Singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata grew up listening to Carole King, Roberta Flack, James Taylor, and the like, for music was the one thing in Yamagata's life that remained consistent. Although her parents divorced when she was two, she had a wonderful childhood and she credits her parents for doing such an amazing job. Finding a balance between her German-Italian mother's apartment in New York City and the Washington, D.C., home of her third-generation Japanese father was a task, but it readied Yamagata for a way of life that would eventually lead her to a professional singing career.
By the time she reached college in the mid-'90s, Yamagata had one year of piano lessons and a spiral notebook full of songs under her belt. Not sure of what she really wanted to do, Yamagata headed to Northwestern to study French. Within a year, she switched to being an Italian theater major at Vassar, but sporadic changes loomed ahead. When her acting coach at Vassar moved to Barnard College at Columbia University, Yamagata thought she'd go too. She eventually decided to head back to Northwestern instead, to join their theater program. During her junior year, she befriended the funk band Bumpus.
Bumpus was a mainstay on the club circuit in Chicago. From the start, Yamagata thought she'd like to be a part of the band. After seeing countless shows and attending band practices for several months, Yamagata finally landed a gig singing with Bumpus. She'd spend six years writing and recording three albums with the band and touring the country. By 2001, Yamagata felt like her time with Bumpus had run its course. She had a solid batch of songs that weren't fitting in with the band's funkafied formula, so she went solo. In September 2002, Yamagata landed a deal with Arista's Private Music and her self-titled EP arrived in October. Her first full-length album, Happenstance, followed in June 2004.
艺人：Rachael Yamagata
唱片：Happenstance
厂牌：RCA
时间：2004年
曲目：
01.Be Be Your Love
02.Letter Read
03.Worn Me Down
04.Paper Doll
05.I'll Find a Way
06.1963
07.Under My Skin
08.Meet Me by the Water
09.Even So
10.I Want You
11.Reason Why
12.Moments With Oliver
13.Quiet
14.(Hidden Track)
这就是近日令我念念不忘的女声。不厌其烦向许多人推荐，希望对方也能从其中获得乐趣。的确，很久没有一个外国女人能给我这样的感觉了。隐约地想到第一次听Tori Amos的Silent all these years或者Suzanne Vega唱着In Liverpool。而Rachael依旧有些不同，她是略带沙哑的，一下又一下撞击你的神经。阴天的周六下午，可以一遍又一遍听着这张专辑，抽一根烟，也许什么都不想。
整体上是带着惆怅与绝望的音乐。那一点看似明快的摇滚只是一时的发泄，剧烈的钢琴更是偶尔的歇斯底里，大部分时候都似无意识的自言自语，简单的排比，感受不到愉快的气氛。一如黑白专辑封面上阴郁的侧脸。为什么会这样呢？在这两天做功课的过程中很容易地找到了答案。英文简介实在不够直白，她并不是单纯地离开了Bumpus，她是离开了作为乐团吉他手的男友。破碎的爱情造就了这张阴暗的专辑。如此痛苦，当我和她一起哼着be be your love，声调细碎婉转到窒息。
If I could take you away
Pretend I was queen
What would you say
Would you think I'm unreal
'Cause everybody's got their way I should feel
Everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love, for real
Everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love for real
Want to be your everything
Everything...
Everything's falling, and I am included in that
Oh, how I try to be just okay
Yeah, but all I ever really wanted
Was a little piece of you
And everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love, for real
Everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love for real
Everything will be alright
If you just stay the night
Please, sir, don't you walk away, don't you walk away, don't you walk away
Please, sir, don't you walk away, don't you walk away, don't you walk away
And everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love, for real
Everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love for real
And everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love, for real
Everybody's talking how I, can't, can't be your love
But I want, want, want to be your love
Want to be your love for real
