搬運(yùn)自：微信公眾號(hào)【評(píng)論搬一堆】（在原文基礎(chǔ)上添加了英語(yǔ)原文與排版調(diào)整）

翻譯|Sherman

校對(duì)|Ryan-Chopin

排版|Simon Yelich

When?Diana?Ross?turned?to?the then?hot-lava?Chic?Organization?in?late?1979?to?produce?her,?she?made?one?of?the?smartest?moves?of?her?career.?Ms?Ross?was?seen??as?somewhat?past?her?best?by?this?time;?she?had?been?a?star?for?best?part?of?20?years?with?a?diva-esque?reputation?and?three?children.?Nile?Rodgers?and?Bernard?Edwards'?had?only?been?stars?for?little?over?two?years.?It?was?clear?to?them?both?that?in?order?to?move?forward,?Ross?had?to?be?turned?upside?down,?come?out?of?the?superstar?bubble?she?was?in,?and?most?importantly,?to?have?fun?again.To?that?end,?Diana?is?an?artistic?portrayal?of?complete?freedom;?Rodgers?and?Edwards'?writing?symbolises?Ross'?breaking?free?of?the?shackles?of?Motown?on?one?level,?but?moreover,?the?work?has?a?universality;?celebrating?gayness,?blackness,?equality;?an?album?of?challenging?ideas,?friendship?and?freedom.?And?who?better?to?pilot?these?themes?than?the?most?successful?African?American?female?artist?in?the?world?

1979年年底，戴安娜?羅斯(Diana Ross)和當(dāng)紅樂(lè)隊(duì)Chic一起制作歌曲，這也成為她職業(yè)生涯中最明智的選擇之一。Ross這個(gè)時(shí)期已經(jīng)開(kāi)始走下坡路，之前的20年里，她既是一個(gè)享有天后名譽(yù)的巨星，也是一位有三個(gè)孩子的媽媽。當(dāng)時(shí)的Nile Rodgers和Bernard Edwards（與Ross一起制作專輯的Chic樂(lè)隊(duì)成員）只是剛出道兩年的新人。Ross和兩名Chic樂(lè)隊(duì)成員都很清楚想要有新的突破，必須要轉(zhuǎn)型，走出天后巨星的虛假繁榮，當(dāng)然，更重要的是要讓樂(lè)迷重新感受到歌曲帶來(lái)的快樂(lè)。為了制作這張專輯，Ross展現(xiàn)了完全自由的藝術(shù)形象，從Rodgers 和 Edwards的歌詞中可以看到Ross逐漸掙脫了Motown（Ross曾經(jīng)所屬的唱片公司）的束縛，但作品還是具有一定的普遍性；慶祝同性群體、黑人與平權(quán)；一張具有激進(jìn)思想、友誼和自由的專輯。還有誰(shuí)比這位最成功的非裔美國(guó)女藝人更適合這個(gè)主題呢？

The?tale?behind?the?making?of?the?Diana?album?was?a?classic?saga?of?the?old?meeting?the?new.?Recording?sessions?took?place?at?Nile?and?'Nard's?studio?of?choice,?The?Power?Station?in?New?York.?It?was?the?first?time?that?the?duo?had?worked?with?an?established?artist,?and?their?speedy?and?benignly?dictatorial?working?methods?were?alien?to?Ross.?When?Edwards,?often?seen?as?the?'bad?cop'?of?the?Chic?producing?partnership,?suggested?that?she?may?have?been?singing?'underneath'?one?of?the?tracks,?she?stormed?out?of?the?studio,?stating?"Berry?Gordy?never?said?I?sing?flat!".?She?was?not?to?return?for?several?weeks.Rodgers?and?Edwards?were?accused?of?trying?to?make?their?sound?shine?and?Motown's?first?lady?look?poor?by?comparison,?so?Ross?and?longtime?engineer?Russ?Terrana?pulled?the?album?and?remixed?it?at?the?eleventh?hour.?And?that's?what?we?have?all?known?for?the?past?23?years.?Well,?now?we?can?compare?both.

《Diana（戴安娜）》這張專輯制作背后是一個(gè)新舊藝人相遇的故事。專輯的歌曲選擇在Nile and 'Nard's 錄音室（即紐約的Power Station）錄制。這是Chic樂(lè)隊(duì)的兩位新人第一次和這樣級(jí)別的藝人合作，兩人快節(jié)奏、隨意自然、沉浸自我的工作方式對(duì)Ross來(lái)說(shuō)是前所未有的。Edwards被稱為Chic樂(lè)隊(duì)中的“壞警察”，有一次他表示Ross錄制新專中的一首歌時(shí)一直沒(méi)有唱上去，Ross十分生氣地離開(kāi)了錄音室說(shuō)道“Berry Gordy（Motown公司的一名制作人）從沒(méi)說(shuō)過(guò)我唱不上去!”，并且?guī)讉€(gè)星期都沒(méi)有回錄音室。Rodgers 和 Edwards 在錄音時(shí)因?yàn)槁曇羰殖霾?，把Motown一姐（Ross）比下去了。不過(guò)Ross的長(zhǎng)期音樂(lè)制作人Russ Terrana 在最后關(guān)頭把整張專輯重新混音。這是目前所知過(guò)去23年的故事，現(xiàn)在我們可以比較一下誰(shuí)的聲音更出彩。

