摘錄自 http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2009/05/27/2003444661
[CD REVIEWS: TAIWAN]
By Ian Bartholomew and david chen STAFF REPORTERS
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, Taipei Times, Page 14
There must be nothing more irritating for an artist than critics and
reviewers incessantly comparing their mature work unfavorably with their
early work. But in the case of Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥), who emerged as a
creative powerhouse with the release of his early protest music, such as the
album Let Us Sing Mountain Songs (我等就來唱山歌), it must be said that he
seems to have worked desperately hard to lose his broad appeal and disappear
up a minor musical tributary that will only appeal to a small number of fans.
Listening to Growing Wild is frustrating for anyone who has experienced the
combustible energy of his work as lead singer for Labor Exchange (交工樂隊),
whose music was inspired by the fusion of traditional Chinese instrumentation
and the culture of rock ’n’ roll pioneered by Chinese rocker Cui Jian (崔健
). Now, Lin has retreated into a self-consciously rustic abode in which
guitar and voice are his only tools.
Growing Up Wild sets out to tell the story of a young boy who grows up with a
little sister and experiences the trials of a family breakup. It seems to
have the same kind of aspirations as songs like Bruce Springsteen’s Down to
the River or Badlands, but it remains, both in sound and lyrics, relentlessly
small. There is a soap opera baldness to the story, and this rarely
transcends the cliches of domestic tragedy to embrace something bigger.
Lin strives for an unadorned
simplicity, and perhaps there is something solid in the relentlessly
undramatic treatment that he gives his story. I can’t help but wonder
whether Lin believes that a lack of artifice equals a more truthful and
powerful revelation. In Growing Up Wild, Lin has sincerity and commitment by
the bucket load, but for this reviewer at least, this is no substitute for
musical and lyrical invention.
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