Fu Zao (Faye Wong album)

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浮躁 (Restless)

Studio album by Faye Wong

Released

July 1996

Genre

C-Pop, scat singing

Length

35:10

Label

Cinepoly

Faye Wong chronology

Di-Dar
(1995)

浮躁 (Restless)
(1996)

Toy
(1997)

Restless is a 1996 album by the C-pop singer Faye Wong.

Many consider it her boldest and most artistically coherent effort to date. The Chinese title 浮躁 (fu zao) is variously translated into English as Restlessness, Impatience, Anxiety and other similar words.

This being her last album with Cinepoly, Wong felt she could take on more artistic risks. The album contains mainly her own compositions, with an aesthetic inspired by the Cocteau Twins, who actually contributed two original songs to the album, "Fracture" (分裂) and "Repressing Happiness" (掃興). As Wong had previously covered their work in 1994, she had established a remote working relationship with them - even laying down vocals for a special duet version of "Serpentskirt" on the Asian release of the group's 1996 album, Milk And Kisses.

Critics loved and still love this impatience-themed album that presents a bright picture of joy, carefreeness, anxiety, fear and decadence under a sunny autumn sky. A Buddhist herself, Faye weaves in teachings of transience and disengagement that can also be found in her previous and later albums. Although this is Faye's personal favorite, the response from Hong Kong and Taiwan was less than desirable. Many fans who loved her previous three Mandarin albums turned their back on Restless, which they considered to be weird, self-absorbed, and too brief. However, hardcore fans, or Fayenatics, worship it and use this album to distinguish who is a "real" Fayenatic. Wong has not released another fully artistic album since. After the release, Faye became the second Chinese artist (after Gong Li) and the first Chinese singer to be featured on the cover of Time magazine.