Fans interaction

Gorgeous pix of David's interaction with his mainland fans even when singing. Below great review @ urbanwire.com, gonna have to post all the reviews @ blog forum so it dun disappeared into the archives. Wish I could find sum Black Tangerine reviews, sure there were few but cos wasn't a fan back then think most have already been archived.
David Tao - The Great Leap 2005
Written by Tang Pin-Ji
Sunday, 27 February 2005
A Leap In Tao's Musical History
The hype around David Tao's latest offering has been built up since Aug 2003, following the release of Ultrasound, a collection of Tao's greatest hits from 1997 to 2003. Then, Tao had referred to Ultrasound as being the end of the 1 st volume in a trilogy of his music, thus signalling a change in musical direction in his next album. It's therefore not surprising that The Great Leap 2005 has turned out to be one of the most highly anticipated albums of this year, both among his fans and music critics.
From the creepy opening sounds of "Ghost Overture", The Great Leap 2005 launches into an angst-ridden and electronic-laced "Ghost" - the 1 st single off the album. On the surface, "Ghost" seems to be talking about the unknown beings known to us. Upon closer inspection at the lyrics, however, it appears that Tao is, in fact, referring to the living "ghosts" among us - highly suspicious people in our daily lives who are full of malicious intent. His lyrics say that the "ghosts" are neither here nor there and never give up, which is an apt representation of those we know with the most dubious intentions, except to inflict harm onto others.
It might have been almost 2.5 years since Tao released his 3rd studio album, Black Tangerine, but the Chinese music industry has not been completely bereft of his presence meanwhile. Apart from Ultrasound, fans from all across Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore got to watch him on his sell-out Soul Power Tour in 2003.
With hits like "Melody" and "Angeline" from previous albums, older fans of Tao will not be surprised to see yet another female name appearing as a song title in The Great Leap 2005. This time, it's "Catherine" making the rounds. Dedicated to Tao's mother of the same name, the tune to "Catherine" was written by Dean Ting - a fan of Tao from Harbin, China. For Tao, who has always written the melodies to his songs so far, this move to include someone else's works can be argued to be a great leap indeed.
It can be observed that songs written by Tao reflect the issues that affect him most. About a year before the release of his previous studio album, Black Tangerine came the 9/11 attack. Today, in The Great Leap 2005, Tao sings about the consequences of war in "The Art Of War", a rock track infused with Oriental music by the well-known 12 Girls Band from China. The same support from the 12 Girls Band can be heard in "Susan Said", which is more R&B-based, but still a hot favourite among most of his fans.
Listeners who are bigger fans of Tao's slower stuff will not be disappointed by the variety of ballads in this album. From the jazzy "2Night", to the earnest and heart-wrenching "Who Do You Love?", they bring back a familiar feel. Although they're a far cry from the rawer material found elsewhere in The Great Leap 2005, the style of these sentimental tracks has not differed much from the usual formula. However, there is 1 slow number that stands out from the rest. "Song For Anita", which Tao wrote for his close friend Anita Mui, is peaceful and tranquil, which probably reflects Tao's emotions towards the popular late singer who had succumbed to cervical cancer in Dec 2003.
If you're a David Tao fan, The Great Leap 2005 would probably have been your listening staple over the past few weeks since its release. But if you aren't, this album is nonetheless a great showcase of Tao's varied repertoire for your sampling pleasure.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars