Rachel Goswell
Rachel Goswell is releasing her debut album, 'Waves Are Universal'. Yes, you read that correctly - no one has put anything in your tea and there's no need to adjust your set. After a wait of over a decade, Rachel Goswell has finally pushed her way to the front and, like with most twists in her career so far, 'Waves Are Universal' is not what you ears will be expecting.For the uninitiated, Rachel first made a name for herself back in the early-nineties whilst lead singer of Slowdive – a band very much at the credible end of the short-lived but well remembered 'shoe gazing' scene. As much as 'that' tag now grates, there's no doubting that their legacy lives on; rare Slowdive records are much sought after, many of the current crop of wannabes would kill for a comparison to them and only recently were they dubbed "cool" by veritable German electronic label, Morr Music, who released a sterling tribute album in their very honour.
From the ashes of Slowdive, Rachel along with surviving members Neil Halstead and Ian McCutcheon created Mojave 3 - a very different prospect to Slowdive. They veered away from their famed, dreamy yet schizophrenic, guitar-laden melodies in favour of a more timeless, laid back, almost stoned country sound. Fortunately, their uncanny ability to tug on heartstrings and stir the listener's emotions at will remained fully intact, seamlessly continuing their tradition for incredible song writing that keeps them ahead of the game. Last year saw the release of their fourth album, 'Spoon And Rafter', and they're already busy plotting the fifth.
During Mojave 3's third and fourth albums, Rachel's long-time musical partner-in-crime Neil Halstead released his debut solo album, 'Sleeping On Roads', to much critical fanfare. Cynics may think that this was the impetus Rachel needed to finally record her first solo album but they'd be very wrong. Simply put, it has been changes in her life and a feeling that she was finally ready that led to 'Waves Are Universal' and, for these reasons alone, it's a very personal body of work and quite unlike anything she has done before.
Recorded with co-writer Joe Light and producer David Naughton, 'Waves Are Universal' is, as said, quite a radical departure for Rachel. The track 'Plucked' best hints as to what is to follow - an album that has been recorded organically (so to speak), largely without the aid of electronic effects, allowing her to be heard away from the familiar delay and reverb of most her previous outings. What remains on record is pure atmosphere, which is unsurprising given David's recording technique. On some tracks, Rachel's vocals were played back in Chislehurst Caves and re-recorded to create a natural echo ('Warm Summer Sun', 'Gather Me Up' and 'Hope'). In addition to this, both real-life sounds caught by an ambient microphone ('No Substitute') and field recordings made during a holiday in Thailand ('Shoulder The Blame' and 'Plucked') find their way on to add extra warmth and depth.
'Waves Are Universal' is proof that Rachel is a real talent. She's starting another glorious chapter in her story and is no longer hidden away.
ALBUMS
《WAVES ARE UNIVERSAL》6.14.2004
http://www.4ad.com/images/artists/current/rachelgoswell/cvr_cad2414.jpg
Audio Tracks:
