How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?

《How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?》是爱尔兰唱作人Sinéad O'Connor的第9张全长专辑，于2012年3月2日在Republic of Ireland厂牌下发布，2012年3月5日由英国One Little Indian厂牌发布。 岁月不饶人，当年爱尔兰的叛逆才女Sinéad O'Connor如今也即将迈入天命之年，少管所生涯、拒领格莱美奖、当众撕毁教皇照片……这是她的过去，凯尔特女战士的青春往事，打口贩子曾经的谈资，能唤醒一代人的记忆。那时候她还绝对美丽，音域宽广，歌声里兼具母性与神性，替人充当救命稻草，俨然宇宙教母风范。 　　俱往矣，Sinéad O'Connor的音乐生命尚未到终止时，沉寂许久后，她于今年的3月2日在Republic of Ireland厂牌发布个人第九张录音室全长专辑《How About I Be Me (And You Be You)？》。时过境迁，如今她的身材与嗓音都有所变形，音乐风格也有些许转变，从前专辑里的叛逆与愤怒随着时间流逝逐渐被融化掉，取而代之的是明快的曲风和慷慨流畅的演唱，极具感染力，这些转变看似轻松随意，但对唱作人来讲，无疑是迈出了艰难的一步。这大概跟她的新婚有关，她在45岁生日当天与男友终结连理，专辑里的《4th And Vine》好像就是献给这场迟到的爱情，她的灵魂在路上奔跑多年，如今终寻得栖息之所。 　　新专辑里共收录她的十首新歌，其中的《Queen of Denmark》是翻唱前The Czars乐队主唱John Grant的作品，Sinéad O'Connor的版本编曲更为简洁，但直指要害，痛快淋漓，声音收放自如，跟原作的感觉完全不同，整首歌曲所表现的情感完全被她霸气凛然的嗓音所控制。听完整张唱片，最凄婉动人的一曲莫过于《Reason With Me》，Sinéad O'Connor对这曲的演绎实在让人心碎，歌曲里讲述了一个不守规矩的叛逆少年对灵魂和爱人的追寻，坚定而无所畏惧。聆听此曲如听Sinéad O'Connor倾诉心声，世界太大，得到与失去都是常态，但在内心深处，我们有谁不希望有个人能将自己从生活的深渊里拯救出来？(By 班宇) There has never been mistaking Sinead O' Connor for anybody else. A voice born to break as many hearts as windows, as tender as it is lethal. The face, simultaneously that of ocean-wide-eyed angel and shaven-headed warrior queen. And the spirit, courageous in its conviction, undaunted by controversy and fortified with endless reserves of resilience. Sinead O' Connor is that rare thing in popular music: a complete one-off. From her first breakthrough hit, 1987's Mandinka , to the multi-platinum international success of 1990's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got with its unforgettable number one version of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U , from her fearless genre-crossing forays into Irish folk and roots reggae to her collaborations with artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack and The Chieftans, O Connor has trodden a unique path to become the most iconic Irish female artist of the past 30 years. There is no one like Sinead O Connor. There is only Sinead O Connor. Lest the world dare forget who Sinead O'Connor is, it s about to be reminded once more. 25 years after her debut, 1987's The Lion And The Cobra, she returns with How About I Be Me (And You Be You), her ninth studio album and as showstopping a performance as her silver jubilee deserves. Produced by long-term collaborator John Reynolds, its ten tracks play like an encyclopaedic definition of O' Connor's oeuvre: songs about love and loss, hope and regret, pain and redemption, anger and justice. 'I kind of realised I've spent a lot of my life as an artist being told what I should be,' says O' Connor of the title. 'Being told you should be this, you should do this, you shouldn t do that. You get to a certain age when you realise no, it's perfectly OK for me to be me, thank you very much, and you to be you. But it s very much an Irish thing. It s really a comment about Ireland and what it's like to be an Irish female artist, and particularly this Irish female artist.'