The?original?mix?is?largely?wonderful;?all?edgy,?angular?and?close?mic'd.?The?grittiest?manifestation?of?Chic's?initial?ideas?is?"Have?Fun?(Again)",?which?demonstrates?the?knotty?structures?Rodgers?was?accustomed?to?using?in?his?jazz-rock?days?and?for?once,?Ross?sounds?as?if?she's?on?the?street?instead?of?looking?down?from?a?penthouse?window.?It?also?gives?a?whole?new?flavour?to?"Upside?Down"?the?extended?play-out?of?Rodgers?guitar?at?its?most?frenetic?is?no?longer?smothered.?"Friend?To?Friend",?one?of?Chic's?most?poetical?slowies,?enjoys?the?best?original?version?here;?sounding?almost?like?a?minuet.

最初的混音非常棒，十分酷，各方面都不錯(cuò)，錄音效果也很好。Chic在這張專輯中最有力的體現(xiàn)就是讓人們重新感到快樂(lè)，在這張專輯中，我們可以聽(tīng)出Rodgers融入自己擅長(zhǎng)的爵士搖滾元素，還能感受到Ross不是高高在上，而更像是在街上一起歡呼。Rodgers在”Upside Down (魂不守舍)”中的一段改良的帶感加長(zhǎng)吉他演奏，讓這首歌別具一格。Chic最具詩(shī)意的抒情歌 ”Friend to Friend（朋友間）” 的最佳版本也收錄在這張專輯中，此版的”Friend to Friend（朋友間）”帶有小步舞曲的味道。

However,?the?original?version?of?''I'm?Coming?Out''?is?a?rare?moment?that?it?proves?Ross'?instinct?was?right.?It's?one?of?those?delicious?tracks?that?you?have?always?heard?but?have?hardly?ever?listened?to.?Check?the?elegant?simplicity?of?Edwards'?bass?-?always?in?the?pocket;?Meco?Monardo's?trombone?and?the?ever-present?gang?vocals?of?the?Chic?choir?(Chic's?Luci?and?Alfa,?plus?Fonzi?Thornton?and?Michelle?Cobbs).?Terrana's?tightening?up?makes?all?the?difference?and?the?sloppiness?of?Meco's?trombone?solo?on?the?original?does,?somewhat,undermine?Ross.Disc?two?provides?the?disco-oriented?sides?that?led?to?Diana,?and?it?proves?illuminating?listening.?It?is?full?of?delights,?the?writ-large?hopes?and?aspirations?of?mid-70s?America,?fighting?back?against?the?backdrop?of?recession.?The?Richard?Perry?produced?"Your?Love?Is?So?Good?For?Me";?"Sweet?Summertime?Lovin'"?and?the?ten-minute?Disconet?mix?of?"Love?Hangover"?make?this?an?interesting,?if?occasionally?formulaic?listen.

不管怎樣，”I’m Coming Out（我出柜啦）”的原版證明了Ross的直覺(jué)是正確的。你也許沒(méi)有聽(tīng)過(guò)這首歌，但你一定聽(tīng)過(guò)這首歌名。Edwards簡(jiǎn)約優(yōu)雅的低音與歌曲完美融合；麥可·莫納爾多(Meco Monardo)的長(zhǎng)號(hào)，以及Chic樂(lè)隊(duì)的合唱團(tuán)(Luci和Alfa,以及Fonzi Thornton和Michelle Cobbs)貫穿整首歌的和音。Terrana緊湊的節(jié)奏讓整首歌變得不同，Meco在原版中一段漫不經(jīng)心的長(zhǎng)號(hào)獨(dú)奏，一定程度上削弱了Ross的表現(xiàn)。第二碟是Disco風(fēng)格，這一碟的歌曲間接影響了《Diana（戴安娜）》這張專輯，聽(tīng)完它會(huì)有許多啟發(fā)。整張專輯充滿了喜悅以及70年代中期在抗?fàn)幟绹?guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條時(shí)的希望與志向。Richard Perry創(chuàng)作的” Your Love Is So Good For Me(你的愛(ài)對(duì)我很好)”、"Sweet Summertime Lovin (甜美夏日愛(ài)情)"和長(zhǎng)達(dá)十分鐘Disco混音的"Love Hangover（愛(ài)宿醉）" 讓這張專輯聽(tīng)起來(lái)十分有趣，不過(guò)還時(shí)不時(shí)讓人感覺(jué)缺乏一點(diǎn)創(chuàng)造性。

Universal's?Deluxe?series?truly?delivers?here;?well-packaged,?informative,?a?historical?document;?but?unlike?many?worthy?albums?that?are?recovered,?this?one?is?actually?for?using?regularly,?not?keeping?on?the?highest?shelf.

環(huán)球重制的豪華版系列改善了許多；精美的包裝，信息豐富，有復(fù)古韻味的內(nèi)容；不像別的許多重制的有價(jià)值的專輯，《Diana（戴安娜）》值得偶爾取出來(lái)播放，而不是被遺棄在唱片架頂層積灰。