01 Warm Summer Sun
02 Gather Me Up
03 No Substitute
04 Deelay
05 Plucked
06 Hope
07 Coastline
08 Shoulder The Blame
09 Save Yourself
10 Beautiful Feeling
11 Thru The Dawn
12 Sleepless & Tooting
EP
《THE SLEEP SHELTER》5.17.2004
http://www.4ad.com/images/artists/current/rachelgoswell/cvr_bad2402.jpg
Tracks:
01 Plucked
02 Sleepless & Tooting
03 Flying With Gene
04 Stickin’ With Grace
05 Come Rescue Me
今年4AD旗下最受期待的歌手，我该出手了！ 作者 galeer (嘎荔兒)看版galeer
標題 Rachel Goswell - (2004)「Waves Are Universal」
時間 Mon May 3 19:11:46 2004
就Rachel Goswell之前的表現，可約略區分三個階段。首先，是
1989-1995年 Slowdive新迷幻，美麗白色噪音，色彩炫麗但震耳
翁鳴的吉他演奏，Slowdive女主唱Rachel Goswell是讓我們想起
My Bloody Valentine的Bilinda Butcher，Lush的Miki Berenyi 、
Alison's Halo 的Catherine Cooper等，都是shoegazer時代的夢幻女
聲，氣若遊絲，縹緲而朦朧，代表歌曲是Solwdive的1993年經典
專輯「Souvlaki」的"Machine Gun"和"Souvlaki Space Station"，每
次一聽到，都像是墜入了迷霧，難以自拔的沈溺。
第二，是1995年對我們有重要意義的「Ask Me Tomorrow」，"電台裡
播放的情歌"等曲子無庸置疑地標誌了一種風格與氣氛，自迷幻深霧裡
走近夜晚的沈謐氣息。
第三，是Mojave 3的第三張專輯「Excuses For Travellers」(2000)
的"Bringin' Me Home"這首唯一由她主唱的曲子，從第二張專輯
「Out of Tune」(1998)起，我們已為Rachel在Mojave 3的地位感到
焦急，每次拿到的新專輯，我都會快轉一遍，急著找女主唱到
底唱了或是和聲了哪些曲子，當然，是一次又一次的失望。
在這段時間裡，Goswell Rachel曾參與了向偉大的美國鄉村民謠
歌手John Denver的致敬合輯「Take Me Home: A Tribute to John
Denver」(2000)，與Red House Painters主唱Mark Kozelek合作的
"Around and Around"，實際上Rachel與Neil近年來在音樂上的大
方向是一致的，即是往美國鄉村民謠邁進，透過抒情歌詞的吟
唱，強調口述傳統以及原音吉他的主導地位，頗有10000 maniacs
的味道。然而，我們聽得出，Rachel的歌聲仍是保有年少時代
的某種迷人夢幻，打個比喻，這給我的感覺就像Emmylou Harris
的聲音， 在去年的新專輯「Stumble into Grace」(2003) 與，仍
能感受到 「Pieces of the Sky」(1975)那種纖細敏感與動人本質，
即使隔了將近三十年。
好了，趕快來聽聽這張期待已久的個人專輯吧！
相信對這張專輯有強烈盼望的朋友，一定像我一樣，已經將
Mojave 3迄今四張專輯，乃至1990年代中期之前的Slowdive三張
專輯都聽到爛熟，並且，對於女主唱聲音的喜愛，遠遠勝過男
主唱，雖然我們喜愛Neil Halstead的詩人氣質，但對他把Slowdive
與Mojave 3從傳奇的shoegazer新迷幻、經歷電音實驗、轉向美式
民謠、鄉村並福音化而感到些許遺憾，更對於Mojave 3夢幻氣
質日益消散而感到惶惶不安。的確，不管私人八卦謠言紛擾，
Mojave 3作品裡女聲的成分越來越低，感到Rachel Goswell似乎
受到了排擠，得不到太多的表現空間，我長久以來就希望Rachel
小姐能趕快獨立出來，而如今，這個盼望終於得以實現。
序曲"Warm summer sun"由民謠吉他與大提琴引領伴奏，後半段
能量遽增，鋼琴與風琴營造出類似布蘭詩歌的中世紀氛圍。
Rachel的歌聲沒有辜負樂迷長久以來的期望，而音樂的表現在
專輯的第一首歌曲就已讓人驚豔。第二首"Gather me up"清新可
愛，運用混音做出的鳥鳴堆疊，有著在森林小徑花園漫步合聲
細語的私密親切，女聲吟唱聽起來絲毫不遜於Azure Ray與
Camera Obscura等年輕歌手。第三首"No substitute"讓我們聽到了
Mojave 3專輯「Excuses For Travellers」(2000)的"Bringin' Me Home"
時的感動。第四首"Deelay"是情感濃烈，充滿悲傷的曲子，心碎
不已的鋼琴，特別是主導了情緒起伏的電吉他，更有著如同
R.E.M在「New Adventures in Hi-Fi 」(1996)的動人演出。第五首
"Plucked"空靈而夢幻，是BBC節目播過的新曲，廣受注目，天
上人間的飄渺優美女聲，深入心坎的大提琴伴奏，宛如托爾金
魔戒裡，精靈族裔的神秘民歌:
「 如同白日閃亮星辰，
穿著銀灰的絲衣縷，
披著黃金鑲邊的白斗蓬，
她眉宇間星辰閃爍，
光芒照耀她的髮絲，
陽光折射在樹幹如琥珀」。
(J.R.R.Tolkien 著 朱學恆 譯。<魔戒首部曲 魔戒現身>，聯經
出版社 ，2001年出版 ,p.495。)
更是讓深愛Mojave 3專輯「Ask Me Tomorrow」的樂迷回味不已。
第六首"Hope"清新可喜的民謠小品，是的，只有愛情和音樂給
了我們希望。第七首"Coastline"是處於黑闇驚懼時候，Mazzy Star
般深邃迷離，飄盪漩渦的吉他回聲給人淒美至難以喘息的印
象，尤以迅如閃電的鈴鼓節奏、刷落的電吉他，自是六０年代
The Doors美國西岸迷幻民謠幽魂重現，恰似本雅明(Walter
Benjamin)關於克利(Paul Klee)水彩畫的描述，那是面向歷史，背
向人群，被不可逆的風暴潮流，退入未來的天使，Rachel的歌
聲彷彿危顫瀕臨折翼，而有著他人難以明瞭的堅持面容。我認
為這是專輯裡最優秀的作品。第八首"Shoulder the blame"延續前
曲的吉他吉他風格，但整曲的氣氛已是雨過天清，是天際劃過
的虹彩。第九首"Save yourself"思緒再度一沈，是面臨情感與命
運漩渦時載浮載沈的心境，思索著何處是救贖，如何自救，帶
著迷幻吉他的民謠搖滾，非常棒的曲子。
第十首"Beautiful feeling"賦予大提琴重任，襯托出Rachel最吸引
人絲毫不做作充滿夢幻感的獨特氣音，羽毛緩緩隨風飄盪，輕
盈脫俗，發揮至淋漓盡致。第十一首"Thru the dawn"，訴說著等
待日出是最一天值得紀念的時刻，可惜，大多數的人仍在呼呼
大睡，出現鍵琴的水晶音效，充滿著空間感的吉他以及笛聲，
靜謐恬淡而迷人。第十二首"Sleepless & tooting"是充滿微笑的結
束，聽吧，相信我，即使唱起福音鄉村民謠，Rachel Goswell還
是比Neil Halstead優太多啦，Mojave 3怎麼能不讓女主唱有更多
的表現機會呢？ (大笑～)
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