The Power of the Powerless

Cui Jian

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 30, 1999)
• Original Release Date: November 2, 1999
• Label: World Beat
• ASIN: B000038IBO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #348,796 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best of chinese rock music, November 16, 1999

By A Customer

The godfather of rock music from the Chinese mainland, CUI JIAN, remains after 13 years creative - despite of aging and the prohibition of live concert in his hometown Beijing since more than 6 years. And he is still holding on to the tradition of rock'n roll, which is more and more forgotten in the world where it's coming from. The most direct way to touch the heart of the after-culturerevolution-generation in the big cities in China.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anything but traditional, October 4, 2000

By	almosthappy (San Diego, CA, California) - See all my reviews

To say Cui Jian's music is traditional rock 'n roll is like saying dadaists are classists. Cui's music is about breaking the boundaries and infusing Western styles with traditional Chinese music. Take the opening track, "Slacker", for example. This song is an exotic fusion of traditional Chinese sound(The Peking Opera percussions), punk(Clash's fingerprints are all over it), Jazz(think a lo-fi Miles Davies), rap(Beastiy Boys) and funk. For listeners who are Madanrin Chinese savvy, it's not hard to appreciate Cui's lyrical finesse. Cui's lyrics are often bitter, filled with repressed angst but nevertheless humorous. His songs are often of a critical nature with a political overtone. Even for non Chinese listeners, this disc should be equally enjoyable. It's simply amazing to experience a product of the musical/cultural globalization at it's very best. I hope this little review helps, or at very least, I hope it will clear up the misconception that Cui Jian is simply a Chinese-nized Jerry Lewis. Cui is an innovator and that's a very important fact.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Cui is mellowing and maturing, July 15, 2000

By A Customer

I have to agree with old Quan below, Cui Jian really is the godfather of rock music from the Chinese mainland. Which given the population of the middle kingdom means he's bigger than Springsteen. This 1999 disc has old Cui mellowing a bit on the political and musical front (compared with 'Balls under the Red Flag' of 1996), but this is probably his best album - and that means the best Chinese rock album ever. Having had to make do with bootlegs for his previous it was great to see this album legally on sale on the streets of Beijing and immediately No.1 all over the PRC. It's a great shame that EMI (who have international rights to most of Cui's recent records) don't issue an export version of his best songs with English liner and translations. While so much Asian pop is just derivative (Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong worst, Japan and Taiwan less so) Cui and some of the other "Beijing bastards" (to quote the movie title) are genuinely original. If Khaled can get onto Bruce Willis' 7th Element soundtrack in Arabic, why not Cui in Beijing-hua?