Nice One!

Standard Disclaimer: I didn't jump into the Meteor Garden bandwagon. FYI, I first saw the anime Hana Yori Dango last year, became an instant F4 fan (its animated lead characters, not the actors), and cringed in fear that our local TV stations would discover this beautiful anime, or at least its live-action version that is now known as Meteor Garden. Now, my greatest fear came alive and it did find its way into the clutches of the Philippines' biggest network. Heh.

Hoookay…If you've read my earlier review of one F4 album, you'd know that I don't exactly approve of these wonderfully gorgeous guys' singing. So why the 8/10 rating? Yup, you guessed it. I've been swept away by the music videos first. I mean, let's face it, who could resist gaping when Jerry Yen, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu and Vaness Wu prance around your screen like some sort of male angels descended from heaven? There's that. And you can add plus points for the fact that the instrumental accompaniments in this CD are simply beautiful. Nevermind the bad vocals. Something about the recording downplayed the rough edges on everyone's voices so effectively that you'd actually think they can sing.

Let's start with the carrier single, Can't Lose You. The intro alone is very powerful. Listening to it makes you begin to think you were watching an old romantic Scottish/Celtic movie. When you hear the piano playing, ah… There go your melting knees…

Season of Firework doesn't sound too attractive at first, but it grows on you. Especially when you listen closely to the strings, composed mainly of 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello and guitar. You'd hear the same impressive strings-piano combo from the ballad Lonely Winter. Another notable cut, a personal favorite of mine, is Ask For More. I recognize this catchy ditty as the theme of the Taiwanese Pepsi commercial, where the F4 looked their absolute best. This is mainly the reason why I bought Fantasy 4ever in the first place.

You As A Friend is also a catchy track. I swear there's something wrong with it, since F4 seem to be after a Jamaican flair that comes off sounding too fake. Nevertheless, it's a fun song that makes you want to raise your hands in the air and gyrate your hips to the groove.

Te Amo strikes me as a Chinese version of a Carlos Agassi song. Let me just shudder before I barf completely. Good thing the next track, Only I, sounds a little more lovable as it has a cute little intro that sounds very… err… Chinese? Psychological Test, on the other hand, seems like it has been inspired by N'Sync. It's one of my favorites, though I've never been an N'Sync fan.

Then there's Can't Help Falling In Love. Yes, Fantasy 4ever contains a Chinese remake of an old American tune popularized by Elvis Presley and redone for Disney's Lilo and Stitch by the A*Teens. Vaness raps here, but at least he didn't sound like Carlos Agassi this time. The guitar intro is upbeat and fun, and it makes you forget that you don't like listening to your grand daddy's idea of Satan's music.

Bonus points for the extra VCD in this package, albeit they only featured two videos: Can't Lose You and Season of Firework. I don't think those two would be enough for any boy-crazy F4 fan, though. I mean, MyMyx's Top Ten has at least 6 F4 videos and I'd give a million bucks to bet that it's not the songs themselves that put those on top.