I've got it - November's Chopin!

Imagine my shock when we were all falling in for book out and my handphone rang. The number didn't look familiar, and I was so curious that I answered the call tactically.

"Hello. We'd like to tell you that the Jay CD that you pre-ordered has arrived and is ready for collection."

I was so ecstatic, I was shouting around and telling everybody that I was going to get my copy of the freaking CD. I just could not stop exclaiming that his 6th album has been released and that I would listen to it till... I go deaf probably. Unlike the previous album, Qi Li Xiang, I liked every track the moment I heard it and despite the many layers of Ye Qu (as described by MB!), I loved it the moment I heard it. Okay, maybe the lyrics struck a chord with me too.

Anyway I went to take the CD from TS and I've heard it approximately twice. I'm going to get my Zen Micro to play it all through the night while I sleep and let the music diffuse into my brain! I'm going to do a track-by-track review of the song tomorrow because I can hardly keep my eyes open for now. Every track is a gem, and I know that the slow songs that usually appeal lesser to me (ie 9/10, and while the rest of the album tracks don't get a single mark less than 11/10) will be appreciated by others. I can conclude that there's a song for everyone in this album. Also, Jay has seemed not include any chinese musical instruments in this album as compared to his previous ones, which had things like Long Quan, Ren Zhe etc.

There's a lot to explore on this album. Unlike any other artists, the lyrics are actually very meaningful and have a lot of depth. In fact, they are sometimes even challenging to understand. Jay does not attempt simplicity just because it'd appeal to the masses.

I'll be pitting my comments on some of the songs with what I have available from MB, who hasn't got the album yet (thus no lyrics cos no album sleeve!). She's the expert on Jay and she got me more crazy about Jay than I could be without her! Haha... It's insane. It's insane.

It's insane!!!

More on that tomorrow, but for now, here's some of Ming Boon's comments on November's Chopin.

November's Chopin - title of jay's new album.

when i first read the article, jay mentioned that he admired chopin and his innate musical composing ability mirrors chopins, like a role model. so i went to download some of chopin's pieces and my hairs stood.

jay plays some of the nocturne tunes randomly during interviews. he played nocturne in e minor(i think) during a old clip of him cameo-ing as a wannabe accordian performer before he went into the music industry.

the familiarity of the songs shook me. it sounds so familiar but i've never heard them before. but after listening to Ye Qu, jay's new song, i realised, i've been hearing bits of chopin in jay's songs all along. especially in jay's ballads - the more 'Romantics' genre of piano pieces. and it was a deeper insight towards jays music and his song, and i was glad... jay celebrated chopin in November's Chopin like how he celebrated his mother in Ye Hui Mei. it was almost like a form of gratitude.

with this regained understanding, i thought jay being brought into the limelight and pop culture like it is today... i thought it was pretty insulting suddenly.

its okay if jay doesnt film so many commercials anymore. its okay if jay is not as popular as before - rain is taking over. but he has to write songs. its time he rolled off his peak onto the safe platform where he started during his first album, where music is THE THING.

Now she is a true fan.

I was quite surprised when I read that she actually downloaded Noctourne and listened to it. I myself have played a little bit of the piece she mentioned - Noctourne in E Minor. I never really got to learning the entire piece, but I have a deeper impression of the piece than most people have. Also, I'm really impressed by MB's interpretation of music and her comments have so much depth with regards to Jay and Chopin.

As I dwelve deeper into Jay's songs, I realise that there is indeed a bit of Chopin in his songs and the musical accompaniment has always been complicated and mirrors the great composers of the past.

It makes me wonder if Jay's music is going to last forever.