美国国家公共电台 NPR Santana And The Isley Brothers Come Together For 'Power Of Peace'

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This week's music moment might sound especially welcome right about now. It's a melodic¹ meditation² on peace.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE SWEET LOVE")

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: (Singing) What the world needs now is love, sweet love.

SIMON: The album is called "Power of Peace." It's a new release from the great Carlos Santana, features a collaboration³ with The Isley Brothers. Ronnie and Ernie Isley are the remaining members of a family band that's made hit music from the 1950s through the '80s, songs that include "Twist And Shout," "It's Your Thing" and "That Lady." Carlos Santana says the songs on this collection are selected for Ronnie Isley's signature voice.

CARLOS SANTANA: The sound, resonance⁴ and vibration⁵ of brother Ronnie is an ocean. It's a legion of angels in one note, one voice.

SIMON: Here's that voice on the Burt Bacharach and Hal David classic, "What The World Needs Now."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE SWEET LOVE")

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: (Singing) Listen, Lord, if you want to know. What the world need now is love, sweet love.

SIMON: Ronnie Isley says that for him and his brother, Ernie Isley, recording⁶ with Carlos Santana wasn't just a musical experience.

RONNIE ISLEY: You know, the Lord is leading us to do this album together, calling the album the "Power Of Peace." And I was just wondering, where will the Lord take us this time with this album? I'm still anxious to know that answer, but I know it's going to be something great.

SIMON: Trading licks in the studio with Santana was a kind of bliss⁷.

ERNIE ISLEY: To be in the studio with him playing was a joy. And I, you know, was watching him play, grinning while he was playing. And then he'd stop and point to me, and I'd start playing. And I'd look up and he'd grinning, too. And, you know, any other time if I had allowed myself, I probably would have stopped playing and just started laughing or crying because it was that much of an experience, you know.

SIMON: And here's some of that musical grinning on Marvin Gaye's song, "Mercy Mercy Me."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY)")

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: (Singing) Oh, mercy, mercy me. Oh, things ain't what they used to be. Oh, what about the overcrowded land? How much more abuse from her man can she stand? Oh, yeah. Oh, no.

SIMON: Carlos Santana says that what makes a song endure is more than a memorable⁸ melody and says The Isley Brothers understand that, too.

CARLOS SANTANA: Ronnie Isley, Ernie, they wrote some songs that they're not the flavor of the second. They're here for immortality⁹, like John Lennon "Imagine" or Bob Dylan "Blowing In The Wind," "What's Going On" Marvin Gaye. I can tell you the songs that are here to stay, frozen in immortality, eternity¹⁰ and infinity¹¹. And that's the sound that we wanted to create in this particular "Power Of Peace." If you play this music in elevators, shopping malls, parking lots, CNN, in Europe or anywhere in the world, we will certainly elevate this planet into a place where we will see and witness world peace in our lifetime.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH")

CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA: (Singing) Let there be peace on earth.

SIMON: The album is called "Power Of Peace," Carlos Santana and The Isley Brothers. It also features Cindy Blackman Santana, the band's drummer and Carlos Santana's wife.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH")

CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA: (Singing) With God as our father, brothers all are we. Let me walk with my brother...

1 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

2 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

3 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

4 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

5 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

8 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

9 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

10 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

11 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。