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還是聽音樂挖寶比較開心。就如果關心時事想借古鑑今，可以聽60年代搖滾或70年代爵士樂，看他們怎麼在音樂中表達；逃避現實也是可以的，90年代所謂的花草派可是逃一個最遠最美。
墨爾本廠牌 A Colourful Storm 這個月重發1992年Blueboy 首張專輯《If Wishes Were Horses》，沒有記錯的話應該是Sarah Records首次有重發黑膠，封面也沿用原版。
Blueboy以主唱Keith Girdler和吉他手Paul Stewart為中心，其他核心團員還包括大提琴手Gemma Townley以及Harvey Williams（The Field MIce、Another Sunny Day）。當年流行的indie pop、shoegaze他們可以輕易寫出無比流暢的歌曲，也很擅長古典巴洛克的典雅風格，音樂唯美，歌詞表面講些小情小愛，內在探討超越性別與肉體的愛，創建「屬於我們的沙龍」。
強調DIY精神的Sarah Records到了這時期旗下樂團也紛紛嘗試更專業的製作，這張專輯在Slowdive的錄音室錄製。雖然他們下一張專輯《Unisex》展現了更精美的編排與深度，極度經典，但Keith Girdler對過度展現野心的態度覺得有些彆扭，較喜歡自然流洩的感覺，大概他更喜歡這張專輯吧。Keith Girdler已於2007年癌症去世。 (2020.3.9 牛蛙)
A Colourful Storm presents the first ever vinyl reissue of Blueboy s superlative debut album, If Wishes Were Horses. Recorded in 1992 for Sarah Records following two 7” releases (Clearer and Popkiss), this touchstone of indie-pop and DIY - the first featuring the trio of Keith Girdler, Paul Stewart and Gemma Townley - is an unbelievably accomplished recording by a then-fledging band who have earned a dedicated following over the last two decades.
Formed in Reading, UK, by the duo of Girdler and Stewart following their short-lived project Isolation (we did our one and only gig in this church hall… I think we split up that night as well) and Feverfew (1987-1991), Blueboy appeared on the Sarah Records roster during a remarkably fertile period in which records by Heavenly, The Wake, The Orchids, Brighter, The Hit Parade and The Field Mice were released in the same year. Following a series of singles and two further albums (Unisex, 1994; The Bank of England, 1998), Girdler and Stewart recorded as the bossanova-influenced outfit Beaumont and also released two singles under the name of Arabesque for Spanish label Siesta. In the early 2000s, Girdler played in Lovejoy and The Snowdrops, two outfits fronted by Richard Preece, before being diagnosed with cancer and shifting his focus away from music. Girdler passed away on May 15, 2007.
Emerging as a bold step from the band s first two singles, If Wishes Were Horses embodies a level of songwriting, production and lyricism at once delicate and beautifully lucid. Sometimes confessional and at other times austere, the make-up and seemingly effortless delivery of the songs are ultimately indebted to the ingenious dialogue between Townley s cello, Stewart s guitar and Girdler s voice - beautiful, tender and wistful… one which you could listen to all day and are certain of the affability of its deliverer. On Clear Skies, a swaying bossa rhythm showcases Townley s soaring, empyreal voice to brilliant effect, while Sea Horses and Happiness and Smiles, heart-breaking yet life-affirming, bestow a melancholic isolation from the storms raging in the outside world.
Dont sigh, dont cry… there s more to me than you think.
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