Release Date: February 1995
Song Count: 10
Duration: 39 minutes, 31 seconds
Rating: 7.5/10
Description:
Song Count: 10
Duration: 39 minutes, 31 seconds
Rating: 7.5/10
Description:
(Note: The version of this album I listened to was the altered Taiwanese release.)
Never would I have thought to run into this particular style of music so far away from what I am familiar with as an uncultured European, but here we are. An icon of Cantonese pop music, particularly back in the 1990's, Shirley Kwan has redefined what it means to be an artist of the medium through her works and covers, and there is no album of hers that serves more as a celebration and example of her impact than EX All Time Favourites, a 1995 release that sums up the core of her earlier music. Pulling one back to the times it was released in with its simplistic and classy manner, the contents of the record are ones to keep one's ears open for.
Primarily dominated by acoustic instruments with occasional digital mixing on the rudimentary yet fitting end thrown in, the composition reflects the popular soundscape that was common with ballad-type songs a few decades back and still carries such associations that come with it. Kwan's soft and whispering singing paves the path that each track follows with its melodic progressions and energy levels that stay laid-back without overly lulling the listener with stagnation. The full experience invokes the sense of a slowly encroaching wave of charm that fully welcomes one in, as well as hindsight-based nostalgia that cognitively sucks one into an idealised close past, even if that was not the initial intention of the album itself whilst being made and was only an effect it gained through the natural passage of time.
Whilst the initial listen sparked bouts of curiosity within yours truly that were fleeting but also served as definitive anchor points to latch onto, especially through repeated listens, I really came to appreciate the energy that EX All Time Favourites and its music puts out. The synergy between each of the moving parts as well as the surprisingly dynamic nature of the more generalised sounds of each of the tracks make the experience one where one comes out of it with a glowing view. The tracks that especially struck out to me were the opener "可惜" (Translation: "What a Pity") and closer "拒絕再玩" ("Don't Wanna Mess Around No More"), both song that sound wildly different from each other on the surface, but both exemplify the charm of the album as a whole. A solid work from a long-standing Hong Kong aural artist to be respected.
Thank you for the music, Shirley Kwan. Enjoy your post-musician days!