Came across this blog reviewing albeit rather late David's debut album cos it has made it into the top ten albums in Taiwan from 1993 to 2005 in a book called Taiwan Popular Music Taiwan - 200 Best Albums. Really enjoyed it & gave me an even newer perspective on David's music. I like that the writer admitted readily that he didn't think much of the album or David Tao initially because he thought it was just an ABC singer apeing western r&B. This is something David had to endure most of his career including being called godfather of chinese r&b.It was funny cos lately when he was interviewed, he again refuted the r&b godfather label saying his music is not always r&b but I think he got it wrong. He was called godfather of chinese r&b mainly cos ppl thought that he was the one who really showed how chinese r&b could be done well. But still most people thought that he was just copying western r&b & refused to believe that he contributed to how chinese music developed in the late 1990s & early 2000s. The other reason why people liked to dismissed his music was that it's much too accessible & has mass appeal.
Strangely enough, he addressed this recently when he was interviewed. He said that music needs to be accessible in order to be heard & the most logical way was thru commercialism. David has always been able to straddle good music & commercial music with ease. His self-titled album is the perfect eg. It sounds like your regular radio-friendly album but it tells you stories that affects your life like being in love, out of love, first love, loneliness, despair, anger, jealousy, frustration. If you take any song out of the album, it is a standalone song that you can enjoy but if you listen to the album in its entirety, you find that the songs tell their stories sequentially. All his albums are like that. This is something that is easier said than done. Most albums have a couple of good songs & no continuity while some others are great only if you listen in its entirety. Anyway here's the list of top ten best album from 1993 to 2005 in Taiwan:
1 Ocean, Pau-dull, 1999 (海洋/陳建年/1999)I think in the list, David's album is probably the one that most ppl heard of or even just a few songs like I Love You & Airport in 10.30. Also I think his is the only debut album in the list. His other albums also made it into the 200 list:
2 In a Flash, Kimbo, 2005 (匆匆/胡德夫/2005)
3 Wanderer’s Love Song, Wu Bai, 1994 (浪人情歌/伍佰/1994)
4 The Sounds of the Sun, Wind and Grass, Samingad, 2000 (太陽風/草原的聲音/紀曉君/2000 )
5 Lonely Bird on a Tree Branch, Wu Bai and China Blue, 1998 (樹枝孤鳥/伍佰 and China Blue/1998)
6 Walking to Danshui, King of Kinmen and Lee Bin-hui, 1997 (流浪到淡水/金門王與李炳輝/1997)
7 Tao Zhe, David Tao, 1997 (陶吉吉/陶吉吉/1997)
8 Come Home, Shunza, 1997 (回家/順子/1997)
9 A Fabulous Adventure, Cheer Chen, 2005 (華麗的冒險/陳綺貞/2005)
10 Sisters, A-Mei, 1996 (姊妹/張惠妹/1996)
40) Black Tangerine (2002/8)
47) I'm OK (1999/12)
75) The Great Leap 2005 (2005/1)
