Decadent Sound of Faye


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

Name

The word ‘decadent’ is an ironic echo of early PRC condemnation of music such as that of Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng's music as mǐmǐ zhī yue. The title of this album is a pun: during the Cultural Revolution, Teng's songs were condemned as "decadent sounds" by the Chinese Communist Party. The album title is literally translated as Faye's Decadent Music, but as the character "" has the same pronunciation as the related character "", the title can also be construed as "Non-Decadent Sounds".
Word play on Faye's name fēi in Mandarin has also been used on two Cinepoly compilation albums: 菲卖品 Fēi mài pǐn and 菲主打 Fēi zhǔdǎ.

Tribute to Teresa Teng

The album consists entirely of cover versions of songs originally released by her idol Teresa Teng, one of the most revered Chinese singers of the 20th century. Teng's music remains extremely popular in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and mainland China. A duet was planned for the album, but Teng died before this could be recorded; Wong considered scrapping the project out of respect. However, Faye sang this duet, Li Bai's "清平調" with Teresa posthumously in a memorial celebrating her 60th birthday.

Reception

Decadent Sounds sold quite well despite initial negative criticism. It has come to be recognised as a classic by her fans and is held as an example of imaginative covering by recent critics. Not only did Wong show that she shared Teresa Teng's clear, sweet singing voice, but the arrangements added an unexpected freshness to many of the songs.
In a 2023 review of four reissued Wong albums by Pitchfork, Michael Hong wrote that "Wong emulates sweetness, but does away with much of the grandeur of Teng's tradition-bound performances; Wong's voice is instead airy, lofty, and lithe" and it "takes a more modernized and Westernized approach. Wong flips weighty arrangements into string-led chamber-pop pieces".

Track listing

Tracks are listed with their original Chinese titles, along with a transcription in pinyin and an unofficial English translation.
  1. "雪中蓮" ; Lotus in the Snow
  2. "你在我心中" ; You Are in My Heart
  3. "但願人長久" ; Wishing We Last Forever
  4. "君心我心" ; His Heart, My Heart
  5. "初戀的地方" ; Place of First Love
  6. "南海姑娘" ; South China Sea Girl
  7. "假如我是真的" ; If I Were for Real
  8. "翠湖寒" ; Cold Blue-Green Lake
  9. "黃昏裡" ; At Dusk
  10. "" ; Naihe
  11. "一個小心願" ; One Small Wish
  12. "又見炊煙" ; See the Chimney Smoke Again
  13. "原鄉情濃" ; Sentiments of a Native Village
Japanese edition bonus track
  1. "千言萬語"