原文鏈接：https://www.allmusic.com/album/concentration-20-mw0000914606

作者：Ted Mills

翻譯：Nomanlandever

Producing a follow-up to Amuro's Sweet 19 Blues was a daunting task, but producer/svengali Tetsuya Komuro was on a roll in a period that the Japanese music press dubbed "Komuro-jidai" ("The Komuro Era"). From the lush, flashback funk of that album, Komuro changed tactics, moving his arrangements closer to the techno-industrial pop of his group globe. The album has "mature effort" written all over it, but it feels forced. Amuro's voice is still limited by her range, but Komuro brings it closer in the mix, and begins to have her sing higher than she can manage (something he began to do with singer Keiko of globe). It's not the album it could have been: only "No Communication," "A Walk in the Park," and "How to Be a Girl" stand up as fully formed pop songs, though they are terrific ones. The latter is especially strange, a stop-start drum'n'bass-esque verse is surrounded by electric drones before diving into its rockin' chorus. The big hit here was the ballad "Can You Celebrate," a perfect soundtrack for any high school slow dance, grandiose, with swirling strings -- though ruined here by Komuro insisting on singing backup (which he does execrably).

制作安室奈美惠《Sweet?19 Blues》的后續(xù)作品無疑是個艱難棘手的任務(wù)，但制作人小室哲哉在那個被日本媒體冠以“小室時代”的時期卻勢如破竹地做出這張杰作。小室哲哉一改前作華麗，懷舊的放克風(fēng)格，更改策略，使編曲更貼近他globe組合的工業(yè)技術(shù)舞曲。這張專輯的歌詞都有寫到“成長歷程”，但感覺有些牽強(qiáng)。安室奈美惠的歌唱依舊受限于音域，但小室哲哉的混音更貼合她的聲線，并指導(dǎo)安室奈美惠唱出她不能掌控的高音（有時他與globe組合成員Keiko一起指導(dǎo)）。這張專輯并未做出應(yīng)有的高度：只有"No Communication," "A Walk in the Park,"和"How to Be a Girl"可以作為流行作品站得住腳，不過他們也是極好的作品。"How to Be a Girl"尤其古怪，時停時續(xù)的drum'n'bass式的唱段被持續(xù)的低鳴電聲籠罩，隨后才過渡到副歌部分。專輯里的大熱單曲是"Can You Celebrate"，一首可成為任何校園慢舞，華麗場景，弦樂飄蕩的完美主題曲——盡管小室哲哉堅決親自參與伴唱這一行為毀掉了整首歌曲（他做的很糟糕）。

（注：drum'n'bass（Drum & Bass）是以鼓和低音為基本結(jié)構(gòu)要素的電子舞曲。）