约翰·普林携新专辑《Fair&Square》重返歌坛

John Prine Returns with New Release, Fair & Square

约翰·普林携新专辑《Fair&Square》重返歌坛

 

In 1971, John Prine, a young singer-songwriter from Chicago, released a debut¹ album of original songs, including "Sam Stone," "Illegal Smile," and "Hello In There." Those early songs, along with "Angel From Montgomery," and "Paradise" from the same album are today considered "classics" of the singer-songwriter genre².

 

Thirty-four years later, John Prine has released Fair & Square, an album that critics are calling one of the strongest in his 18-album catalog.

 

(Music)

 

Fair & Square is John Prine's first album of original material in nine years. He hadn't meant to stay away that long, but a bout³ with cancer forced him to slow down and put his career on hold for a few years. The illness lowered his voice a bit, but it didn't affect his writing.

 

The songs on Fair & Square showcase what John Prine does best, write songs that can make you laugh and cry. Prine's at his best when writing about love lost and found. Sometimes, it's even lost and found in the same song, such as "Other Side of Town," that’s the tale of a man who takes a mental holiday whenever his loved ones start haranguing⁴. It's one of the two live tracks on Fair & Square.

 

(Music)

 

"Crazy As A Loon⁵" is another good example of what a John Prine song "is." John Prine often writes about the state of life in general, giving voice to things the rest of us are thinking about. In this case, it's the common dream of escaping the "rat race", and exchanging the working life for a better one. But, as John Prine says in his song, things don't always work out as planned.

 

(Music)

 

John Prine recently received the rare honor of being invited to read and perform at the U.S. Library of Congress. United States Poet Laureate Ted⁶ Kooser is a longtime fan who describes John Prine as "a truly original writer, unequaled and a genuine poet of the American people." Their conversation is now available online, and has proven to be the most popular Library of Congress webcast available, with more than double the number of "hits" than any other program. You can find it at LOC.gov.

 

John Prine's new CD, Fair & Square, is a solid album by one of America's finest songwriters. It's a "must have" for longtime fans. And, songs like "My Darlin' Hometown" make it a wonderful introduction for new fans.

 

I’m Katherine Cole.

 

(Music)

 

注释：

bout [baut] n. （疾病）发作

showcase [5FEukeis] v. 展示

U.S. Library of Congress 美国国会图书馆

Poet Laureate 桂冠诗人

unequaled [5Qn5i:kwEld] adj. 无敌的

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

3 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

4 haranguing   

v.高谈阔论( harangue的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He continued in his customary, haranguing style. 他继续以他一贯的夸夸其谈的手法讲下去。 来自辞典例句
• That lady was still haranguing the girl. 那位女士仍然对那女孩喋喋不休地训斥。 来自互联网

5 loon   

n.狂人

参考例句：

• That guy's a real loon.那个人是个真正的疯子。
• Everyone thought he was a loon.每个人都骂他神经。

6 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。