VOA标准英语2013--Tim McGraw Sees 'Two Lanes of Freedom'

 

Tim McGraw Sees 'Two Lanes of Freedom'

“Two Lanes of Freedom” is McGraw’s debut¹ album for the Nashville independent label Big Machine Records. He shares the Big Machine roster² with such superstars as Taylor Swift, Rascal³ Flatts and Trisha Yearwood.

McGraw was under contract with Curb⁴ Records for 20 years. Following the release of his final album for Curb, “Emotional Traffic,” he signed with Big Machine and soon found himself being sued by his old label for breach⁵ of contract. A Nashville judge ruled in McGraw’s favor in 2012. Curb sent the case to the Tennessee Supreme⁶ Court. Two weeks after the release of “Two Lanes of Freedom,” the court signed an order denying Curb’s appeal.

McGraw took a new approach in the recording⁷ studio that allowed him to make what he describes as “a pivotal album” in his career.

“What I wanted to do with the record is I wanted to go in, because I’d worked with every musician on this record individually and some together as a group, but as a whole these guys had never all worked together at one time," he said. "I thought that was interesting to start with. But, I also wanted to go in and do about two weeks straight and do 10 to 14 hours a day, start in the morning and go late into the night, to where it got a chance for us to really have a cohesiveness⁸ and feel like we were a unit and everybody feel like they were contributing and weren’t just going in and making what felt like some sort of cold corporate⁹ album. I think we accomplished¹⁰ that. I wanted to make it a really emotional invested project with everybody involved.”

Guests on “Two Lanes of Freedom” include McGraw’s label-mate Taylor Swift and his longtime friend Keith Urban. Both join him on the album’s closing track, “Highway Don’t Care.”

Tim’s upcoming plans include taping a television special in Las Vegas. “ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night” will air on the CBS network at a still-to-be-determined date. On May 2, he’ll kick off a North American tour to support “Two Lanes of Freedom.” The tour is scheduled to stop in more than 30 U.S. cities before wrapping up in late July.

“Two Lanes of Freedom” debuted¹¹ at Number One on the Country Albums chart and at Number Two on the Billboard¹² 200. A current hit from the disc is “One of Those Nights,” which Tim describes as a “making a memory song.”

“It’s one of those songs that really spans the gamut¹³. You can be 14 or 80 and you hear this song, either you’re looking forward to the rest of your life and looking forward to all the memories that you’re going to make or you’re reflecting on the memories that you have made throughout your life," he said. "And I think it’s one of those songs that really puts you in a place in time. And one of the most intriguing¹⁴ things about it to me is when I first heard the demo, which was, I think, really just an acoustic¹⁵ guitar demo, I really had this feel of what I wanted to do. I wanted to do this little bit of a throw back because the song itself has a real modern verse to it that has this edge to it and I wanted to sort of mix that with sort of a Bob Seger throw back. I think that’s what’s most intriguing to me about this song when I perform the song is I really sort of fall back into almost the ‘Night Moves’ kind of feel.”

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

3 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 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。

8 cohesiveness   

n. 粘合，凝聚性

参考例句：

• The Bogor Goals concern APEC's credibility, cohesiveness and future development. 茂物目标事关亚太经合组织的信誉、凝聚力和未来发展。
• One of the most important properties of a work team is cohesiveness. 工作小组的最重要特征之一是凝聚力。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

11 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

12 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

13 gamut   

n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识

参考例句：

• The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles.这次展览包括了所有艺术风格的作品。
• This poem runs the gamut of emotions from despair to joy.这首诗展现了从绝望到喜悦的感情历程。

14 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。