Muzikland

Simon & Garfunkel 自發行 Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970/Columbia) 專輯後﹐即告拆夥﹐1972年 Paul Simon 首先發行單飛專輯﹐至於 Art Garfunkel 則隨後﹐1973年首張個人專輯也告面世。

不過兩人單飛後﹐筆者都沒有很留意﹐倒是有一年哥哥不知在那裡找來一位卡帶﹐看似是翻版﹐不過音色頗佳﹐而且挑的歌也很好聽﹐這有點像現今的 Love Song Compilation 吧﹐後來才個道這種翻錄的卡帶來自新加坡的﹐裡面有一首 Art Garfunkel 的 Bright Eyes﹐真的很不錯聽。

幾年後﹐香港 Wea 力捧一位新人林嘉寶﹐當時唱片公司宣傳她是林子祥的妹妹 (其實只是炒作)﹐因為主唱的RTV電視劇集主題曲﹐受注意力當然不及 TVB﹐不過事後筆者卻非常喜歡她的一首 Album Track“異國情緣”﹐那是改編自 Garfunkel 的 French Waltz 的。相隔多年之後﹐筆者很想重溫這兩首歌﹐於是就訂來了這張 Art Garfunkel 的 Scissors Cut 專輯CD了。

Scissors Cut (1981/Columbia) Track List:
01 A Heart In New York
02 Scissor Cut
03 Up In The World
04 Hang On In
05 So Easy To Begin
06 Bright Eyes
07 Can't Turn My Heart Away
08 The French Waltz
09 In Cars
10 That's All I've Got To Say (Theme From "The Last Unicorn")


Scissors Cut 是 Art Garfunkel 的第5張專輯﹐沒想到多首歌曲﹐都發揮著他那天籟的聲音。單飛後的 Garfunkel﹐其實成績都不算突出﹐縱使他擁有一把絕美的嗓子﹐可惜就得倚賴其他創作人寫給他的歌曲﹐不像以往 Paul Simon 就可擔起這重任了﹐所以他的歌曲水準都很不穩定﹐就算 Paul Simon 每張專輯都出手相助﹐大部份時間﹐都只是擔任客席的 Musician 而已。Garfunkel 的每張專輯﹐成績似乎都每況愈下﹐到這張Scissors Cut 專輯﹐在銷售量及流行榜成績都未如理想﹐在英美的流行榜分別取得第51位及第113位﹐可說是強差人意﹐這更令他相隔7年之後才再度擁有個人專輯。

然而筆者卻很喜歡這張專輯﹐總覺得這是一張冬天的專輯﹐當聽到那 A Heart In New York時﹐沒有感到那是 Hard Sell﹐卻是一個 New Yorker 對自身所處的地方﹐表達著那份深厚的歸屬感吧﹐而且 Garfunkel 也深深保持著那份 Simon & Garfunkel 歌曲的民歌感覺。至於 Bright Eyes 也是令人心動的歌曲﹐有些歌曲其實不需要歌詞﹐單是那旋律響起﹐那幾個音符就足以令人感動﹐Bright Eyes 就是一個很好的例子。而筆者最喜歡的是 French Waltz﹐在英文中夾雜著法文歌詞﹐非常特別﹐有一次筆者就請求朋友念一次當中的法文歌詞﹐學著跟他唱呢。專輯中的歌曲沒有甚麼激情﹐情奏較強勁的﹐就只有 Hang On In 而已。一張淡淡的專輯﹐尤其在嚴冬時聽﹐那感覺就是帶來一點淒美。雖然那是一張失敗的專輯﹐不過我就很喜歡。


A Heart In New York﹕得到Billboard 流行榜第61位﹐1981年 Simon & Garfunkel 的 Central Park 演唱會﹐Garfunkel 也曾主唱﹐收錄於“Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert In Central Park Concert”(1982/Warner) 專輯中。
(Benny Gallagher / Graham Lyle)


New York, to that tall skyline I come,
Flyin' in from London to your door
New York, lookin' down on Central Park
Where they say you should not wander after dark

New York, like a scene from all those movies
But you're real enough to me, but there's a heart
A heart that lives in New York

A heart in New York, a rose on the street
I write my song to that city heartbeat
A heart in New York, a love in her eye,
An open door and a friend for the night

New York, you got money on your mind
And my words won't make a dime's worth a difference,
So here's to you New York

New York, now my plane is touching down

**********

Scissor Cut
(Jimmy Webb)


"If they ever drop the bomb," you said,
"I'll find you in the flames."
But now we act like people
Who don't know each other's names.

