the stage.

<i>Fable</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Faye Wong

Fable is the seventeenth album and eighth Mandarin-language album by Chinese singer Faye Wong. There are 12 songs in total: ten in Mandarin and two in Cantonese. The lyrics of two Mandarin songs on the album were rewritten in Cantonese to cater for the Hong Kong market. A "Deluxe" version included a VCD with footage of Faye Wong's commercial for Head & Shoulders shampoo.

<i>Faye Wong</i> (1997 album) 1997 studio album by Faye Wong

Faye Wong is the fourteenth album and fifth Mandarin album by Beijing-based C-pop singer Faye Wong. The first album to hers under the umbrella of EMI, it was released on 26 September 1997. There are ten songs in total, one of which is a cover. Unlike her last studio album Fuzao, which was an artistic attempt, this time the album's style is more focused on the balance between mainstream and avant-garde. The album is generally languid, mellow and pervaded by an attitude of contentment.

<i>Coming Home</i> (Faye Wong album) 1992 studio album by Faye Wong

Coming Home is an album recorded by Chinese Cantopop singer Faye Wong. It was released on her return to Hong Kong in 1992 after her year-long stay in New York City.

<i>No Regrets</i> (Faye Wong album) 1993 studio album by Faye Wong

No Regrets, also translated Stubborn and Regretless and Never Deplore, is the translated title of a 1993 Cantonese album recorded by Chinese Cantopop singer Faye Wong when she was based in Hong Kong. The title track was released in both Cantonese and Mandarin.

<i>Fuzao</i> 1996 studio album by Faye Wong

Fuzao is the fourth Mandarin-language studio album by Chinese singer Faye Wong. It was released on June 3, 1996, through Cinepoly. Wong took more artistic risks with her work as she approached the end of her record contract, resulting in the experimental nature of Fuzao. The album was positively received by critics, with The Straits Times considering the album as Wong's boldest and most artistically coherent effort to date.

<i>100,000 Whys</i>

Sapmaan go Waisammo? or One Hundred Thousand Whys? is a Cantonese studio album by Chinese recording artist Faye Wong. It was released though Cinepoly Records on September 7, 1993. It is named after a popular Chinese science book, One Hundred Thousand Whys by Ye Yonglie.

<i>Mystery</i> (Faye Wong album) 1994 studio album by Faye Wong

Mystery is a Mandarin studio album recorded by Chinese singer Faye Wong. It was released through Cinepoly Records on April 8, 1994.

<i>Sky</i> (Faye Wong album) 1994 studio album by Faye Wong

Tian Kong (天空), known as Sky in the English-speaking world, is the ninth studio album recorded by Chinese singer Faye Wong when she was based in Hong Kong. It was released on 10 November 1994.

<i>Random Thoughts</i> (Faye Wong album) 1994 studio album by Faye Wong

Random Thoughts, alternatively Thinking Here and There or Wondering Music, is a Cantonese album recorded by Chinese singer Faye Wong. It was released through Cinepoly Records on June 29, 1994. It confirmed her move into alternative music and covers songs by the Cocteau Twins, whose influence she readily acknowledged.

<i>Decadent Sound of Faye</i> 1995 album by Faye Wong

Decadent Sound of Faye, also translated as Faye Beautiful Music, is a Mandarin studio album recorded by Chinese singer Faye Wong, released through Cinepoly Records on July 3, 1995. It consists entirely of rearranged versions of songs originally released by Teresa Teng.

<i>Di-Dar</i> 1995 studio album by Faye Wong

Di-Dar is the ninth and last Cantonese album by Chinese recording artist Faye Wong, released on December 22, 1995, through Cinepoly. The album marked a shift from Wong's earlier style as she incorporated British psychedelic rock and ragga into her work, showcasing her evolving alternative musical influences. Di-dar featured compositions by Wong with arrangements by her then-husband Dou Wei, production by Zhang Yadong and lyrics by Lin Xi.

<i>Please Myself</i> 1994 studio album by Faye Wong

Tou hou ji geiYale Romanization, meaning Please Myself or Ingratiate Oneself, is a 1994 Cantonese album recorded by Chinese Cantopop singer Faye Wong as 王靖雯 Wong Ching Man, when she was based in Hong Kong.

<i>Sing and Play</i> 1998 studio album by Faye Wong

Sing and Play is the fifteenth album, and sixth Mandarin-language album by Chinese singer Faye Wong. It includes 10 tracks in Mandarin, with a bonus disc of 3 Cantonese tracks. It was released on October 2, 1998, in the Greater China region. On October 21, 1998, it was released in Japan. Wong and Alvin Leong served as the album's executive producers.

<i>Lovers & Strangers</i> 1999 album by Faye Wong

Lovers & Strangers, also translated as Only Love Strangers is a 1999 album by Beijing-based C-pop singer Faye Wong. It contains a total of 12 songs and was produced by Alvin Leong.

<i>Faye Wong</i> (2001 album) 2001 studio album by Faye Wong

Faye Wong (王菲) is a Mandarin studio album by Chinese recording artist Faye Wong, released through EMI on October 11, 2001. The songs are a mixture of pop and rock numbers, including pop rock, techno and electro genres. It included 11 tracks in Mandarin Chinese and five in Cantonese. The latter provided Wong's most significant release of new Cantonese songs since Toy in 1997. Faye Wong worked with new partners on this album, including Singaporean singer-songwriter Tanya Chua and Taiwanese rocker Wu Bai.

<i>One Person Playing Two Roles</i> 1995 EP by Faye Wong

Yat yan fan sik leung gok is a 1995 EP recorded by Chinese Cantopop singer Faye Wong when she was based in Hong Kong.

<i>Youre the Only One</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Faye Wong

You're the Only One is a 1990 Cantonese album recorded by Chinese Cantopop singer Faye Wong as 王靖雯 Wong Ching Man, when she was based in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye Wong discography</span>

The discography of Faye Wong, one of the leading stars of Chinese pop music, includes 20 studio albums and 5 extended plays (EP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye Wong's Comeback Tour 2010–12</span> 2010–12 concert tour by Faye Wong

The Comeback Tour was a concert tour in Asia by Chinese diva Faye Wong, marking her return to public performance after several years of concentrating on her family.

References

  1. ↑ zh:电视月刊 1999 "到(浮躁》,从(玩具〉、《王菲〉再到(菲买品〉,王菲一宜在音乐的世界里随意驰稗,也一直是乐坛关注的焦点,而且《浮 II 〉更是被人们视为突出 ..."
  2. ↑ zh:前哨 108-113 p105 2000 "但由於王菲工作忙經常飛往香港,兩人的愛情結晶《童〉便由脔唯又當爹又當娘(一人分飾兩角》地擔負。王菲回來時總也忘不了給孩子買超值的《玩具〉。一家人就這麼幸福地生活着。"
  3. ↑ Chan, Boon (October 28, 2011). "Faye's back". The Straits Times . Singapore. p. C2.
  4. ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1997". IFPI Hong Kong.
  5. ↑ Dian shi yue kan 1998 "王菲会不会再拍电影呢? 答:目前金典音像又引进了王菲的《自便〉专辑,这是王菲在宝丽金所保留的珍藏作品。据王菲表示她今后的发展重点在国语欹坛上,至于电影方面,她也不排除有大显身手的可能性, ..."
  6. ↑ Fan spends 1 mln yuan to release Faye Wong's album, China.org.cn, October 29, 2015
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.