Random Thoughts (Faye Wong album)
| Random Thoughts 胡思亂想 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 29 June 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:51 | |||
| Label | Cinepoly | |||
| Faye Wong chronology | ||||
| ||||
Random Thoughts[1][2] (Chinese: 胡思亂想), alternatively Thinking Here and There[3] or Wondering Music,[4] is the seventh Cantonese studio album by Chinese recording artist Faye Wong. It was released through Cinepoly Records on 29 June 1994. It confirmed her move into alternative music and covers songs by the Cocteau Twins, whose influence she readily acknowledged.[5]
Cover art
[edit]The album cover was unusual for its time: instead of any image of the singer's face, the main cover design shows overlapping phrases such as "no new images" and "no photo booklet" in Chinese characters of varying size, all of which have some strokes missing but allowing the phrase still to be discerned.[2][5] An alternative cover was all white except for the artist and album name, the latter in the same partial characters. The cover was the first to include the Mandarin name 王菲 (Wang Fei).[2]
Songs
[edit]The title track "Random Thoughts" is a cover of the Cocteau Twins' "Bluebeard". Track 5, "Know Oneself and Each Other", covered their song "Know Who You Are at Every Age", which was likewise from their 1993 album Four-Calendar Café.
"Dream Lover" (sometimes translated "Person in a Dream") is a cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams". It was a successful hit single, and was featured in Wong Kar-wai's critically acclaimed film Chungking Express in which Faye Wong also starred. She also recorded a Mandarin version, "Elude", on Sky.[6] Both versions are still played frequently in Chinese media.[7]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "胡思亂想 (Wu Si Lyun Seong)" (Random Thoughts) | Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde | Lin Xi | 3:52 |
| 2. | "誓言 (Shi Yan)" (Pledge/Oath) | Dou Wei, Faye Wong | Faye Wong | 4:21 |
| 3. | "天與地 (Tin Jyu Dei)" (Heaven and Earth) | Richard Lam | Phil Chang | 4:42 |
| 4. | "夢中人 (Mung Zung Yan)" (Dream Lover) | Dolores O'Riordan, Noel Hogan | 周禮茂 | 4:21 |
| 5. | "知己知彼 (Zi Gei Zi Bei)" (Know Oneself and Each Other) | Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde | Lin Xi | 3:33 |
| 6. | "純情 (Seon Tsing)" (Innocence) | C.Y. Kong | Lin Xi | 4:31 |
| 7. | "遊戲的終點 (Yau Hei Dik Zung Dim)" (End of the Game) | 張宇 | Pan Yuan Liang | 4:55 |
| 8. | "夢遊 (Mung Yau)" (Sleepwalk) | C.Y. Kong | Lin Xi | 4:50 |
| 9. | "藍色時分 (Laam Sik Si Fan)" (Moment of Blue/Bluesy Moment) | 陳小霞 | Lin Xi | 4:12 |
| 10. | "回憶是紅色天空 (Wui Yik Si Hung Sik Tin Hung)" (Reminiscence is a Red Sky) | Alvin Leong | 陳少琪 | 4:14 |
| Total length: | 43:31 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "愛, 一次給不完" (Duet with Jacky Cheung) | 3:56 |
| 12. | "知己知彼" (Europe Mix) | 3:18 |
| 13. | "非常夏日" (Duet with Jacky Cheung) | 4:20 |
| Total length: | 11:34 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "愛, 一次給不完" (Duet with Jacky Cheung) | 3:56 |
| 12. | "知己知彼" (Europe Mix) | 3:18 |
| 13. | "容易受傷的女人" (Mandarin Version) | 4:17 |
| 14. | "忘掉你像忘掉我" | 4:21 |
| 15. | "非常夏日 (Live in Chicago 1975)" (Duet with Jacky Cheung) | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 19:48 | |
Charts
[edit]Weekly charts
[edit]| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong Albums (IFPI)[8] | 1 |
Sales and certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[9] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
[edit]| Region | Release date | Label | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 29 June 1994 | Cinepoly Records | |
| Taiwan | Linfair Records | CD | |
| China | 1994 | Cai Ling Audio and Video |
|
| Japan | 2 November 1994 | Polydor Records | CD |
| 26 September 1997 | CD (reissue) | ||
| Hong Kong | May 1999 | Cinepoly Records | CD (PolyGram 20th Century Glorious Mark Series) |
| 14 October 2005 | CD (Legend Series) | ||
| 15 July 2014 | Universal Music Hong Kong | CD (Golden Disc Anniversary Series) | |
| 8 August 2014 | LP | ||
| 12 November 2020 | CD (24K Gold series) | ||
| 17 December 2020 | LP (ARS series) | ||
| Japan | 17 February 2021 | Universal Music Japan | LP |
References
[edit]- ^ Shane Homan, Access All Eras: Tribute Bands and Global Pop Culture, 2006, p228. "Faye Wong (1993) 100,000 Whys? Hong Kong: Cinepoly. Faye Wong (1993) No Regrets. Hong Kong: Cinepoly. Faye Wong (1994) Mystery. Hong Kong: Decca/Cinepoly. Faye Wong (1994) Random Thoughts. Hong Kong: Cinepoly."
- ^ a b c Chan, Boon (28 October 2011). "Faye's back". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. C2.
- ^ Anthony Fung and Michael Curtin, "The Anomalies of Being Faye (Wong): Gender Politics in Chinese Popular Music", International Journal of Cultural Studies 5, no. 3 (September 2002) 'Wu Shi Lun Shung' (Thinking Here and There, 1994),
- ^ Faye Wong is all woman – Taipei Times Archived 6 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Max Woodworth 2004 "Wong also had a brief fascination for the ethereal music of the Cocteau Twins in the mid-1990s, which manifested itself in three covers of the Scottish band's songs on Wondering Music (胡思亂想, 1994) and collaborations with the band on Impatience (浮躁, 1996), and Faye Wong (快樂不快樂, 1997).
- ^ a b 胡思亂想 (in Chinese). Douban. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2011.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Balmont, James (13 February 2021). "How Chungking Express brought dream pop to Hong Kong". Little White Lies. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ An encore for Faye Wong Archived 9 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, China Daily, 11 December 2009
- ^ "Hits of the World Charts". Billboard. 23 July 1994. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ "哪个时势能没有广东歌". Jet (181): 026–047. 1 September 2017.
