Edwyn Collins

小簡介
八零年代出道至今，Edwyn Collins可算是沙場老將，來自蘇格蘭愛丁堡，早在1976年就自組合唱團(tuán)－Nu-Sonics，這也是三年后引領(lǐng)新Glasgow流行風(fēng)潮的名團(tuán)Orange Juice的前身。1984年Orange Juice的同名專輯因?yàn)槌煽儾槐M人意而宣告解散，原本以為會(huì)隨即展開單飛生涯的他，首張個(gè)人專輯《Hope and Despair》卻拖到五年后才問世，不過在獨(dú)立榜中的優(yōu)異成績，似乎喚起了樂壇的目光，1994年第三張專輯《Gorgeous George》出現(xiàn)了讓他名揚(yáng)四海的超級(jí)單曲“A Girl Like You”奠立了個(gè)人演唱生涯的穩(wěn)固地位。
2002年Edwyn Collins帶來了第五張個(gè)人專輯《Doctor Syntax》這也是他蘊(yùn)釀三年多的最新力作，專輯名稱取自十九世紀(jì)著名的嘲諷小說《The Tour of Doctor Syntax》，一同合作的是過去的老搭檔Sebastian Lewsley，而Edwyn Collins依舊是一人獨(dú)力完成所有樂器的演奏(除有二曲的鼓由Paul Cook跨刀打擊)，專輯共收錄11首曲子，創(chuàng)作主軸似乎是信手拈來，從生活周遭中取材，光從歌名就可略窺一二，“The Beatles”、 “Johnny Teardrop”...一路聽下來彷佛就像他用歌聲來訴說發(fā)自平凡事物的靈感，沒有太多刻意安排的氣氛營造，倒是像極了老友重逢開懷暢談過去的種種，有一種熟悉的親切感。
另外值得一提的是Edwyn Collins那充滿磁性的低沉嗓音，比以前還更具吸引力，不信的話請(qǐng)先試試“20 Years Too Late”這首歌，一點(diǎn)都不夸張，聽似平淡的歌曲中，不經(jīng)意地流露許多對(duì)生活點(diǎn)滴的細(xì)心觀察體驗(yàn)，真好！
Best known for his tenure fronting the Scottish pop revivalists Orange Juice as well as his international solo hit A Girl Like You, singer Edwyn Collins was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1959. In 1976, he formed the Nu-Sonics, which resurfaced three years later as Orange Juice; the leading proponent of the Glasgow neo-pop scene, the band earned a devoted cult following but little commercial success, and by the early 1980s Collins was the only remaining founding member. After a self-titled 1984 release failed to chart, Orange Juice disbanded, and Collins was freed from his contract with the groups label, Polydor.
A solo career seemed imminent, but the singer struggled; dogged by a reputation as a stubborn, difficult perfectionist unmoved by prevailing commercial attitudes, Collins found no one willing to offer him a contract, and only after a pair of sold-out London performances did Creations Alan McGee sign him to the labels Elevation subsidiary in 1986. The singles Dont Shilly Shally (produced by Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie) and My Beloved Girl followed, but both failed to chart; in 1987, Elevation folded, and after Collins and McGee had a falling out, the singer was again left without a contract.
Some months later, Collins accepted the opportunity to record at a small German studio run by a group of devoted Orange Juice fans; cut with the aid of producer Dennis Bovell as well as Aztec Camera frontman Roddy Frame, the resulting LP Hope and Despair — a brooding, ambitious collection spotlighting Collins smooth, soulful baritone — was eventually picked up by the Demon label, and issued in 1989. The album proved quite successful on the independent charts, and soon Collins returned to the studio to record 1990s spartan Hellbent on Compromise; when the LP failed to repeat its predecessors good fortune, Demon dropped him from their ranks, and another long sabbatical followed.
After spending much of the decades first half in the producers seat, overseeing sessions from artists including longtime pal Paul Quinn, the Rockingbirds, A House and the Frank & Walters, Collins finally earned another shot as a performer: after signing with the tiny U.K. indie Setanta, he recorded 1994s Gorgeous George, a scathing, shimmering set of retro-pop highlighted by the single A Girl Like You. Slowly, the song became a massive hit throughout Europe as well as the U.S. and returned Collins to the charts for the first time since the 1983 Orange Juice smash Rip It Up, finally establishing the long-standing cult hero as something of a household name.