Title (10th Anniversary Edition)

グラミー賞受賞シンガーソングライター=メーガン・トレイナーの2015年発売デビュー・アルバム『Title』10周年記念盤

デビュー・シングル「All About That Bass」でいきなり全米8週連続1位を記録するなど世界的ヒットを世に送り出したグラミー賞受賞シンガーソングライター=メーガン・トレイナーのデビュー・アルバム『Title』10周年記念盤。今作は、オリジナル・アルバムに加え、新たに「All About That Bass - Remastered」「Better When I'm Dancin' (j.bird Timeless Tour Version)」や、Spotifyで配信された『Live from Spotify London』から「Lips Are Movin」「Title」「All About That Bass」の計5曲が追加収録されている。ジャケットはレインボーのホログラフィック仕様。

"All About That Bass" spread throughout the globe with the speed of a pandemic disease, and its viral nature neatly camouflaged how Meghan Trainor was no naive ingenue. She landed a publishing deal at the age of 18 and had one of her songs recorded by pop-country superstars Rascal Flatts, show-biz bona fides that belied her Internet sensation status. Title, Trainor's full-length debut, suggests this tactic was deliberate: snag an audience via a near-novelty, then rely on her well-honed craft for the rest of the record. Certainly, echoes of "All About That Bass" can be heard throughout Title, particularly in how she and her chief collaborator Kevin Kadish balance a love of old-fashioned girl group pop with old-school hip-hop, but the cumulative effect of the album's 15 tracks is to shift attention away from her cutesy style to her songwriting skills. Admittedly, Trainor is eager to embrace her enthusiasm for musical theater -- she's the first post-Glee pop star, consciously putting on a show as she sways between rapped verses and cabaret choruses, liberally borrowing from Dion's "Runaround Sue" for "Dear Future Husband," making sure that she laughs after delivering a pun on her own last name -- but over the course of a record the affectations don't seem quite as potent as they do when they're distilled to a single. By the time the record winds its way around to the Motown bounce of "Lips Are Movin" -- a single equally inspired by vintage 45s and Amy Winehouse's snazzy new-millennial revival that's the best song here -- Trainor's giddiness has become ingratiating, so it's easier to warm to her considerable skill at pastiche and performance. Far from consigning her to one-hit wonder territory, the blend of strength of personality and music-biz savvy on Title shows that Meghan Trainor is clever enough to parlay a big hit into a real career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

すっかり落ち着いたシェール・ロイドやアルバム延期を重ねているデヴを横目に、カラフルなお転婆ポップで世界を席巻しているミーガン嬢。待望のファースト・アルバムは、全米8週No.1を記録したぽっちゃり応援歌“All About That Bass”にも引けを取らない、良曲揃いの刺激的な一枚となりました。同ヒット曲路線の変形ドゥワップやジョン・レジェンド客演曲など50s～60sフィールをハイブリッドしたモノから、クランク/スナップの匂いがほんのり漂うラップ・チューンまでをラインナップ。17歳で作家デビューした実力を見せつけるべく、人懐っこいグッド・メロディーの雨あられです。これを聴いて心躍らないなんて嘘! 思わず一緒にお尻を振って手拍子したくなりますよ。最高!
bounce (C)山西絵美