I just love writing..especially if it's anything to do with DT--David and Tension. So here I am, writing my comment on David's 2nd album, I'm OK.  A little of flashing back here. I bought this album when I was shopping at a mall. Somehow, I coincidentally saw it arranged on the the rack so I bought that because I remembered a review on it somewhere in some magazine. Since that day onwards, I'm a devotee of D-music..hehe

Released in 2000, this is a little more diverse than the previous album. David tried a variety of styles including his main interest, rock which is clearly shown in I'm OK, the title song. But, it was a little subtled down, maybe he didn't want to surprise his fans off, well that's my opinion. For me, I liked that song a lot. Of course, he still maintains R&B love songs like Leave and Close To You. I love Close To You very much mainly because of the perfect combination of the song and the MV itself. In the music video, David plays the role of a driver to a pretty young lady and he secretly admires her but never got the chance to express his feelings. So close, but yet so far. I really like the part where he suddenly halted the car on purpose during a trip to a fancy dinner because the lady have a male escort along. Hehe, I can sense jealousy in the air at that moment. Something juicy to share: The actress in the MV is a model and it seems that during the shoot, maybe David took the acting too seriously, especially the car-stopping part until the model was flung forward because of the impact. It was an embarrassing moment for her cos she didnt wear any protection garment underneath her gown except for her "ehem"...Okay, this is getting way out control here.. Rain is a good and inspiring song and Different is really 'different'. The rhythm is so fast until now i can't get the lyrics right when i sing it. But altogether it reflects on the personality and cultural diversity all over the world. The song I enjoyed the most is Tuberose. I'm an a cappella fan if you happened to ask. I was taken aback to find that he did all the vocals himself in that song. Amazingly superb effort to turn a song that my grandmother and mother sang since young to something that I feel I can pass it on to the younger generations...

Well, my opinion once again, it's never a regret to get David's album. I'm proud to say I grew up with his music. And I hope many more will too. He's always the best!

I'm OK - David made a comeback with this second album after a 2-year break from the music industry. Well, he was not cut off from music; it's just that he needed some time to preparing his mentality to except the whole idol thing.

            My personal opinion would say that David had improved himself after his debut album, Taoism. This album, labeled by himself as the hardest album to work with, had ironically made a superb sale in the market and won itself numerous awards from various countries in Asia.

            Made up of 13 tracks, this album had successfully displayed his abilities in making music. Playing a small role as a lyricist in his previous album, David approached a different concept by writing his own lyrics for most of the songs namely, Rain, Small Town Girl, Regular Friends, I¡¦m OK, Different, Leave, Thank You, Circus and Angeline, where 7 of these songs were solely written by him. David didn¡¦t let his inadequacy in understanding Mandarin perturb his effort. He barely showed it as his lyrics showed maturity and managed to express ideas associated with the society.

            Well, that was about the lyrics. Now, let¡¦s get into the element that matters ¡V the music. Somehow, when I listen to all of his albums, I would name I¡¦m OK as the intermediate between Taoism and Black Tangerine. This album has the simplicity of Taoism and the maturity of Black Tangerine. Yeah, of course, it¡¦s the second album. But, that¡¦s not my point. The point is, David managed to show that he has grown or rather, his music and skills had reached a new level or a higher standard. I realize that a lot of artists/singers do not have this element in their albums. They keep on doing the same thing all over and over again or to actually describe it, they are just following the trend in the music industry. Some are worse by trying to tell others that they are capable of doing anything concerning music by putting in various kinds of music genre in their albums. Some tried to use instruments that are unfamiliar to the ears. Are they trying to get praises from people? Just think about it. I think trying different kinds of genre and using other instruments are good things but some do not do them base on sincerity. They are just merely competing to be called the smartest or to be the hottest rather than making music straight from the heart. This is what many artists lack in the exemption of David Tao.    

            Anyway, I¡¦m OK did have a lot of different genre of music in it like R&B, rock, rap and dance. But the important thing is, David¡¦s style still stays in the songs. It¡¦s like as if you¡¦ll know that these songs are made by the same person. That¡¦s what I feel when I listen to this entire album which have different genres in it. David was natural in making these songs that it¡¦s hard to criticize him for his effort.

Rain ¡V This song is actually a simple song with a simple tune. I guess that¡¦s why many people like it. Anyway, I think for this song, the lyrics are very meaningful and that¡¦s what the song is trying to make apparent. But the overall end result didn¡¦t make the whole song simple at all. The arrangement of this song is very creative and the vocal¡K¡K¡K man, he¡¦s inhuman.

Small Town Girl ¡V I love the arrangement of this song. It has the flavor of a scene at a train station with the backing of some brass instruments.

Tuberose ¡V This a cappella song, a cover version of the old tuberose, which we are all familiar with, is certainly one of David¡¦s masterpiece in this album. How can he sing so well when he only has his own voices to listen to and to sing different parts in such accuracy? Although technology has made everything so much easier it didn¡¦t sound like it helped, in this song. One certainly need to have good ears and able to sing accurate notes to come out with this masterpiece. Man, this man is a genius.

Regular Friends ¡V A song with guitars solo and this is certainly the David Tao type of song as guitars had always been his major instrument. Not forgetting the vocals again. This song certainly revealed his vocal abilities (high pitch, great note changing skills).

I¡¦m OK ¡V A rock song with a really nice tune and great arrangement with the usage of traditional instruments. Anyway, David¡¦s rock songs has always have great tune in them. When you first bumped into this song, you might feel that it¡¦s weird as it¡¦s hard to understand what David is trying to express through this song. It¡¦s still a mystery to me as I¡¦m not really sure of what the song is about. Is it hurt or something else? I¡¦ll work hard on that.

Different ¡V This song surprised me when I heard it. The message is clear and it¡¦s certainly a fun song to listen to with funky arrangement. David really put his mouth/vocal to the test by rapping at such speed.

Leave ¡V A heart breaking song ¡K¡K David sounded really upset in this song. There¡¦s a part where he sounded as if he¡¦s going to breakdown and cry. When I listened to that part, I felt as if something sharp had cut deep into my heart. And then, he set my hair standing with his super high pitching vocal.

Thank You and Circus ¡V I don¡¦t know how to describe these songs as every time they start playing, I¡¦ll be smiling all the way as to me, they sounded funny. There are lots of humors instilled in them. I¡¦m not surprised as David has always been a humorous person.

Close To You ¡V A lot of people like this song. No doubt, it¡¦s a great song but I can¡¦t help feeling uneasy when I heard the song the first time. David didn¡¦t sound like himself. He tried to put some power in his voice but he couldn¡¦t go further as the song itself has a soothing element in it and at the same time the arrangement sounded firm. So, David was caught in the middle. I guess that¡¦s why he did a new version in his Ultrasound album. But then, when I¡¦m already in love in this song, it somehow took me some time to love the new version too. Close To You in I¡¦m OK displayed some hurt and infatuation while the 2003 version of Close To You sounded more romantic and relaxed.

Angeline ¡V This is a great song. The arrangement is definitely good. David used a different approached as he worked on much ¡¥heavier¡¦ elements to get the beat of the song. That¡¦s why I think it sounded like dance music.

            The journey of revealing this album made me agree that David was struggling with this album. I¡¦m OK has already won my peoples hearts what would have happen if David managed to put all his ideas into action?

I'm in the states (Florida) and it is very difficult to find David Tao's videos. You guys know where I can buy it? Here or anywhere else.

Thanks