Review: Power of Live

First off, the packaging is really gorgeous. He really do spend time and creativity into the packaging of his releases. Of course he does employ a creative team but I feel he put in a lot of his own thinking as well. It shows that he respects his works and his listeners so he wants to give them the whole experience of enjoying his works not only aurally but visually as well.
He also included a written foreword as well as closing thoughts in the dvd. I like the completeness of the various selected clips from the first concert to his most recent. Not only is he presenting his music, his live performances but he shares with us his emotions and ideas about staging his concerts. It is almost like a little music documentary. I am reminded of Ultrasound where along with the selection of songs, he also included a cd with demos to take us through the process of writing those songs.
There are 11 live performances: 9 from 2003 Taipei Soul Power & 2 from 2006 Love Can HK. The 2 live performances from 2007 Shanghai concert are sadly much too brief probably because that concert tour hasn't ended yet. The performances are not in order like his 2003 Soul Power dvd but the songs are mostly the same with the only difference in the last encore track. I am disappointed that he did not include his father's song but maybe he would rather people remember the song as his father's not his updated version. David tries hard not to use his parents to promote himself, something I always admire.
There are 10 tracks in the cd. 9 from 2003 Taipei Soul Power are similar to the dvd but not in the same order. There is also more talking & interaction with the audience which is quite funny. The 10th track is rearranged Regular Friends which showcases his supreme talent in music arrangement. The bonus track of Free brings a nice ending as even though it is studio recorded track, it gives a sense of on the road again to another city, another concert.
The sound quality is not as good as his first concert dvd & cd but it has more of a live concert atmosphere. David's vocals are not always perfect or in pitch but his voice is still clear as a bell. But as he explained, this is what live performance is about. If people want to listen to perfect rendition, then they can listen to the studio album.
I feel that there is a trinity here. Ultrasound, 11 Labor Room & The Power of Live all combined to let us follow David's progress through his music from the recording studio to the stage. He probably didn't plan it this way but sometimes things just fall in place naturally.