Both Sides Now
Billboard杂志终身成就奖得主以爵士乐诠释经典情歌集 扣人心弦,沉入意境的温柔典雅精緻大作, Q杂志★★★★佳评 推荐曲:"Both Sides Now"、 "A Case Of You"、 "Stormy Weather" 通俗乐坛的作曲家兼歌手,为了表现对自己所擅长的音乐领域之外其他音乐风格的实力或兴趣,抱持玩票态度,流行跨足古典、摇滚改唱爵士的例子大有人在,不过由玩票至进而转行,或在玩票过程中表现该方面专业的功力者,就不是那麽多件。在摇滚乐坛早就享有稳固地位并受到乐坛高度肯定的女性诗人/画家/歌手琼妮蜜雪儿(Joni Mitchell)算是少数符合上述标准的。 琼妮蜜雪儿并非第一次演唱爵士乐,早在20年几前,她就曾因杰出的词曲创作才华,受到爵士贝斯大师查尔斯明格斯(Charles Mingus)的赏识,大师特地为她写了六首曲子请她填词,琼妮只写了四曲,不料大师提前病逝,后来再加上她的2曲原创专辑才告完成,这张名为「Mingus」的专辑成为非常珍贵的民谣/摇滚/爵士结合的典范之作,20年来,琼妮以敏锐内敛、脱俗典雅的词曲创作风格,建立她崇高的地位,1995年美国告示排杂志(Billboard)特颁终身成就奖来表彰她对于西洋通俗乐坛的贡献,典礼上琼妮演唱了两首爵士经典"Stormy Weather"、"Comes Love",意外给了她与製作人Larry Klein灌录这张以大管絃乐团编曲伴奏演唱爵士乐经典曲目的专辑「一体两面」。 琼妮蜜雪儿的作品总是疏离中带著女性特有的温柔与典雅,其文学诗性的质感,更是叫人印象深刻,不论单纯的钢琴、共鸣吉他或简单的乐器伴奏演唱,都能够扣人心弦,沉入意境,新专辑歌手首度突破以71,42和22人的管弦乐团伴奏,琼妮的嗓音出现空前的亲切与温暖,"Stormy Weather"被其他爵士乐手演唱过的版本有如过江之鲫,琼妮蜜雪儿的版本趋向稳重成熟,重唱自歌手经典专辑「Blue」的"A Case Of You",从民谣转变为表情丰富多面的歌调,而琼妮蜜雪儿最脍炙人口的作品"Both Sides Now"被安排再专辑最后,且以及悠然的表情处理,似乎再总结20年来的历练,歌手在民谣摇滚与爵士乐之间的创作取捨和诠释的功力,其实已不在受类型上的限制了。 "Both Sides, Now" is a single by Joni Mitchell. Her recording first appeared on the album Clouds, released in 1969. She re-recorded the song in a Jazz style for the album of the same name, released in 2000. It is one of Joni Mitchell's best-known songs (with "Big Yellow Taxi," "Woodstock," and "A Case of You"). It was written in March 1967, inspired by a passage in Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow. I was reading Saul Bellow's "Henderson the Rain King" on a plane and early in the book Henderson the Rain King is also up in a plane. He's on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds. I put down the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and I immediately started writing the song. I had no idea that the song would become as popular as it did.