Well, sometimes it makes me sad, you know.
Sometimes it makes me smile.
'Cause you know how the game goes, honey.
We all eat it once in awhile.

Scissors cut, paper covers rock
Breaks the shining scissor
You hurt me
I hurt her and she goes and we will miss her

Now, I look around at people
Playing children's games.
And I wonder if you're still thinking
You might find me somewhere in the flames.

Scissors cut, paper covers rock
Breaks the shining scissor
You hurt me
I hurt her and she goes and we will miss her

**********

Hang On In (Edited Short Version)﹕同年也有 Tycoon 的版本﹐收錄於“Turn Out The Lights”(1981/Arista) 專輯中。
(Norman Sallitt)


Well the rain's fallin' down around you,
So you cry yourself to sleep.
I know love hurts when one doesn't love as deep.
You're feelin' lost and empty,
'Cause you gave yourself away.
But don't be ashamed to cry, it's okay.
But you've got to hang on in,
Baby, be strong,
Love will always find a way.
No, you can't give up,
You've just got to go on,
Tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day.
Hang on.

You keep searchin' for the reasons,
As you walk the lonely halls.
You wait by a telephone,
But he never calls.
Time's the only healer
For the broken hearts of glass
Love is like a wind it too shall pass
But you've got to hang on in,
Baby, be strong,
Love will always find a way.
No, you can't give up,
You've just got to go on,
Tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day.
Hang on.

I know what you're goin' through,
Every time you see his face.
And I don't know where or when,
But I know that you'll love again.
Hang on in,
Baby, be strong,
Love will always find a way.
No, you can't give up,
You've just got to go on,
Tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day.
Hang on.

**********

Bright Eyes﹕原是作者寫給因癌症而病逝的父親﹐其後為1978年動畫電影Watership Down 使用為插曲﹐之後此曲再編﹐並登上英國流行榜冠軍6星期﹐之後收錄於“Fate For Breakfast”(1979/Columbia) 專輯中﹐不過只限於英國版﹐此曲在美國要待 Scissors Cut (1981/Columbia) 專輯才收錄。
(Mike Batt)


Is it a kind of dream,
Floating out on the tide,
Following the river of death downstream?
Oh, is it a dream?

There's a fog along the horizon,
A strange glow in the sky.
And nobody seems to know where you go.
And what does it mean?
Oh, is it a dream?

Bright eyes,
Burning like fire.
Bright eyes,
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes.

Is it a kind of shadow,
Reaching into the night,
Wandering over the hills unseen?
Or is it a dream?

There's a high wind in the trees,
A cold sound in the air.
And nobody ever knows when you go.
And where do you start,
Oh, into the dark?

Bright eyes,
Burning like fire.
Bright eyes,
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes.

**********

The French Waltz (Edited Short Version)﹕原唱為Nicolette Larson﹐收錄於“Nicolette”(1978/Warner) 專輯中﹐故此 Art Garfunkel 只是翻唱而已。香港方面有林嘉寶的粵語版“異國情緣”﹐收錄於“出線”(1981/Wea) 專輯中。
(Adam Mitchell)


Well there won't be no stars
Coming out in the sky
Tonight when my baby walks by
Oh they know that they can't hold a
Candle to the look in her eye

Now I know that I'm not
The wisest of men
I guess mines the look of a fool
But somewhere inside I feel everything
Looking at you

Quand je vois ton visage,
dans n'importe quel langage
La, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da
Je dis je t'aime, je dis je t'aime, je t'aime, Marie

When the old people look out their window
I know they'll be happy to see
By the look in our eyes
True love hasn't died in Paris

Quand je vois ton visage,
dans n'importe quel langage
La, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da

Quand je vois ton visage,
dans n'importe quel langage
La, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da



© Muzikland



筆者相關貼文﹕
Simon & Garfunkel - Old Friends Live On Stage
Simon & Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. (1964)
Paul Simon - Paul Simon Song Book (1965)
Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence (1966)
Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966)
Simon & Garfunkel / Dave Grusin - Graduate OST (1968)
Graduate (1967) - 畢業生
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends (1968)
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Simon & Garfunkel - Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits (1972)
Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert In Central Park Concert (1982)
Simon & Garfunkel - Live from New York City, 1967
Simon & Garfunkel - Other Greatest Hits CD



© Muzikland