Montana

又一位老朋友回归了， George Winston， 20年前一张《 December》开拓了 New Age/Neo Classical的道路，他的钢琴独奏营造出动人的气氛，乐风介乎古典与流行之间，容易消化，在当时受到不少乐迷的热烈爱戴。 如今，《 Montana - A Love Story》主要是藉音乐描写 George Winston的家乡 Montana，只要看到封面鸟语花香，便猜得到他的音乐是何等的舒服。 此碟极适合在冬季节日中播放，钢琴声音令人觉得温暖，也让人重温昔日 New Age殿堂乐手的风范。 在描绘田园生活的音乐中，美国民谣《 Billy In The Land》与魁北克传统歌曲《 Valse Frontenac》的旋律优美，是清新小品。不过，之后翻玩 Frank Zappa《 The Little House I Used To Live In》却带点实验味，但却道出旧居的伤感气氛，《 Joy, Hope And Peace》也是难得的和谐。 除改编作品外， George Winston自己作曲的《 High Plain Lullaby》、《 The Mountain Winds Call Your Name》虽然旋律不及传统作品，但却是最接近 New Age之作。最后，带中乐味道的《紫竹调》与两首给猫儿的歌曲，音色暖暖的，都一样醉人。 by David Jeffries A love letter to his home state, Montana is George Winston's most varied album since 1999's Plains and probably his most personal album, ever. His last album -- 2002's Night Divides the Day -- focused on his first musical inspiration, the Doors. Montana goes deeper into his heart, back to childhood memories of his family's house, lullabies, and first encounters with songs that would later hold great personal meaning. It's this kind of genuine wonder of it all that makes Montana so great. Winston is freer than usual on some of the tracks, playing like France's most precious dreamer, Erik Satie, must have; sometimes with great care and sometimes open-ended. On "Valse Frontenac," Winston stops on what seems like the second-to-last note, a cliffhanger move Satie might have pulled on you in anything-goes-Paris, 1900 or so. Like so many other moments on the album, it's fragile, but purposeful enough to not be maudlin. Surrounding these peculiar twists with popular nostalgia like "Goodnight Irene" and that song to which you first danced with a girl -- in Winston's case it's Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" -- are more common moments with no less sincerity, and it keeps Montana from being an album only Winston understands. His brief but informative liner notes also help the listener relate, but the varied repertoire might surprise -- or at worst, alienate -- those who only know his "one mood" albums. Moving away from the mood-based albums like December and Autumn lets the pianist get risky and play things by a diverse group of folk like the 19th century composer Rentaro Taki and Frank Zappa, whose "The Little House I Used to Live In" goes from cerebral to homey in Winston's caring, miniature interpretation. You see "Montana" on the cover and "Zappa" in the credits and you think you're going to sing, "Moving to Montana soon/Going to be a dental floss tycoon," but that's not Winston, too obvious. George always hints he knows, and then goes and plays it the way he wants to: not overly academic, heartfelt, and with nothing to prove. It's made his detractors declare his music "wallpaper," but they'll have a hard time doing that with Montana. Don't let it scare you. The little bits of dissonance are tempered with welcoming warmth and heart. Montana is filled with the goods and bads, the regrets and triumphs of home, and all the sentimentality and peculiarity of going back. The way Winston sorts it all out is fascinating and anything but wallpaper.