Wanton Desires

Neko Zhang

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Well Go Records
• ASIN: B0002HDBMA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #376,039 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"Wanton Desires" is the debut CD of Neko Zhang. Born and raised in China. Neko has a silky smooth, exotic vocal style. The CD, mostly in English, begins with "The Yao Song", an inspiring pop/dance tribute to the superstar basketball player. The title track follows, and suddenly we find Neko singing as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant. This satirical song written by Neko and producer Dean Bailin, shows how "things" in the US appear to this light-hearted, lovable waitress. The song contains a "musical fortune cookie" that causes the listener to exclaim "Ah!" when pondering the enclosed fortune. Then comes the sexy and jazzy "Delirious", the gentle yet powerful and funky "So In Love", and the listener starts to realize that whatever the style of song, Neko makes it "uniquely" her own. By the end, it1s back to "The Yao Song", but with Chinese vocals. The listener doesn1t need to understand Chinese to feel the true fun and inspiration in this high energy track. After hearing this CD, many might reflect on any preconceptions they had about what to expect from a Chinese recording artist. "Wanton Desires" musically illustrates the modern, evolving relationship between peoples of Eastern and Western cultures. This is pop music for people of all ages, wherever they may come from.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great music, gifted style!, November 3, 2004

By	Jimmy Liu "Jimmy Liu" (NYC) - See all my reviews

"Colors of Wind" is my favorate, very romantic, very imaginative, and very philosophical (with kind of Zen spirit)! "Wanton Desires" is very creative, it brings the boring Chinese menu items to a song in such a fun and comfortable way, lively depicts many Chinese immigrants' life...The fact that we may have wonton every now and then seems to be a trivial thing, however, wanton is the very way of making a living for quite some people and their families, it has much more meaning than a simple food... Neko has a keen observation on the things around and has an intuitive inspiration from her experiences. Her voice is very special, somewhat similar to a famous Chinese singer named Deng LiJun, plus Neko has more Jazz , R&B, or even Chinese folksong elements. As far as "Yao Song", I like it, it keeps my spirit high ! Jimmy @ New York

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VH1 Diva-To-Be, August 4, 2004

By	musikmuse - See all my reviews

Rarely does one hear a debut album that could be followed up successfully in so many different directions. Neko can deliver a bouncy pop hook (Butterfly Girl and the Chinese version of the Yao Song), channel Karen Carpenter or early Olivia Newton John (So In Love, 3 Little Words, Friend) and -- my favorite -- adopt the smoky, sultry chanteuse (Tangled, Delirious). If you want to discover a new crossover artist before she goes into heavy rotation on VH1, buy this album now.

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice Effort..., September 18, 2004

A Kid's Review

I just heard Neko singing today. She can sing (did a great job with "God Bless America"), but this collection of songs does not show that. She tries to be unique and clever in terms of lyrical content ("You cause this Wanton Desire / to Dim Sum lights and Szechuan fire") but fails, appearing eccentric in lyrics and cliche in style. The music is lacking (except for the beautiful "Colors of the Wind"). Could have been much much better, but it was a nice effort so I'll be generous and give it two stars.