Released at a time when Nightwish's future appeared uncertain because of the shocking departure of charismatic frontwoman and de facto band calling card Tarja Turunen, Highest Hopes is a comprehensive greatest-hits collection spanning the chart-topping Finnish pop-metal act's entire first decade. Summarized in one convenient CD at last, the 16-song set proves that Nightwish were nothing if not consistent — both in terms of quality and overall style — throughout the five and a half studio albums recorded during that period. Yes, enduring early numbers like the Tolkien-esque "Elvenpath," the somewhat preposterous, narration-embellished "The Kinslayer," and the neoclassical metal-by-numbers of "Stargazers" eventually gave way to slightly more refined (and restrained) pop-metal singles like "Ever Dream," "Wish I Had an Angel," and "Nemo" (which, one presumes, was about the submarine captain, not the fish), but the relatively seamless transition between them all is made abundantly clear by the non-chronological order in which they are presented here. Likewise, with the exception of their still tentative (and therefore, on this collection, mostly ignored) first album, Nightwish showed equal mastery at composing potent power metal ("Sacrament of Wilderness," "Wishmaster," "Dead to the World") and tear-jerking ballads ("Walking in the Air," "Dead Boy's Poem," "Sleeping Sun") in all phases of their career. They even took Gary Moore's generally forgotten '80s nugget "Over the Hills and Far Away" for their own, recording a debatably definitive version that is wisely included in this disc, alongside a brand new recording of Pink Floyd's "High Hopes." Also keep in mind the band's immaculate instrumental execution through the years, and what this collection proves above all else is that, though they've inspired quite literally dozens of imitators, Nightwish's groundbreaking fusion of melodic power metal, symphonic orchestration, theatrical lyrics, and (of course) Turunen's classically trained, operatic soprano, has arguably yet to be equaled. Whatever becomes of the group's trajectory following its popular singer's exit, you can at least take this statement to the bank.

专辑: Murder Ballads
艺人: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
厂牌: Mute/Reprise
风格: Post-Punk/Gothic
日期: 1996
专辑简介:
1996年，nick cave出版了经典的《谋杀歌谣》专辑。这张传统的谋杀歌谣实在魅力无穷，深深浸淫于传统的蓝草音乐、乡村乐、民谣和旧日歌谣的氛围中。整张专辑充满了各式各样的罪恶和叛逆。如果这些歌谣在尼克．凯夫之前并不存在，我敢打赌，他会以他特有的叙事方式将它们创造出来。
在他与“生日派对”(Birthday Party，凯夫的第一个乐队，其专辑被《滚石》杂志评价为“后朋克时代最无序和野蛮的音乐”)和“坏种”乐队合作的十几张专辑中，凯夫已经创立了他自己的模式-他黑暗的故事有一种让时光停滞的感觉，仿佛这些故事是从被长久遗忘的废墟里发掘出来的。他的歌可能不会让人感到愉悦，他的音乐也似乎与时代不合拍，但这正是他的魅力所在。
该专辑的名称很简单：《谋杀歌谣》，被认为是“10首歌以同样的方式结尾”，体现了一种对死亡的奇妙感觉，同时也不乏幽默感。无论是传统歌谣还是原创歌谣，都充分表现了凯夫风格，他创作了其音乐生涯中最黑暗、最令人困扰和最佳的作品。该专辑是当年的最佳专辑之一。
<谋杀歌谣>中的的每首歌都有其特殊含义，这是一张由绝对出色的艺术家创作的伟大的专辑。96年，他因该专辑被MTV音乐奖评为最佳男艺术家，但他婉拒了该荣誉，解释是：他不想与别人竞争，因为艺术是很主观的。