译All Music评安室奈美惠2000年原创专辑《Break The Rules》（不安于室）（3.5星）

原文链接：https://www.allmusic.com/album/break-the-rules-mw0000500642

作者：Ted Mills

翻译：Nomanlandever

This is an album of diminished expectations being rewarded with fine pop, of a star out of the limelight enough to begin to get interesting again. Like the cover art suggests, Amuro's second team-up with American producer Dallas Austin (Boyz II Men, Monica, TLC) preps her for an announced American breakthrough (although that's what they said about the older Japanese pop diva Seiko Matsuda, whose attempt to hit the U.S. market was laughably flat). There's even a song called "Crossover." Austin may be the right man for the job: his tracks (about half of the album) are far from pop (though nothing too far from mainstream R&B -- witness the Jennifer Lopez soundalike "Girlfriend"). He doesn't push Amuro beyond her range (except on "Think of Me" where you find out she isn't Christina Aguilera -- thank goodness), and keeps her vocals sleek, multi-tracked, and smooth. Highlights include the pop psychedelia of "Better Days," sounding like a great lost P.M. Dawn track; "Never Shoulda," full of drama; and Komuro's own effort, the lead-off single "No More Tears," which is complemented at the end by a disco remix by Junior Vasquez. It's an interesting test run for Amuro's takeover bid, but suggests there's more work ahead.

这是一张不被寄予厚望但口碑良好的流行专辑，一个远离聚光灯的明星再次变得颇具魅力。正如专辑封面暗示那样，安室奈美惠与制作人Dallas Austin (Boyz II Men, Monica, TLC) 再次开展合作，为进军美国市场做足准备（尽管他们也是这样形容前辈日本天后松田圣子的，她曾竭尽全力地进军美国市场却啼笑皆非地毫无水花），专辑甚至收录了首名为“Crossover”的歌曲，Dallas Austin也许能够胜任这份职务：他操刀制作的单曲（占专辑一半曲目）刻意避开流行风格（尽管与主流R&B相差不大——如幻听成Jennifer Lopez的歌曲“Girlfriend”）。他并不逼迫安室奈美惠突破自身安全区（除了在"Think of Me"中你会发现她并非Christina Aguilera——幸好不是），并让她的嗓音始终丝滑，饱满，悦耳。专辑高光时刻包括迷幻流行的“Better Days”，感觉像是黑人乐队P.M.   Dawn的遗珠歌曲。"Never Shoulda,"戏剧性十足。小室哲哉操刀的专辑第一首歌"No More Tears"，在结尾处加入Junior Vasquez做的迪斯科混音乐段。这是一张趣味盎然充满安室奈美惠野心尝试的专辑，但也表明未来还有很长一段路要走。