一直都认为加拿大是一个孕育优秀民谣创作歌手的国度，Leonard Cohen，Neil Young，Buffy Sainte Marie，Joni Mitchell等等都是民谣界举足轻重的人物。而Kathleen Edwards，这位于1979年生于加拿大Ottawa的民谣才女，处女作“Failer”便被评为2003最佳百张唱片之一。

由于父母业余时间都喜欢弹弹钢琴和吉他，Edwards从小便在音乐的氛围中耳熏目染。在她5岁的时候，Edwards开始练习古典小提琴，一直坚持到她的teenage开端。那个时候，Edwards一家移居海外。摆脱了北美流行音乐这个主流的影响，Edwards一头埋进了哥哥的关于Bob Dylan, Neil Young, 和早期 Tom Petty的唱片收藏里。在高中毕业后，Edwards回到了Ottawa，一直在当地的俱乐部里弹吉他唱歌。

1999年，Edwards录制了她的首张EP“Building 55”，并且跑遍全国去做宣传。宣传的效果却并不理想，这也使得Edwards更加坚定地投入到歌曲创作中去，许多优秀的歌曲在她离开Ottawa去到Quebec后产生了，这些歌曲便成为了后来专辑“Failer”的基础。“Failer”这张处女作专辑于2001年录制于Ottawa，并于2003年1月发行。这张专辑里体现着非常纯粹的民谣和乡村的混合，并且很明显的可以看出受到了Whiskeytown和Gillian Welch的影响。Edwards的努力创作也得到了应有的回报。“Failer”获得了极高的评价，并且Edwards和她的乐队在巡演中也获得了极大的支持，在专为Bob dylan和the rolling stones开设的舞台上演出成为她成功最为重要的标志。

“Failer”中每个音符都蕴藏着丰富的根源摇滚和另类乡村的特色，这也使得人们自然而然就拿Edwards与同样来自加拿大的女歌手Sarah Harmer进行比较。在“One More Song the Radio Won't Like”中，虽然Edwards一直强调着the Radio Won't Like，可是个人觉得这首是专辑中最出色的歌。中速节拍底子上柔软纯粹的人声仿佛诗人动情的吟唱，再加上韵律出色的歌词，平稳而优美的吉他旋律，我相信在加拿大没有哪个电台不愿播放这样的歌曲。“I'm so tired of playing defense/And I don't even have hockey skates”，在“Hockey Skates”中Edwards这样唱道。而舒然的木吉他旋律和Edwards时而平静时而惆怅时而深情的歌声将这首歌演绎到了乡村的完美境界。“12 Bellevue”中Saxphone和强硬吉他的运用表明了Edwards追求突破和多变的意愿。虽然Edwards 一直以一种愤世嫉俗的姿态示众，可“Mercury”和“National Steel”却展现了她抑郁脆弱的一面。其中“National Steel”也是非常出色的歌。呜咽的管弦乐配合着醉人的木吉他，Edwards在这样的音乐氛围中尽情舒展着她那朴素而清纯的声音。最后引用AMG碟评中的一句话：“Far from a failure,‘Failer’is as gorgeous as it is flawless.”



by Johnny Loftus
Kathleen Edwards was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1979, the daughter of foreign service parents who played piano and guitar in their spare time. At five, Edwards began to study classical violin, which continued through her early teens. At that point, the Edwards family moved overseas. Removed from the influence of mainstream North American pop music, Edwards delved into her older brother's collection of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and early Tom Petty records. After high school, Edwards landed back in Ottawa, singing and playing her guitar in local clubs and networking with other musicians in the scene.

In 1999, Edwards recorded her debut EP, Building 55, and toured throughout Canada to support it, busking and opening for acts like Hayden and Jane Siberry. A bad breakup led to more songwriting, much of which took place after Edwards moved out of Ottawa and into rural Quebec. Those songs became the basis of Failer, her debut full-length, which she recorded in Ottawa in late 2001. The album was a heartfelt mixture of folk and country, and drew upon influences like Whiskeytown and Gillian Welch. A major critical buzz began then, and gigs at the 2002 South by Southwest and opening for Richard Buckner led to a deal with Zoe/Rounder, which released Failer on January 14, 2003. The album garnered rave reviews, and Edwards and her band toured extensively in support, headlining clubs and theaters and playing arenas opening for Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. In 2004, Edwards headed back into the studio to record her second album, with her guitarist and bandleader Colin Cripps serving as producer. The final product was called Back To Me, and arrived in stores in the spring of 2005. It was followed in 2008 by Asking for Flowers.