The Greatest

纽约民谣摇滚精灵回归南方音乐根源，歌唱生涯至今最优专辑发表！ 邀得灵魂乐大师 Al Green 搭档Mabon Hodges ，Loretta Lynn 专辑录音师 Stuart Sikes 跨刀助阵！ 推荐首支单曲"The Greatest"，旋律如河水般缓缓流淌的午夜时分的安眠乐"Lived in Bars"。 她总是静静地坐在钢琴前，或抱着她心爱的空心吉他。不管侪身于嘈杂的酒吧，或是坐满手提电脑使用者的咖啡厅；在声响恣意宣洩的空间中，她用歌声将时间凝结，教人屏气凝神，充满惊喜或者迷惑。她总能牵引这空间中所有人的注意力，让世界停止转动。 她名叫 Chan Marshall，也就是我们所熟习的猫女魔力 Cat Power。这位成长于美国南方，发达于纽约的民谣才女，最近发行了她歌唱生涯中的第七张作品。初见这张新作品的标题，总让人误以为 Cat Power 总结了她多年创作来发行精选，实际上，这张名为《The Greatest》的全新专辑，正如期标题所揭示的，很可能将成为 Cat Power 目前无为止概念最清晰，最优秀的作品！ 这次 Cat Power 回到了 Menphis ~ 也就是孕育美国蓝调与灵魂乐的圣地，找来长期与美国灵魂乐大师 Al Green 搭档吉他弹奏与词曲创作的 Mabon "Teenie" Hodges ，贝斯手 Leroy "Flick" Hodges，鼓手 Steve Potts 等固守正统孟菲斯音乐血缘的前辈大师跨刀合作。此外，专辑中所有的键盘，管絃乐演奏，以及录音后製等工作，也都一气呵成地在 Menphis 完成，为她原本潜藏于另类民谣精灵气质之下的深厚南方音乐血缘，调和出在柔缓旋律中尽显 70 年代"Hi Records"( Menphis 当地培育出Al Green，Otis Clay 等蓝调与灵魂巨星的知名唱片公司 ) 之声带点慵懒、感性、俏皮与挑逗的美丽色泽。值得一提的是，统筹新专辑录音工作的 Stuart Sikes 可以说是这些年来无论主流或独立摇滚乐界都炙手可热的首席录音师！众所週知的乡村女皇 Loretta Lynn 与白线条之 Jack White 所合作的"Van Lear Rose"，便是由他担纲录製的！ 听听这张专辑的第一首单曲"The Greatest"，你会发现 Cat Power 原本就让人迷醉的嗓音在曼菲斯式的管弦器乐编排与娓婉合声抒情曲风衬托之下，轻易地将此次的南方乐种的安逸风情突显出来。"Lived in Bars"是一首写给午夜时分的安眠乐，如河水般缓缓流淌的旋律好似诉说着往事般刻划着岁月的陈旧与美好。专辑中许多歌曲都回溯 Cat Power 初出道时的纯粹，不论多听几遍更能感受其精巧繁複的"Willie"，或者如"Where Is My Love"这般展现她热切渴望情爱的小品，都能感受到猫女魔力不减当年的音乐热情。相信所有长期喜爱猫女魔力音乐创作的歌迷，都会十分满意于此次她的血缘回归！ by Heather Phares The Greatest (no, it's not a hits collection) makes it clear just how much Chan Marshall grows with each album she releases. Three years on from You Are Free, she sounds reinvented yet again: Marshall returned to Memphis, TN -- where she recorded What Would the Community Think nearly a decade earlier -- to make an homage to the Southern soul and pop she listened to as a young girl. Working with great Memphis soul musicians such as Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Leroy "Flick" Hodges, and Dave Smith, she crafted an album that is even more focused and accessible than You Are Free was, and pushes her even closer toward straightforward singer/songwriter territory. The title track is a subtle but powerful statement of purpose: with its lush, "Moon River" strings and lyrics about a young boy who wanted to become a boxer, the song is as moving as her earlier work but also a big step away from the angst-ridden diary-rock that her music is sometimes categorized as. Likewise, on the gospel-tinged "Living Proof" and the charming "Could We," Marshall is sexy, strong, and playful, and far from the stereotype of her as a frail, howling waif. But the truth is, sweet Southern songs like these have been in her repertoire since What Would the Community Think's "They Tell Me" and "Taking People" (You Are Free's "Good Woman" and "Half of You" are also touchstones for this album); The Greatest is just a more polished, palatable version of this side of her music. This is the most listenable Cat Power album Marshall has made, and one that could easily win her lots of new fans. It's also far from a sell-out -- The Greatest sounds like the album Marshall wanted to make, without any specific (or larger) audience in mind. And yet, the very things about The Greatest that make it appealing to a larger audience also make it less singular and sublime than, say, Moon Pix or You Are Free. The productions and arrangements on songs like "Lived in Bars" and "Empty Shell" are so immaculate and intricate that they threaten to overwhelm Marshall's gorgeous voice. And, occasionally, the album's warm, soulful, laid-back vibe goes from mellow to sleepy, particularly on "Willie" and "The Moon." Two of The Greatest's best songs show that she doesn't need to be edgy and tortured or gussied up with elaborate productions to sound amazing: "Where Is My Love" reaffirms that all Marshall needs is a piano and that voice to make absolutely spellbinding music. On the other hand, "Love & Communication"'s modern, complicated take on love gains a quiet intensity with judiciously used strings and keyboards. For what it is, The Greatest is exceedingly well done, and people who have never heard of Cat Power before could very well love this album immediately. However, it might take a little more work for those who have loved her music from the beginning.