[Donga.com/Review&Review]
Taiji¡¯s Live Album Released on the 9th Anniversary of His Debut
Written by Hwang Taehoon


¡°Taiji¡¯s Dialogue Live album 2000/2001¡± was out on the market on April 11th, the 9th anniversary of Taiji¡¯s debut. The album is a work summing up Taiji¡¯s so far musical activities. The album is another experiment of rearranging into hardcore pimprock versions the songs from Taiji¡¯s 1st to 5th albums: ¡°Rockn¡¯ Roll Dance¡± from 1st album, ¡°Hayeoga¡± from 2nd, ¡°In the Eyes of Children¡± from 3rd, ¡°Comeback Home¡± from 4th, ¡°Take¡¦¡± from 5th. The album with total 20 songs on double CDs vividly reproduces the live stage of Taiji¡¯s concert on which 24 billion Won was invested. Its powerful rock sound beats on the heart, while the usual quality of a live album so far has been disappointing with the live vocals and playing buried under the audience¡¯s loud cheers. We become overwhelmed by the explosive sound and audience¡¯s shouts in ¡°You are in Fantasy¡±, while ¡°Take 1¡± reminds us of the scene in which Taiji sang playing the guitar in his concert. Jason Roberts, an American music engineer, helped to bring forth this vivid sense of presence through his finishing touches to the album. Taiji¡¯s critical view on society revisits us through the rhythmical rock beat of ¡°Sidaeyugam (Regrettable Times)¡±, a song that contributed to abolishing the pre-censorship act of the Concert Consultation Committee, and through the shouting vocals of ¡°Pilseung (Victory)¡±, for whose music video Taiji did a street performance just before his retirement in 1995. Besides, ¡°Tank,¡± ¡°Metropolis,¡± ¡°Internet War¡± and other songs on the 6th album are reborn in quite different styles from on the regular album. Another remarkable thing is that the booklet contains codified pictures and alphabets, which seem to be related to Taiji¡¯s promise to communicate with his fans. To his ultra manias, Taiji remarks at the end of his album: ¡°My song comes from despair, my despair comes from hope¡¦my desire begins with you. I am you. You and I, being together in time, let¡¯s make best of our lives.¡±

(Trans. By Dream of Balhae)