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Through the themes of decay, rebirth and blossom — it has taken more than eight years for Cheer Chen to finish her “Trilogy of Flowers”. After 2005’s Peripeteia and 2009’s Immortal, you would assume that the last installment, Songs of Transience, is a grand finale.
歷時(shí)八年，陳綺貞終于完成了她的“花的姿態(tài)三部曲”——“腐朽、重生、綻放”三個(gè)主題。繼2005年專輯《華麗的冒險(xiǎn)》和2009年的《太陽(yáng)》之后，人們想當(dāng)然認(rèn)為最終篇——《時(shí)間的歌》將為三部曲畫上圓滿的句點(diǎn)。
But after listening to the 12-song album, not only did I find it a little introverted and thin as a finale, my other reaction was: Where is the Cheer Chen that we used to know? The long-haired, innocent singer who often wore a white T-shirt and a Bohemian skirt, holding a guitar and humming catchy folk melodies, is no longer there.
但當(dāng)我聽(tīng)完專輯里的12首歌之后，除了發(fā)現(xiàn)它作為最終樂(lè)章稍顯含蓄和單薄之外，更多的是感到疑惑: 我們所熟悉的那個(gè)陳綺貞哪兒去了？那個(gè)一頭長(zhǎng)發(fā)、常常穿著白色T恤和波西米亞長(zhǎng)裙、抱著吉他哼唱?jiǎng)尤嗣裰{的純真歌者不見(jiàn)了。
Instead, you’ll hear a lot of piano, drum and orchestral arrangements, and the songs on the albums, especially in the first half, are somewhat difficult to sing along to.
取而代之的是，編曲中加入了大量鋼琴、鼓和管弦樂(lè)元素；而且專輯里的歌，尤其是前半張專輯的幾首，傳唱度都不怎么高。
But I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Actually, it comes as a pleasant surprise, because after 15 years of singing the same kind of indie folk songs, it’s good to see the 38-year-old singer trying something new.
我并不是說(shuō)這是什么壞事。相反，這種改變有些讓人喜出望外，畢竟她已經(jīng)唱了15年的獨(dú)立民謠了，如今38歲的她終于開(kāi)始嘗試全新風(fēng)格，這是件好事。
Her poetic lyrics gradually took me back to the old Chen. Well, almost. Title songs from her previous albums, such as Travel with Sound and Fly for You, often dealt with her perception of and confusion in relationships.
新專輯中如詩(shī)般的歌詞漸漸讓我想起從前那個(gè)陳綺貞。好吧，還算沒(méi)有“面目全非”。她前幾張專輯中的主打歌，例如《旅行的意義》和《失敗者的飛翔》，往往會(huì)探討她對(duì)于情感的看法和困惑。
But if you carefully read into her words on Songs of Transience, you’ll see that her vision has expanded — from humanity and philosophy to life’s best moments — although in the same talking-to-herself tone. For example, she talks about the life struggles and anxieties of ordinary people in Gypsy in Memory, loneliness and helplessness in Home (《家》), and larger-than-life love in Peace and Revolution.
但是如果你仔細(xì)讀過(guò)《時(shí)間的歌》中那些的歌詞，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)她的視角已經(jīng)從人性和哲學(xué)拓展到了生命中最美好的瞬間，盡管她還是采用了一貫自言自語(yǔ)的調(diào)子。例如，她在《流浪者之歌》中觸及了平凡人生活中的掙扎和焦慮，在《家》中展現(xiàn)出孤獨(dú)和無(wú)助，而在《Peace and Revolution》中則體現(xiàn)了至高無(wú)上的愛(ài)。
At the age of nearly 40, Chen certainly can’t limit herself to love and affection anymore. But Chen takes on so much at once that it feels like her strength can’t match her ambition. Maybe that’s why I said before that the album sounds “a little introverted and thin”.
年近40，陳綺貞當(dāng)然不能繼續(xù)將自己局限在談情說(shuō)愛(ài)里。但陳綺貞這次一次性呈現(xiàn)得太多，似乎有些力不從心?；蛟S這正是我之前提到的這張專輯聽(tīng)起來(lái)“稍顯含蓄和單薄”的原因吧。
Despite these small shortcomings, you have to hand it to Chen for her skillful playing with musical concepts. For example, she uses “time” as the theme on Songs of Transience, symbolizing that blossoming is a magnificent but transient process.
拋開(kāi)這些小瑕疵不說(shuō)，你不得不承認(rèn)陳綺貞玩起音樂(lè)理念來(lái)駕輕就熟。例如，你選擇“時(shí)間”來(lái)作為這張專輯的主題，象征著花開(kāi)璀璨卻短暫的過(guò)程。
Whether she’s already bloomed or not, I’m already looking forward to what Chen brings us next.
無(wú)論陳綺貞的才華是否已經(jīng)完全綻放，我都同樣期待她的下一部作品。
