搬運自：微信公眾號【評論搬一堆】

原文鏈接：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Q_lMfCwthy-Ic-1ytZ92Aw

原文翻譯：Lynn Liu（還有一段原文翻譯漏掉了，我補充上去惹嘻嘻）

原文審譯：Ryan-Chopin

原文推送：Lynn Liu（在原文基礎(chǔ)上添加了英語原文，評分截圖與排版調(diào)整）

In her 30-plus years of stardom, we’ve met many Kylie Minogues. First came vintage-pop Kylie (“The Loco-Motion”), followed by sophisti-Kylie (“Shocked”), dance Kylie (“Confide in Me”), indie Kylie (Impossible Princess), disco Kylie (“Spinning Around”), and of course Kraftwerk Kylie (“Can’t Get You Out of My Head”). While she’s never attained the imperial reach of her contemporary Madonna, she’s one of very few modern singers whose skill at reinvention merits mention in the same immortal breath. Nor is she done dreaming up new costumes: Minogue recorded much of her 14th studio album, Golden, in Nashville, with collaborators including phase-one Taylor Swift alumni Nathan Chapman and Liz Rose. There’s even space for a banjo on one of the singles, “Stop Me From Falling.” Ready or not, here comes country Kylie.

?在她30多年的明星生涯中，我們早已見識過多種風(fēng)格的Kylie Minogue。首先是復(fù)古流行風(fēng)Kylie (“The Loco-Motion”)，其次是百變風(fēng)Kylie(“Shocked”)，舞者Kylie (“Confide in Me”)，獨立音樂人Kylie (《Impossible Princess》)，迪斯科風(fēng)格Kylie(“Spinning Around”)，當(dāng)然還有發(fā)電站樂隊風(fēng)格的Kylie(“Can’t Get You Out of My Head”)。雖然她從未像與她同時代的麥當(dāng)娜那樣，達(dá)到天后的級別，但她是為數(shù)不多的幾位現(xiàn)代歌手中，塑造力爆棚的一位。Minogue也沒有停止設(shè)計新的服裝：Minogue在納什維爾錄制了她的第14張錄音室專輯《Golden》中的大部分歌曲，合作伙伴包括Taylor Swift曾經(jīng)的合作伙伴Nathan Chapman和Liz Rose。其中單曲“Stop Me From Falling”甚至加入了五弦琴的元素。不管你有沒有準(zhǔn)備好，鄉(xiāng)村Kylie來了。

The idea for this detour apparently came from Kylie’s long-standing A&R. “I’ll try just about anything, so when he said, ‘Think of a country inspiration element,’ I said, ‘Sure!’” she recalled in a recent interview. There’s a certain record-company strategy-meeting logic behind this plan in the era of pop/disco/country hybrids from Man of the Woods to Golden Hour. For both better and worse, though, Kylie’s excursion into Nashville sounds little like either of those contemporary extremes. Instead, she borrows from the sledgehammer-subtle EDM Americana of Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” where fingerpicked guitars meet thundering bass drums and teeth-rotting synths in the year of our lord 2013.

?這個迂回的想法顯然來自Kylie長期聯(lián)系的A&R（注：在音樂業(yè)界中,A&R(artist and repertoire)是唱片公司下的一個部門,負(fù)責(zé)發(fā)掘、訓(xùn)練歌手或藝人。）?！拔以敢鈬L試任何事情，所以當(dāng)他說，‘那來點鄉(xiāng)村音樂元素吧’我說，‘好呀’”她在最近的一次采訪中回憶道。在從《Man of the Woods》（Justin Timberlake專輯）到《Golden Hour》（Kacey Musgraves專輯）的流行/迪斯科/鄉(xiāng)村混合的時代，這一切計劃背后一定有唱片公司的戰(zhàn)略——一種會議邏輯在支撐著這一切。然而，無論是好是壞，Kylie在納什維爾的旅途聽起來都不像那些當(dāng)代的極端情況。相反，她借鑒了Avicii的“Wake Me Up”中那種重?fù)簟⑽⒚畹碾娮游枨朗斤L(fēng)格，歌曲中重低音、灼蝕的合成器與撥弦的碰撞，造就了它2013年取得的輝煌。

The music on Golden sounds ill-fitting and even cheap at times, like a deathtrap ride that has been painted bright pink to distract the potential customer. The worst offender in this regard is “One Last Kiss,” which uses what sounds like a Casio country preset rhythm for its basic structure, the cheap plastic claps throttling what is otherwise a decent piece of songwriting. The previous song, “Sincerely Yours,” is similarly lightweight, thanks to flimsy strings and a vocal hook which suggests Kylie wanted to go full “Where Are ü Now” dolphin flute but couldn’t quite find room in the budget.

