David Tao
Too Beautiful (Tai Mei Li)
David Tao was born on July 11, 1969 in Hong Kong as 陶緒忠. He spent his adolescent years in Taiwan and eventually completed a master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Official date of release for this album was intended for the 4th of August but (similar to F.I.R’s album) leaked a week or so before. Too Beautiful is David Tao’s 5th studio album. In comparison to his 2005 release of the Great Leap, emphasis on softer tones and sentimentality is definitely evident. All in all, we’d recommend this album to those who specifically enjoy David Tao’s love songs. Too Beautiful takes a different spin from his previous albums like Black Tangerine and with this latest album you’ll be exposed to the world of 60’s, 70’s rock and jazz.
Track Listing:
1. 太美麗廣播電台/ Radio Beautiful
2. 忘不了/ Wang Bu Liao/ Can’t Get You Out of My Mind
3. 太美麗/ Tai Mei Li/ Too Beautiful
4. 追/ Zhui/ The Chase
5. 那一瞬間/ Na Yi Shun Jian/ The Moment
6. Walk On
7. 自導自演的悲劇/ Zi Dao Zi Yan De Bei Ju/ How Long
8. 祝你幸福/ Zhu Ni Xing Fu/ I Don’t Want to Know
9. 似曾相識/ Si Ceng Xiang Shi/ Finally
10. 今天你要嫁給我/ Jin Tian Ni Yao Jia Gei Wo/ Marry Me Today (feat. Jolin 蔡依林)
11. 每一面都美/ Mei Yi Mian Dou Mei/ So Beautiful
12. 不愛/ Bu Ai/ Forever
13. Olia
Track 2: 忘不了/ Wang Bu Liao/ Can’t Get You Out of My Mind- similar to his previous song, Yue Liang Dai Biao Shei De Xin, it shares aspects of both R & B and a classic oldie. Repetition of “Can’t get you out of my mind, no no, yea yea” doesn’t quite suit Tao’s voice and is too upbeat even for him. It prevents this song from being a favorite.
Track 3: 太美麗/ Tai Me Li/ Too Beautiful- the album is named after this slow ballad; and a very good one at that. This is Tao’s specialty and he pulls it off brilliantly.
Track 4: 追/ Zhui/ The Chase- is a catchy piece complemented by the acoustic guitar.
Track 5: 那一瞬間/ Na Yi Shun Jian/ The Moment- is another ballad and we particularly enjoy how the piano and violins gives the accompaniment a fuller sound. The use of a chorus is also great thinking by Tao and makes this song a success. Furthermore, listen for the pan flute; it’s a great touch to this ballad.
Track 6: Walk On- this song reminds us of his previous song Runaway. If you enjoyed that song, you’ll definitely see that same upbeat style in Walk On.
Tracks 7, 9 and 12 consist of ballads. They all employ the signature style of David Tao’s love songs. As stated from Tao’s press conferences, each song emphasizes one specific instrument, from string instruments, the harmonic, to the piano.
Track 8: 祝你幸福/ Zhu Ni Xing Fu/ I Don’t Want to Know- begins with a catchy rap and transitions to a 70’s feel of jazz music.
Track 10: 今天你要嫁給我/ Jin Tian Ni Yao Jia Gei Wo/ Marry Me Today (feat. Jolin 蔡依林)- is the only duet in this album. If only Jolin wasn’t asked to take part in the duet, it would be considered a favorite. Tao sings his part perfectly but the constant repetition of the lyrics “Jolin in the house, yea DT in the house!” lowers the quality of the song.
Track 11: 每一面都美/ Mei Yi Mian Dou Mei/ So Beautiful- is definitely a favorite song among the fans.
Track 13: Olia- a great way to end the album with a soft, melodic feel. Thus, leaving its audiences with a strong impression.
Photos of David Tao promoting new album.
Watch 太美麗/ Tai Mei Li/ Too Beautiful- music video on Youtube.
