VOA常速英语2007-Linda Thompson Returns to Music Scene With 'Vers

By Katherine Cole
Washington
23 October 2007

Linda Thompson's name and voice are probably quite familiar to you if you're old enough to remember Fairport Convention, or perhaps the duo albums Linda recorded with then-husband Richard Thompson in the late-1970s and early-1980s. After their bitter divorce, Linda turned her talents to the English stage, performing with several theater companies before signing a deal to release some solo albums in 1985. Now, more than 20 years later, Linda Thompson has released her third CD, Versatile¹ Heart.

Give Me A Sad Song is one of the 13 stellar songs on Linda Thompson's new CD, Versatile Heart.  Her fans don't care if it's a happy, or a sad song that Linda is singing. All that is important to them is that she's still making music, because just a few years ago, it didn't seem possible.

Soon after releasing her first solo disc, 1985's One Clear Moment, Linda Thompson developed throat trouble, hysterical² dysphonia to be exact. This is a relatively³ rare ailment⁴ that is more psychological than physical. At times, a person afflicted⁵ with it finds themselves unable to talk. Some doctors believe hysterical dysphonia is caused by a traumatic event that disrupts the chemical balance in the brain. Others think of it more as a "super stage fright." It took years, but Linda Thompson seems to have overcome the affliction.

Now, five years after her second solo CD, comes Versatile Heart.  It's a stunning⁶ collection of ballads⁷, mostly original, others contributed by songwriters including Rufus Wainwright, Tom Waits, and some, like the title track, co-written with son Teddy Thompson.

A Versatile Heart, is something on Linda Thompson's "wish list" according to the liner notes to the CD.

 

Another highlight on this record is Day After Tomorrow, a heartbreaking protest. It's written as a letter to his family from a young man who is fighting in Iraq on his 21st birthday. He misses his family, and prays that he'll live to fly home the "day after tomorrow."

Tom Waits wrote Day After Tomorrow with his wife Kathleen Brennan in 2004. Linda Thompson sings it on her newest CD, Versatile Heart, a record that continues her long streak⁸ of releasing timeless recordings⁹.

Versatile Heart also contains Beauty, a song written just for Linda by Rufus Wainwright.

1 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

2 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

5 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

6 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

7 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

8 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

9 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