?《Golden》中的音樂聽起來像是硬塞進(jìn)專輯的，有時甚至感覺很廉價，它就像一輛被漆成亮粉色的死亡之車，目的是分散潛在聽眾的注意力。最糟糕的當(dāng)屬“One Last Kiss”，它的基本結(jié)構(gòu)聽起來像是卡西歐鄉(xiāng)村音樂預(yù)設(shè)的節(jié)奏，廉價的塑料拍手聲扼殺了原本不錯的歌曲創(chuàng)作。上一首歌“Sincerely Yours”同樣輕快，這要感謝淺薄的弦樂與背景音，這表明Kylie想要加入完整的“Where Are ü Now”海豚長笛的音效，只可惜預(yù)算不夠。

Elsewhere, Kylie gives the impression she’s trying too hard. The title track opens with a yodelling vocal line that appears to reference Ennio Morricone’s theme song to The Good, the Bad and The Ugly, in a broad, meaningless nod to American culture that ranks right up there with Europeans who get really into the NFL. Minogue’s vocal delivery sometimes seems to ape a Southern U.S. drawl, notably on the verses of “Stop Me From Falling.” The album’s lyrics, meanwhile, reference burning rubber, rodeos, and rocking—hardly home territory for a London-dwelling Australian entertainer.

其他地方，Kylie讓人感覺用力過猛了，同名單曲以真假音交替的方式登場，似乎是在向Ennio Morricone的主題曲“The Good, the Bad and The Ugly”致敬，這樣對美國文化爛大街且毫無意義的致敬，就像給進(jìn)入了NFL的歐洲人劃定等級一樣。Kylie的嗓音有時候像在特意模仿美國南部的拖腔一樣，特別是在“Stop Me From Falling.”的主歌部分。與之同時，專輯中的歌詞提到了燃燒的橡膠，牛仔競技與搖滾，這對于一個定居在倫敦的澳大利亞藝人來說，幾乎不是家的領(lǐng)域。

The real shame is that when Kylie stays true to the dance-pop sound that has adorned many of her greatest hits, she cooks up some moments of genuine brilliance. “Dancing” has a wonderfully funny one-liner chorus (“When I go out, I wanna go out dancing”) that perfectly sums up the way a great pop song can defy mortality. “Raining Glitter,” meanwhile, combines lilting acoustic guitar, deep house beats, a whooping vocal effect, and a fabulously overblown chorus to create an exuberant cousin to the classic Spiritual Life / Ibadan remix of beth Orton’s “Central Reservation.”

當(dāng)Kylie保持了真實的舞曲聲音，而這已為她多首熱單錦上添花，她便創(chuàng)造了真正的輝煌時刻。“Dancing”有一處非常有趣的合聲(“When I go out, I want to go out Dancing（當(dāng)我出去后，我想出去跳舞）”)，完美地總結(jié)了一首偉大的流行歌曲如何才能永垂不朽。與此同時，“Raining Glitter”結(jié)合了輕快的木吉他、深屋節(jié)拍、高聲歌唱的效果和夸張得令人難以置信的合唱，簡直就像beth Orton的Central Reservation (Spiritual Life - Ibadan Mix)充滿活力的表親。

Unfortunately, these high points are never quite enough to get over the strained lonesome cowboy-isms that dominate Golden. It’s not that pop stars have to be “authentic,” whatever that means. But they do need to make us believe in them, if only for three minutes. Kylie Minogue made us believe in the spurned lover of “Tears on My Pillow” and the obsessive flirt in “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” But on Golden, she sounds like someone playing at country music, rather than someone who understands it. Her star will doubtlessly endure this awkward release, but let’s hope country Kylie is short-lived.

不幸的是，這些閃光之處永遠(yuǎn)不足以克服主導(dǎo)《Golden》中的緊張、孤獨的牛仔主義。流行歌星并不一定要“真實”，不管那意味著什么。但他們確實需要讓我們認(rèn)同他們，哪怕只有三分鐘。Kylie Minogue讓我們認(rèn)同了“Tears on My Pillow”中被拋棄的愛人，以及“Can ' t Get You Out My Head”中的過渡調(diào)情。但在《Golden》中，她聽起來像是在演唱鄉(xiāng)村音樂，而不是像一個能夠理解鄉(xiāng)村音樂的人。毫無疑問，她的名氣將會抵消她發(fā)行的這張尷尬專輯，但讓我們希望鄉(xiāng)村Kylie是短暫的。