专辑介绍:

最顶级的录音　最发烧的人声
Stockfisch唱片录音採用二十八位元的类比数位转换器、NAGRA-D等超发烧设备录制，并以B&W NAUTILUS 801进行鑑听。

爱尔兰音乐老兵传奇的重返乐坛，真实的人生、温暖的亲情在他笔下幻化为动听歌曲，深刻而感人。

如果说二十一世纪我们还有什么传奇故事，那么保罗．欧布里恩的人生应该可以列为其中之一。在爱尔兰天主教家庭下成长的他，年轻时期一直在英国以及世界各地演奏传统爱尔兰音乐。到三十八岁那年，他突然觉得人生虚耗，创意枯竭，非常不快乐，於是他在2004年离开英国与他的音乐生涯，全家搬迁至加拿大最西北边的维多利亚省，当起一个老师。

然而，他并没有全心全意的爱上这个生活。也许就是生活上的「地壳变动」产生了火山爆发似的能量，他开始大量的写歌，外表底下的那颗艺术家的心毫无保留的窜了出来！在正职的教书之餘，保罗．欧布里恩灌录了两张创作专辑，都由曾获加拿大朱诺奖提名的名制作人 Joby Baker制作。2006年的Sacred Lines与2008年的Plastic都叫好叫座，许多媒体都将Plastic专辑列为2008年终十大必听盘。

随著专辑的卖座，保罗．欧布里恩也慢慢从正职教师转为兼职教师，最后成为全职歌手。在2009年他成功的重返英国巡迴演唱，并与德国Stockfisch签约。 Stockfisch唱片公司、录音室的老闆Gunter Pauler以发掘、制作民谣歌手而在欧洲享有盛名。这样的黄金组合交出的第一张作品，就是这张「回家」。这张专辑请到了德国民谣吉他高手Uli Kringler参与制作，可说是当今民谣界难得的黄金阵容。

听著这张专辑，你不难理解为何这位二度发迹的音乐老兵能够获得乐迷们的青睞。首张专辑的标题同名曲「Sacred Line」是在讲述輟学青少年的故事，恐怕与他教书的经历有关；而本张专辑同名曲「Way Back Home」则是讲述自己看著女儿成长，知道该放手却又心有不甘的心路历程；「He Can Dance」是在描述他的雕刻家邻居传授自己的雕刻秘诀：「我会闭上眼睛绕著我想像中的作品起舞，当我跳完舞并从每个角度看过这个作品后，我就知道该如何开始了。」如此以亲身经历、自己的观察写出的作品，自然容易让听者感动。

当然，Stockfisch的民谣专辑一向的精良制作与录音水準都是让这张专辑加分的要素。听著他醇厚轻柔的嗓音、轻吋有弹性的吉他演奏、低沉的贝斯与超卓的空间感，就像是一场听觉与性灵的饗宴。

【曲目】
01. Sacred Line 庄严的路
02. Berlin At 5 五点的柏林
03. American Car 美国车
04. Walk Back Home 回家
05. Madrona 野草莓树
06. Romero 罗梅洛
07. Light The Way 照亮人生路
11. The Finest Thread 最细的线
12. Anniversary Day 週年纪念日

SACD Info:

Paul O'Brien - Walk Back Home

Label: Stockfisch Records
Catalog#: SFR 357.4064.2
Format: Hybrid-SACD, Album, Stereo
Country: Germany
Released: 2009
Genre: Singer / Songwriter

Paul O'Brien (vocals & guitar)
Uli Kringler (guitar, tremolo guitar, dobro, piano, charrango, percussion)
Lea Morris (backing vocals)
Hrólfur Vagnsson (accordion)
Annika Lückebergfeld (mandolin)
Lucile Chaubard (cello)
Martin Großkurth (hammond organ)
Lars Hansen (upright bass)
Hans-Jörg Maucksch (fretless bass)
Noah, Rubén, Julen, Elián, Samuel (children's choir)

Paul O’Brien is an English singer-songwriter who basically chucked his folk-singing career midstream, moved his family to the Pacific Northwest and immigrated to Canada, where he accepted a teaching position in Victoria, British Columbia. Feeling burned out by the entire music scene, he immersed himself in his work and essentially abandoned any musical endeavors. But he found himself profoundly affected and inspired by Canada and its people, and his love for his new home helped reinvigorate his creativity. Before too long, his teaching position became a part time job, and soon, his music once again served as his primary vocation. He wrote and recorded two independently produced albums that garnered a great deal of media attention and critical praise in Canada, and his 2009 tour of the UK got the attention of Stockfisch Records’ Gunther Pauler, who quickly signed him to a record contract with the German audiophile label. Paul O’Brien is not only a great songwriter, but also a gifted instrumentalist and poet who offers heartfelt, uplifting accounts of his experiences.

In usual Stockfisch fashion, the artist has written brief but interesting descriptions of the songs that go a long way to help the listener gain insight into the creative process. The opening track, “Sacred Line,” is offered to the First Nation children of British Columbia and the challenges the aboriginal peoples face in integrating into the modern world. “Berlin At 5” is an uplifting tune that details some of the singer’s more memorable moments in life, and he always asks his concert audiences to reflect on their own lives and personal “highs” as he sings the song. “American Car” is based on the story of a prolonged touring absence from his family, and how his young son thought that a big American car could swiftly bring his daddy back home. I think my favorite song on the whole album might be “Misty Mountain,” which Paul says he wrote at seventeen, and for the life of him can’t really remember what the song is supposed to be about! The entire disc is filled with touching and often poignant prose that chronicles the people and places that have colored Paul’s existence on Vancouver Island.

Gunther Pauler’s early Stockfisch SACDs were incredibly well-recorded stereo-only discs, and after some experimentation with a few surround releases, it appears with their latest batch of releases that Stockfisch has returned to that winning stereo-only approach. Of course, the disc is a hybrid, and while I spent most of my time with the astonishingly good hi-resolution tracks, the CD layer offers some of the finest Redbook CD sound you’re likely to ever encounter – the sound here absolutely sparkles! Gunther Pauler is a remarkably good recording engineer, and he’s given us another gem with this new disc. Paul O’Brien’s website offers a wealth of information – including his personal blog – along with music clips, performance videos (some of them in HD!) and tour date listings. I’d definitely check it out, and I’d waste no time getting this excellent album, it’s very highly recommended! Five stars!

TrackList: Sacred Line; Berlin At 5; American Car; Walk Back Home; Madrona; Romero; Light The Way; He Can Dance; Without A Trace; Misty Mountain; The Finest Thread; Anniversary Day.

– Tom Gibbs audiophile-audition

01. Sacred Line 04:09.07
02. Berlin At 5 04:34.16
03. American Car 05:05.53
04. Walk Back Home 04:40.31
05. Madrona 05:12.56
06. Romero 05:06.47
07. Light The Way 04:18.31
08. He Can Dance 04:36.33
09. Without A Trace 04:16.95
10. Misty Mountain 04:02.73
11. The Finest Thread 04:11.67
12. Anniversary Day 03:25.67

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