Please Myself, also translated as Ingratiate Oneself (Cantonese: 討好 自己; Tou2 hou2 zi6 gei2 Jyutping ), is the eighth Cantonese studio album by Chinese recording artist Faye Wong. Using the stage name Shirley Wong (王靖雯; Wong Ching Man), the album was released on 20 December 1994, under Cinepoly.

Background and release

Cinepoly Records released this album in December, only a few months after her highly influential alternative music Cantonese album Random Thoughts and her second Mandarin album Sky. It did not match them in terms of commercial success. The album was released with three different album covers.

Composition

Faye Wong composed the songs "Ingratiate Oneself" and "Exit" herself, and these continued her move into alternative music. The remaining songs were more conventional in genre. The lyrics are all in Cantonese except for "Exit" in Mandarin. She spoke rather than sang the words to this song, so that it is sometimes described as a rap. Somewhat pessimistic in outlook, it was not popular with all her fans. Nevertheless, it was a hit single, along with the title track, "Honeymoon" and the ballad "Brink of Love and Pain". "Being Criminal" is a cover of "Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays. "Sky Doesn't Change, Earth Changes" is the Cantonese version of "Amaranthine" (不變, Bù Biàn) on her Mandarin album Sky.

Critical reception

In a 2023 review of four reissued Wong albums (Please Myself to Fuzao) by Pitchfork, Michael Hong wrote that the album "sharpened [Wong's] artistic identity" and most of the album consists of a "palette of dazzling dream pop and fond adoration".

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Sales and certifications