Returning with their first new album in 40 years, the Swedish pop titans attempt the seemingly impossible: balancing the lure of nostalgia with the pull of the present day. Amazingly, they pull it off.

對，又是1966。對搖滾樂不算短的歷史來說，這是百花齊放、目不暇給的一年。除了Eric Clapton那張驚人的吉他之旅，Beatles出版了Revolver專輯，Bob Dylan出了Blonde on Blonde專輯，都是足以重寫歷史的鉅作。但是現在假如你去問Beatles的巨頭Paul McCartney，1966年最偉大、最值得紀念的專輯是哪一張，他一定會不假思索地告訴你：Beach Boys的Pet Sounds。而且他會雙眼發亮地說：這不僅是1966年最偉大的專輯，也是有史以來最偉大的專輯：「直到現在，我都還是經常放Pet Sounds來聽，並且邊聽邊流淚」。
Pet Sounds的靈感，來自Beatles在前一年推出的專輯Rubber Soul。打從Beatles走紅，Beach Boys的團長Brian Wilson就把他們視為可敬的對手，力圖超越Beatles替流行音樂樹立的高標準。從1965年到1967年，Beatles和Beach Boys的較勁是樂史無比精彩的一頁，也大大拓寬了流行音樂的可能性。這段時期的搖滾樂，正從簡單的青少年流行音樂逐漸轉變成複雜豐富的藝術門類，一群群年輕歌者不斷拓寬搖滾樂的疆域，音樂的內容和形式漸漸可以不受任何拘限，自由發揮。Beach Boys和Beatles都是從單純的泡泡糖音樂起家，而逐漸發展出愈來愈豐富深沈的音樂作品。到了1966年，Beatles早已不再是剛出道時那四個滿臉傻笑的小夥子，Beach Boys也早就揚棄了直來直往的衝浪音樂，而踏入不可思議的豐饒之海了。
然而這場兩大樂團的比試裡，Brian Wilson是吃了大虧的。他必須獨自扛起所有的詞曲創作、唱片製作和大部分的演唱與演奏工作，Beatles卻有John Lennon和Paul McCartney這對無敵搭檔，和George Martin這位功力高強的製作人。最令人驚奇的是，在1966年，Brian Wilson幾乎窮一人之力做出Pet Sounds這張唱片，並且真的超越了Beatles。有那麼一段時間，Brian Wilson在這場比試中打敗了所有人，成為流行樂壇最耀眼的天才。
Pet Sounds在台灣並不好買，但絕對值得上窮碧落下黃泉去找來聽。別被它土俗的封面唬住了，也不要草草聆聽一兩遍就判定它是過氣的音樂。它需要一點點的耐心，就像初聽歌劇和free jazz的時候，你必須調整自己的耳朵，把以前聽過的音樂暫時拋開，專心去體會這裡面層層疊疊的聲響。
在搖滾樂這個光環氾濫成災、滿地都是最高級形容詞的世界裡，Brian Wilson是極少數真正擔得起「天才」這個頭銜的人物之一。在Pet Sounds的製作過程中，他延攬了最優秀的樂手進錄音間，現場指揮調度各種聲效和音樂的進行，彷彿整個錄音室就是一個可以任他揉捏塑造的樂器。Wilson在Pet Sounds把多軌錄音的技藝發揮到極致，美妙的聲音一層疊著一層，交融出來的聲響，美得不像這個世界製造出來的。這也是專輯名稱的由來：他把種種聲音元素當成「寵物」在把玩，呈現給聽眾的，便是這些他最心愛的這些「寵物聲音」。
當然，Pet Sounds並沒有變成Wilson的個人專輯（儘管它在精神上是如此）。Beach Boys最令人印象深刻的特色︰美絕的合音，在這張專輯裡達到了前無古人的高峰，只能以「天籟」形容。在1996年出版的Pet Sounds紀念盒裝專輯中，你可以聽到整張專輯撤去所有樂器的清唱版，那確實是足以在上帝的耳畔播放的歌聲。
Brian Wilson窮其一生都沒能做出超越Pet Sounds的專輯。他在聽了Beatles的新作Revolver之後，陷入自我超越的巨大壓力，在他心目中足以幹倒Revolver的專輯尚未完成之時，Beatles已經接著推出了他們的曠世鉅作Sgt. Pepper，其中許多元素都是從Pet Sounds汲取的靈感。可憐的Brian Wilson在迷幻藥和創作壓力的交逼之下陷入瓶頸，幾度精神崩潰，甚至自殺未遂。這位曠古難見的天才從此過著低調隱居的生活，Pet Sounds那樣的巔峰之作，遂為絕響。
不過我們已經有了Pet Sounds，人生畢竟不該太貪心的。
马世芳
2001年1月 CHEERS雜誌

