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Fable (Chinese: 寓言; pinyin: Yùyán), alternatively titled Legend, is the eighth Mandarin-language studio album (seventeenth overall) 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.
Composition
The album can be considered in three sections. The first five tracks deal with certain aspects of Buddhism, incorporating motifs from fairy tales, especially Cinderella. The next three are radio-friendly pop songs. The next two, "Farewell Firefly" and "Book of Laughter and Forgetting," are somewhat more complex musically; they are sung in Mandarin and are followed by alternate versions in Cantonese, "Firefly" and "Love Letters to Myself."
Songs
The first five songs form a song cycle and were composed by Faye Wong herself, marking her further development as a songwriter. Three of them featured as the final segment of every performance in Wong's 2010–2012 Comeback Tour. All the lyrics on the album are by Lin Xi, and tracks 1–5 were produced by Zhang Yadong, both of whom were regularly collaborating with Wong during this period of her career. Alvin Leong produced tracks 6–12.
"Book of Laughter and Forgetting"/ "Book of Exhilaration"
4:27
11.
"螢火蟲" (Yìhngfóchùhng)
"Firefly"
5:09
12.
"給自己的情書" (Kāp Jihgéi Dīk Chìhngsyù)
"Love Letter to Myself"
4:27
Total length:
57:02
All songs are in Mandarin except for tracks 11 and 12, which are Cantonese versions of tracks 9 and 10 respectively.
Japanese bonus tracks
No.
Title
Length
13.
"Eyes on Me" (Almighty Radio Mix)
3:59
14.
"香奈兒" (Japanese version)
4:59
Total length:
8:58
Korean bonus track
No.
Title
Length
13.
"Eyes on Me"
5:42
Total length:
5:42
Release history
Region
Release date
Label
Format(s)
Hong Kong
October 20, 2000
EMI
CD+VCD (hardcover version)
CD (paperback version)
Taiwan
Cassette
Malaysia
EMI Malaysia
Cassette
China
Shanghai Audio & Video Publishing House
CD
Cassette
South Korea
November 17, 2000
EMI Music Korea
CD
Cassette
Japan
February 16, 2001
Toshiba EMI
CD
China
2002
Shanghai Audio & Video Publishing House
CD (Special Edition)
References
Stan Jeffries, Encyclopedia of world pop music, 1980–2001, 2003, p225. "Her album Fable, released in October, began to focus on Wong's faith, as the first part of the album centred on the teachings of Buddhism. In 2001, Wong, now enthralled by the Buddhist faith, began to focus on the Japanese market and in April appeared on the front cover of Frau magazine. By the summer she was singing "Separate Ways," the theme song to the popular Japanese TV drama Usokoi, and in October she performed live in the country for the first time. In the following month she was named Artist of the Month on MTVChina. She also released the "Buddhist" single in Hong Kong. In November a double release, Loving, Kindness and Wisdom, highlighted Wong's devotion to her newfound faith, as the first part of the album featured Buddhist chants. Later in November a "best of" album was released."
Shane Homan Access All Eras: Tribute Bands and Global Pop Culture −2006 p224 "... almost exclusively on contributions from Hong Kong-, Beijing- and Singapore-based composers along with her own compositions on Sing and Play (1998), Only Love Strangers (1999), Fable (2000), Faye Wong (2001) and To Love (2003)."
CMJ New Music Report – 2001 12 31p 44 "FAYE WONG Fable"
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) "Legend"
