This album was inspired by The Minds of Billy Milligan, who supposedly have 24 personalities living inside him. (I haven’t read the book so don’t know much more than the few vague descriptions here and there.) Anyway? What about the album? Mixed feelings throughout.
CD
1. The Story of Billy (24個比利). Let’s just say it does live up to the craziness/madness of the theme.
2. Live Broadcast (現場直播). I like this song ten times more than the last song. Yes, sad (and mean), but it’s just me.
3. What Can I Do. Surprised. But I really like this song. Sad, but because of the arrangement, it wasn’t as pitiful. Just sad and easy to sympathize with.
4. Forgotten Embrace (忘記擁抱). Another nice song. Sad and mellow.
5. Give Strength (給力). Upbeat and powerful. It’s actually quite catchy. It gets addicting after a while.
6. Release Oneself (釋放自己). Another upbeat and catchy song.
7. Glorious Advancement Song (華麗進行曲). This song is even more catchy than the last one. Maybe it was because I listened to him performed before getting the album so this song kind of grew on me faster than some others in here. What this song did was incorporating one of the old songs into it as well so it sort of merged and just plain hook us along.
8. Don’t Want To Wake Up (不想醒來). Another soft, nice song. I actually quite like the mix of the song.
9. That Day (那一天). Somewhat upbeat and catchy.
10. Exclusively Belonging To You (專屬於你). This song reminds me of one of his past songs. Perhaps it was continuing some story from it, like how it was for some other songs too.
11. Baby Tonight. All in English, unlike how it was mixed or some phrases only like the other songs. This is the English version of track 8.
12. The Story of Billy (24個比利) Remix. Usually, I don’t like remixes, but for some reason, I like it more than the original version. Strange. Very strange indeed.
DVD
OMG, I seriously underestimated the album after just listening to the songs only. Well, I did like the majority of the songs, but when watching the MV portion, it totally blew me away. It wasn’t just one MV to the next (but could also stand alone on their own), but was like one continuous story, connecting to one another in such a sequence. Well, it was true for the first MV merging its way into the second MV. The artistic approach was nicely done. The transitions were nicely done.
1. Don’t Want To Wake Up (不想醒來). The MV was fine on its own with the sad theme and story. It really tugged at the heart.
2. The Story of Billy (24個比利): Dramatic Version (劇情版). I honestly think that this song was meant to watch and not just listen on its own. Because it was perfectly executed with the artistic approach, especially the imagery used. Totally awesome. So maddening and confusing, just like the theme of the song.
3. The Story of Billy (24個比利): Dance Version (舞蹈版). Just like its title, it’s the dance version. The whole MV focuses on the dance steps only, not the other parts of the story. Yet it wasn’t any less crazy, keeping true to the theme of the song.
4. Glorious Advancement Song (華麗進行曲). Truly playful and nicely done with the classic feeling of the era and the jazzy feeling. A very witty feeling to the overall atmosphere. Not to mention Blue J’s special appearance by the piano. That was cute. Brilliant indeed. And the ending was so cute and funny. Then the narrator clarified it for us that that was how Daddy Pan and Mommy Pan met! LOL! Then the bloopers. Nice touch to finish up the uplifting song and atmosphere.
5. Forgotten Embrace (忘記擁抱). Nice MV. Tragic theme, but still nice. It reminded me of those MVs made in the ’90s. (NOT a bad thing, lol.) It brought back a sense of the past in a way. Tiffany Hsu was the guest star for this MV.
6. Exclusively Belonging To You (專屬於你). Back to upbeat song. Dou Hua Mei appeared as the guest star here, portraying the girl at the cash register. I was surprised but nice to see her in the MV. It was soooo cute with their collaboration. Cute poses and then eventually meeting up at the movies. Got scolded by the people who were trying to watch, lol. Now I want to see a drama where they star in together! LOL! YUP, asking for too much. Oh well, one can dream. Anyway, back to this MV, truly uplifting and fun. Not to mention cute. But I think I used ‘cute’ too many times already, lol.
Overall feeling? I was surprised. I think the MVs sort of turned it around for me. I meant I like the majority of the songs in here (like said before). But then was a bit disappointed at the song responsible for the title of the album. However, the MVs totally saved it. Great album with its artistic approach.
*Images were scanned by DTLCT
2 thoughts on “The Story of Billy”