Watch 忘不了/ Wang Bu Liao/ Can’t Get You Out of My Mind- music video on Youtube.
Reviewed by Shez and Zhong Zhao Shi
Written by zhong_zhao_shi on Aug 17, 2006
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34 Comments, Join the discussion
Christine
My friend bought this for me but I still haven’t warmed up to it yet. So far Tai Mei Li is the only one I’m into.
Aug 17th, 2006
Shez
yay!! it’s up!! ^___^
i think we did well kekeke
xox
Aug 17th, 2006
Elaine
Jolin practically ruined 今天你要嫁給我. Tsk.
Aug 17th, 2006
Del
lol the album cover is really putting me off.
Aug 17th, 2006
Christine
Haha what’s wrong with it?
Aug 17th, 2006
Tanti
I think this is NOT a good album for someone who’s interested to learn about David Tao, like me. I have never heard of his previous work and this one is quite unimpressive. He certainly did a great job destroying [忘不了] with his [Repetition of “Can’t get you out of my mind, no no, yea yea”] and to me, by having Jolin sings the duet with him in [今天你要嫁給我] shows desperation in getting this song to be listened to. Jolin and ALL the rapping part from this song NEED to be taken OUT. It’s a good song, that he, once again, destroyed for nothing. It’s very disappointing. I personally think the only piece worthy of praise is [Olia]. It’s simple, straight forward, and it definitely has the potential to be a classic.
I’m really disappointed that the so-called great composers like him and Harlem Yu (with his latest album: Addicted) fell into the whirl of destruction side of the pop music. I thought they could’ve done better in maintaining their integrity as true musicians. I guess…money runs the C-pop more than quality more often, unfortunately.
Aug 18th, 2006
Christine
It’s always the money ;_;
My favorite David Tao song is Melody. Who sang Wang Bu Liao originally?
Aug 18th, 2006
christine/ zhong zhao shi
yeah, i was definitely disappointed with this album. his rapping totally killed wang bu liao for me, and i really loved the original oldie. i was hoping that his version would turn out well like yue liang dai shei de xin.
christine, as for the original singer, i’m not sure of the name. i think it’s this really old singer from my grandpa’s generation. she has a super deep voice. i think my mom has that song on an audio tape somewhere. i’ll see if i can find it.
i’ve decided that my dislike for jolin has increased due to her part in the duet.
oh and tanti, check out his older stuff though because he has some awesome songs.
del, haha . . . his album cover has a very feminine touch to it.
shez . . . high five!
Aug 18th, 2006
Tanti
I think the original singer’s name is this lady [肖淑平]. Looks like she’s the one who sings [夜来香], you know, the one that’s like “ye lai xiang…wo wei ni he chang… ye lai xiang… ye lai xiang…” etc. OMG… I remember my mom sang this song in our home karaoke machine until this song got stuck in my head during my finals. It’s insane.
Aug 18th, 2006
Tanti
BTW: I found her album for purchase @ yesasia that contains both [忘不了] and [夜来香]. Here’s the link:
http://us.yesasia.com/gb/PrdDept.aspx/section-music/code-c/version-all/aid-533908/pid-1003986232/
Aug 18th, 2006
christine/ zhong zhao shi
i totally remember that song! didn’t deng lijun also sing ye lai xiang? oh, shez and i are now planning on creating a list of our favorite deng lijun songs and reviewing them! :)
hmm, too bad the cd cover doesn’t have a picture of xiao shu ping though. it would have jogged my memory of her name.
Aug 18th, 2006
Del
why the cover is putting me off? look at it lol. it’s digitally tweaked to make him look more ‘beautiful’ to suit the title of the album. plus, its really girly (with the rose and the colour) for a guy. he looks like one of those beautiful untalented pop idols. reminds me of Aaron Kwok when he tried to sell his cds with lazered eyes.
