2022-12-10 17:24:44流浪阿狗

老歌亂談(1137)Thing Called Love

美國藍調女歌手/吉他手Bonnie Raitt自1971與Warner Bros.唱片公司簽約,之後出了多張專輯,卻在1983錄完第9張專輯《Tongue and Groove》後,因之前唱片銷售成績不佳,遭到公司不續約,該專輯也暫時擱置 ( 2年後唱片公司將專輯改名為《Nine Lifes》發行 )。失去了合約,Raitt無錢再僱專屬樂隊,但仍參與一些巡迴及演出,遭逢事業低潮,也產生了酗酒及藥物濫用的問題。

因一次滑雪意外姆指受傷,Raitt無法彈吉他休養了近兩個月,也才有時間深思自己的人生,並決定戒掉酒和藥 ( 接受心理治療及參加匿名戒酒會 )。果然,人「清爽」之後機遇也跟著來,先是經介紹認識了音樂人兼製作人的 Don Was,也同意協助製作Raitt的下一張專輯,但要找到肯簽約唱片公司才是件難事,在至少被14家唱片公司打槍後,終於簽進了Capital Records。


Don Was & Bonnie Ratiee


Bonnie Raitt在Capital的首張專輯為《Nick of Times》,由Don Was製作,自1989/03發行,至1990/04終於衝上了告示牌排行榜的冠軍,專輯銷售超過5百萬張 ( 白金 ),也奪得「年度最佳專輯」、「年度最佳流行女歌手」及「年度最佳傳統藍調唱片」三座葛萊美獎。在出道17年後,Bonnie Raitt終於在流行樂壇揚眉吐氣。

此首《Thing Called Love》即為上述專輯中的歌曲,單曲雖未入榜,依據傳記作家Mark Bego的說法,由於MTV及VH1的開始流行,有助於Raitt在年輕世代的聽歌者前曝光,故此曲的音樂影帶是該張專輯成功的重要因素。影音中Raitt和Dennis Quaid ( 丹尼斯奎德 / 美國知名演員 ) 的調情,的確相當吸睛。


Bonnie & Dennis

Don't have to humble yourself to me
I ain't your judge or your king
Baby, you know I ain't no Queen of Sheba
We may not even have our dignity
This could be just a powerful thing
Baby we can choose you know we ain't no amoeba
Are you ready for the thing called love
Don't come from me and you
It comes from up above
I ain't no porcupine
Take off your kid gloves
Are you ready for the thing called love
I ain't some icon carved out of soap
Sent here to clean up your reputation
Baby, you know you ain't no Prince Charming
We can live in fear or act out of hope
For some kind of peaceful situation
Baby, how come the cry of love is so alarming
Are you ready for the thing called love
Don't come from me and you
It comes from up above
I ain't no porcupine
Take off your kid gloves
Are you ready for the thing called love
Ugly ducklings don't turn into swans
And glide off down the lake
Whether your sunglasses are off or on
You only see the world you make
Are you ready for the thing called love
Don't come from me and you
It comes from up above
I ain't no porcupine
Take off your kid gloves
Are you ready for it?
Are you ready for the thing called love
Don't come from me and you
It comes from up above
I ain't no porcupine
Take off your kid gloves
Are you ready for it?
Are you ready for love, baby?
Ooh yeah babe
Are you ready for love?