我的反叛王子--曾为怪物史瑞克、断臂山配乐的着名新锐民谣歌手,一张低调唯美的专业音乐网站5颗星评价专辑
作为一名歌手与歌曲作者,Rufus Wainwright华美的流行风格可以追溯到Tin Pan Alley（20世纪初的一种流行音乐形式）风格，酒馆音乐甚至是歌剧风格。他于1973年出生于一个音乐家庭，他的父母Loudon Wainwright III和Kate McGarrigle 在音乐领域赫赫有名。他由母亲独立抚养，六岁开始练钢琴，十三岁时随他的母亲、伯母Anna和姐姐Martha以the McGarrigle Sisters and Family为名开始巡回演出。一年以后，他被Juno（相当于加拿大的格莱美奖）提名为最佳新人。在十几岁就被称为同性恋的他在歌剧中找到了安慰，在Montreal's McGill University学习后他由古典变成摇滚与流行乐手，成为一名蒙特利尔俱乐部巡回演出的一名固定成员之后，他赢得了许多歌迷。在他的父亲把他的录音带推荐给Van Dyke Parks,后者把录音带又推荐给Dream Works exec Lenny Waronker公司后，他得到了一纸合约并于1998年发表了专辑《Rufus wainwright》，1999年发表了第二张专辑《poses》。曾被欧美流行音乐权威滚石杂志评为98年年度新人。将于2003年9月23日发行第三张专辑《want one》

The English band returns with an adventurous, heavily orchestrated album filled with enigmatic songs of love, longing, and doubt.

Natalie Mering’s majestic fifth record is a dispatch from the center of catastrophe—an idiosyncratic set of love songs and secular hymns with lushly orchestral arrangements.

Never for Ever is the third album by the British singer Kate Bush. Released in 1980, it was Bush's first no.1 album and was also the first ever album by a British female solo artist to top the UK album chart as well as being the first album by any female solo artist to enter the chart at no.1. It has since been certified Gold by the BPI. Bush co-produced the album with Jon Kelly.

4th solo album from the enigmatic rocker who influenced the vocal styles of David Bowie & Bryan Ferry, formerly of the British Invasion act the Walker Brothers he started his career as a teen idol who recorded under the name Scotty Engel. Originally released in 1969, '4' was released too much critical acclaim & was the first Walker album to feature entirely original material. Tracks include the Ingmar Bergma influenced 'The Seventh Seal' & 'The Old Man's Back Again' Other songs show engaging folk, country, and soul influences that were largely buried on his previous solo albums. 2000, 24 bit digitally remastered edition with restored original sleeve. Fontana. Standard jewel case.

The phantom zone, the parallax, the upside down_there is a rich cultural history of exploring in-between places.
Through her latest, Titanic Rising, Weyes Blood, a.k.a. Natalie Mering, has designed her own universe to soulfully navigate life's mysteries.
Maneuvering through a space-time continuum, she plays the role of melodic, sometimes melancholic, anthropologist.
Tellingly, Mering classifies Titanic Rising - which was written and recorded during the first half of 2018, after three albums and years of touring - as the Kinks meet WWII or Bob Seger meets Enya.
The latter captures the album's willful expansiveness ("You can tell there's not a guy pulling the strings in Enya's studio," she notes, admiringly).
The former relays her imperative to connect with listeners. "The clarity of Bob Seger is unmistakable.
I'm a big fan of conversational songwriting," she adds. "I just try to do that in a way that uses abstract imagery as well." The Weyes Blood frontwoman grew up singing in gospel and madrigal choirs.
(Listen closely to Titanic Rising, and you'll also hear the jazz of Hoagy Carmichael mingle with the artful mysticism of Alejandro Jodorowsky and the monomyth of scholar Joseph Campbell.) "Something to Believe," a confessional that makes judicious use of the slide guitar, touches on that cosmological upbringing.
"Belief is something all humans need. Shared myths are part of our psychology and survival," she says.
"Now we have a weird mishmash of capitalism and movies and science. There have been moments where I felt very existential and lost." As a kid, she filled that void with Titanic.
(Yes, the movie.) "It was engineered for little girls and had its own mythology," she explains.
Mering also noticed that the blockbuster romance actually offered a story about loss born of man's hubris.
"It's so symbolic that The Titanic would crash into an iceberg, and now that iceberg is melting, sinking civilization." Today, this hubris also extends to the relentless adoption of technology, at the expense of both happiness and attention spans.
But Weyes Blood isn't one to stew. Her observations play out in an ethereal saunter: far more meditative than cynical.
To Mering, listening and thinking are concurrent experiences. "There are complicated influences mixed in with more relatable nostalgic melodies," she says.
"In my mind my music feels so big, a true production. I'm not a huge, popular artist, but I feel like one when I'm in the studio.
But it's never taking away from the music. I'm just making a bigger space for myself."

Japanese rock musician and vocalist. Born May 18, 1951. Her father was American and her mother Japanese.