Aug 18th, 2006
whall
At the very least, his version of Wang Bu Liao is driving people to seek out the original song & hopefully listen to other great songs of that era. But I do love his remake, the sibilant crackling sound of old vinyl record in the background is just such a nice touch, as is the dj scratching.
I am actually glad he didn’t do in the same way as his other remakes, as to me that shows a lack of creativity. It’s not original as many hiphop artists in the West have been sampling 30s/40s/50s/60s music. I think he did a very good job as you either hate it or love it.
Marry Me Today is much too bubblegumy. I think EMI twisted his arm to duet with Jolin so he did the best he could, but got his own back by inserting that mad ‘in the house’ rap. I can imagine him grinning perversely at the people singing the song at KTV going “DT in the house.”
Aug 21st, 2006
Daniel
yeah Completely agree with the 今天你要嫁給我, the “jolin in the house” and “DT in the house” makes it corny
Aug 23rd, 2006
Charles Ng
i m glad, his new album is special and simple, it is not too complicated, but when u listen his songs for many time, it will hav many pictures pass through ur mind, and touch ur feeling, great sound and compose!
but many donot agree that, someone unlike his music because maybe they cant accept such particular style…. but anyway, it doesn’t means that it wasn’t a great music, for me, i think this album is gonna to grab a lot of musical award, we wait n see!!
Aug 23rd, 2006
Christine
“I can imagine him grinning perversely at the people singing the song at KTV going ‘DT in the house.’”
Hahahaha! I never thought of it that way XP
Aug 23rd, 2006
Kay
In my opinion, Beautiful is quite a different album from David’s past works. Many feel that it’s simple and kinda commercial. But……to me, it’s the other way around. This album is much complicated than Black Tangerine and The Great Leap. There are just too many hidden messages in the music and the lyrics…and the toughest part about deciphering these codes is that, there aren’t any apparent clues given to us, the listeners. David has certainly done a great job in composing the songs. All of the 12 songs in the album have their own distinct melody and character. I’m not very much a musician, but I think, if we are talking about David’s music, please don’t judge him or his music when you haven’t done much listening…
Aug 24th, 2006
Pure
I’m disappointed with most of the album. Tao is trying to be someone hes not, and that degrades the quality of his work. Zhui is the only song i liked, its just so catchy.
Aug 25th, 2006
SC
This is a too soft album. You got a lot more slow ballard in this album that seems like a repeat theme - something like what Jay Chou always does with his albums - sounds good but easily bored.
David Tao caught my attention becoz he is playful with his songs - a fusion of different styles. It showed in his first ablbum and also in The Black Tangerine, which are the best of David’s albums. In fact, the best of all, is his first album, an album which you can play in many years without getting bored - a fact that many chinese music credits agreed with.
If I ever got one question for David Tao, I would like to ask him, why he choose ‘bahasa indonesia’ in a song’s intro featured in his first album.
Anyway, the new album rates 3 out of 5 stars for me.
Aug 28th, 2006
JK
Anyone know about his pinyin transalted lyric URL sites? Can share with me? I have a friend who loves his songs but she doesnt know how to read chinese. ^_^ She has all his CDs somemore
akakaka…
PLEASE help!
Email me!
Aug 28th, 2006
whall
“If I ever got one question for David Tao, I would like to ask him, why he choose ‘bahasa indonesia’ in a song’s intro featured in his first album.”
I remembered he was asked during a radio interview and he said it was from a demo someone gave him. He just liked the phrase and put it in his song. It was uncredited so presumably he got permission to use it. I also like the Take 5 Minus 3 intro in the first album which I agreed is a damn good one. But I don’t understand what you meant by ‘repeated theme’, do you mean music style? He actually used more music styles than in his first album which is mostly r&b. There is Latin, funk, soul, jazz, blues, slow rock, just to name a few. Actually this album is growing on me, perfect car music.
Aug 29th, 2006
tomato
perfect!
loving you forever!
