Anne Briggs

小簡介
Anne Briggs在英國傳統(tǒng)民謠領域無疑是最具影響力的女歌手，這位與Sandy Denny, Linda Thompson,Maddy Prior, June Tabor同樣受全世界矚目的民謠歌手，擁有純凈樸素的音色，沒有一絲刻意的感覺，最與眾不同的就是她的清唱，幾乎沒有任何樂器伴奏，最多由鋼琴，吉他輕點幾下。在Topic出的那張精選里，Anne Briggs保留了大部分蘇格蘭，愛爾蘭，英格蘭傳統(tǒng)民謠的形式，未加任何修飾的演唱沁人心脾，她以平易近人的方式徐徐向人講述著故事。她的影響力不僅體現(xiàn)在其同時代的歌手如Burt Jansch, Shirley Collins, Laura Nyro身上，也影響了如今各個領域里的大牌歌星，包括Kate Bush,Cocteau Twins以及Sinead O'Conner。出生諾丁漢的Anne在少女時代就迷上了民謠，后被英國民謠歌手Ewan MacColl發(fā)掘，由此結(jié)識了MacColl的朋友Bert Lloyd，一位英國民謠復興運動的建樹者。在Anne成長道路上Bert Lloyd對她的影響可謂非常大，為了使她成為明日巨星，Lloyd在她身上化足了一番功夫，然而Lloyd的訓練雖然的確給Anne帶來了盛譽，她的成功及其影響力波及之處幾乎成為60年代后英國民謠復興的中堅力量，但是因為某種原因，大概是由于不喜歡她錄制后的聲音，討厭這種灌錄模式，年僅27歲 Anne Briggs就退出了歌壇，盡管后來的許多民謠樂隊歌手們都開始以Anne的方式演唱民謠，但她仍然拒絕錄音
by John DouganIn the annals of pop and folk music, there are few sagas stranger than that of Anne Briggs. An awesomely talented singer of traditional English folk music, possessing of as pure and breathtakingly beautiful a voice as one could hope to have, she was the single most important influence on a group of female British folksingers that includes Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior, June Tabor, and Linda Thompson. Even Norma Waterson, herself a hugely important figure in the British folk revival of the mid-60s, admits to being influenced by Briggs singing, and notes that Anne Briggs singlehandedly changed the way that English women folksingers sang. What makes this story so odd is that Briggs entire recorded output consists of about 30 songs. She stopped singing at the age of 27, supposedly because she hated the sound of her recorded voice. As folk music became electrified and increasingly popular, and bands such as Fairport Convention and Pentangle were reinventing the British folk tradition, and more and more women (Sandy Denny, et al.) were singing in a style started by Briggs, her legend flourished, yet she refused to sing.Briggs was born in Nottinghamshire in 1944 and began singing folk music while still in her teens. Within a couple of years she was a regular at local folk clubs, getting her big break as a result of the Centre 42 tour of 1962. The Centre 42 tour was an attempt by musicians and other artists (backed and supported by trade unions) to deliver politically leftist cultural activities to areas outside of London. Part of Centre 42s appeal was that in each city, local talent would audition for a slot as a support act. It was here that Briggs got her shot and was discovered by British folk legend Ewan MacColl. She was so good that MacColl convinced her to leave school and join the rest of the tour. While touring with Centre 42, Briggs began working with MacColls friend and co-architect of the British folk music revival, Bert Lloyd. Briggs considers him the most important influence on her work, and her debut EP, The Hazards of Love, had Lloyds fingerprints all over it. But he was not a mere Svengali trying to take advantage of a teenage folksinger; he wanted to give her the direction (as well as the songs) she needed to become a huge talent. Lloyd was smart enough to realize that this was an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime type of singer, and he treated her with kid gloves, getting her to relax (Briggs was notorious for her nervousness) and helping her record some wonderful music. But Briggs had a problem with recording her singing — she hated doing it and hated the way she sounded, so much so that she retired from music, three years shy of 30, already touted as the greatest legend in English folk music. Briggs still lives semi-reclusively in England and is still not recording or singing in public, but her influence remains powerful. As guitarist Martin Carthy so aptly put it: She didnt mess about. There were no histrionics. There was no posing. There was no self-conscious style. She sang fluidly, easily, with tremendous passion.