译All Music评安室奈美惠2007年原创专辑《Play》（玩乐主义）（3.5星）

原文链接：https://www.allmusic.com/album/play-mw0001544412/user-reviews

作者：Adam Greenberg

翻译：Nomanlandever

One of her highest-selling albums, Namie Amuro's Play was a windfall of basic R&B-flavored dance pop in 2007. The album opens with an intriguing cascade of marching band and synths in "Hide & Seek" that sounds incredible on its own. Amuro adds little in this first round. With the second track, she starts to pick up her presence, playing the kitten over a slinky beat track. Urban horn loops hold up "Can't Sleep, Can't Eat, I'm Sick" in a format that's not too far from a Jennifer Lopez track. "It's All About You" simply tries too hard at being something grandiose but falls victim to its own speed, faltering under the slur of Amuro's vocals. "Funky Town" finds a similar fate, but with a STOMP-like backing drowning out Amuro's aspirations instead. "Hello" seems to take a clever stylistic hook from En Vogue's rendition of "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow," and balladry makes an appearance with "Should I Love Him?" "Top Secret" and "Violet Sauce" do little to pick the aesthetics back up, unfortunately, but "Baby Don't Cry" finally gives a peek at Amuro's vocals with less electronic additions, and the album-ending "Pink Key" heads into fairly standard territory but does so with a nice focus on Amuro's vocals and a simpler, more stripped-down bit of pop that serves her skills well. The fundamental change between her previous albums and Play was Amuro's significant shift from being primarily a ballad singer to taking on more ambitious dance-pop. The dance tunes don't always hit as squarely as Amuro might hope, but it's a good effort and worth the time of her fans.

《Play》是安室奈美惠最畅销的专辑之一，简约的R&B风味的舞曲在2007年出乎听众意料。专辑开场曲"Hide & Seek"中迎面而来的军乐队和合成器，听起来不可思议。但安室奈美惠为第一首歌增色甚少。在第二首歌曲中，她开始夺回自己的存在感，在灵巧的节奏中大玩BDSM游戏（Kitten Play）。Urban式的喇叭循环乐段支撑起"Can't Sleep, Can't Eat, I'm Sick"，其气势与Jennifer Lopez不相上下。 "It's All About You" 用力过猛地追求浮华，成为节奏的牺牲品，在安室奈美惠含糊不清的歌声中摇摇欲坠。"Funky Town"也有类似的问题，但重拍节奏压过了她的歌声。“Hello”在风格上借鉴了En Vogue的"Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow" 歌曲hook。"Should I Love Him?"  糅杂了民谣元素。 不幸的是，"Top Secret" 和 "Violet Sauce"几乎没有听觉上的美感。但"Baby Don't Cry"终以较少的电音元素令我们领略安室奈美惠鲜活的歌声。专辑收尾曲"Pink Key"进入了相当常规的领域，但很好地聚焦于安室奈美惠的嗓音上，以及更简单、更精简的流行音乐，使她的技艺大显身手。《Play》与安室奈美惠旧作专辑相比最根本的变化在于从抒情天后到雄心壮志的舞曲天后的转型。安室奈美惠不能易如反掌的随心演绎好所有舞曲，但这是不错的尝试，值得粉丝翘首以盼。