Aug 29th, 2006
SC
“Repeated theme” means he is like recycling his slow ballards in different tunes. The style is almost the same. Although it has a bit of soul and jazz but it is still a ballard themed album just like all other chinese album now.I must admit they are good though. Yet, they are not classic and will not live in my memory for long. Anyway, this is not a bad album and not even david’s worst.
Aug 30th, 2006
Ling
I super like the 不愛 Forever song from his album!!
Aug 30th, 2006
shertzz
i don’t like the cover album… ^^!
but I like the song in 今天你要嫁給我… but the mars wedding makes me crazt when I want to reply it. i had to liesten that too.
so, no other way, I cut the mars wedding hihihi
sorry DT. :P
Sep 23rd, 2006
chichi
Just began learning Chinese and I want to learn also through songs. My very first Chinese song ever I heard a few days ago and have been playing it non stop so I can learn pronounciation etc- and I’m practically singing it, even some of the rap.
the repetition and bubblegum catchy tune that some of you don’t like is what makes it easy for me as a Chinese student.
Yes, it’s the not so popular Marry me today (by the way I just learned that translation from posts on this page). I do not understand anything in the song, although I know some words.
HERE IS MY REQUEST Can some kind person translate the song for me “jintian ni yao jia gei wo”
Nov 2nd, 2006
Meruko
I have been listening to this song for a while now, and I agree with mostly of the comments. For an album that took two years to produce, it’s rather a let down compare to the strength of his older album. It’s not even about most of the songs being ballads or that his vocals aren’t up to par. It’s the lack of creativity in his compositions I suppose, or rather, the direction he’s heading with this rubbed people the wrong way. His lyrics are meaningful, yes, but where’s the range of composition that he’s capable of?
Nov 3rd, 2006
Indigobluelex
The most and ever (?) best album is David 1st album… Love it so much!!! for those who like ballad songs should have it!!! Highly recommended… You wont regret…
Nov 16th, 2006
Alexa
I dun think jolin ruined the song as wut Elaine said..
besides that, i think the “jolin in the house, DT in the house” sounds great!
it mixes up with another song genre….very nice indeed….
mayb everyone has different taste and opinion… i think this song is very nice..
Feb 21st, 2007
alice
hello i love chenese culture and can u send me piano score of david taoo pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
and in my opinion u should do a comment for Lin Jun Jie my favorit singer !!
see u !
thanks
Mar 9th, 2007
vidie
gosh..just heard that track 10 n its nice but when it got into the repetition ‘jolin is in the house.. DT is in the house’ kind of lame… that part destroyed the song man…
Jun 14th, 2007
vidie
ps: do JJ lin.. he rock.. all his albums are great.. especially 1943…
Jun 14th, 2007
leeyiankun
I dislike this album at first, since Black Tangerine was the first album that I got introduced to. Then I was hooked on Soul Power, the freshness of that one refuse to let me go.
Now almost a year later, I am ready to listen to this album again with an unbiased mind.
I found that I love it.
How can you not? It’s full of the same, yet refreshing at the same time. Some might find Marry me today too sassy, and even dislike the choice of Jolin as a duet partner. But for me, it only affirms me about his friendliness that always there in his personality.
Not to mention, ‘The moment’ and ‘Walk on’ gives this album the most upbeat&happy go lucky theme that I find adorable.
And I think I will find ‘Too Beautiful’ to occupies my playlist for a long long time to come.(Soul Power stays on it for the 4th year now.)
And to each all to his own, I guess.
Even David Tao cannot win ALL of the time, with every one of his fans. At least I’m happy with this new one.
Go, David!
Aug 6th, 2007
mike
i personally love 今天你要嫁給我 and the duet with jolin… i don’t know why so many people in this website hate jolin so much and even say that she ruined the 今天你要嫁給我… well jolin is not the only one rapping… david also rap during that repetitive sequence… but oh well i guess to each its own…
Aug 8th, 2007
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