Westlife is back with a surprising new CD, “Allow us to be Frank.” A collection of old songs from the 1960s infamous “Rat Pack” era, the album shows off the boys’ versatile talents like never before. But why these songs? And who are the “Rat Pack?”

　　带着一张令人吃惊的新专辑——《纯爱年代》——西城男孩回来了。专辑收录了60年代声名狼藉的“鼠帮”时代的老歌，比以往更充分地展示了男孩们的多才多艺。但为什么要收这些歌？谁是“鼠帮”？

　　Nicky. Shane. Kian. Mark. We all know the members of Westlife, today’s most successful boy band. But how about the names Frank, Sammy, and Dean? Do you recognize these guys? Before boy bands, before CDs or music downloads, even before the Irish cuties of Westlife were born, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin were the definition of talented men with style.

　　尼克、尚恩、奇恩、马克，人人都知道他们是当今最成功的男孩乐队——西城男孩的成员。那么法兰克、山米和狄恩呢?你认识这些小伙子吗？在还没有男孩乐队，没有CD，没有音乐下载，甚至西城男孩的这几个爱尔兰帅哥还没出生之前，法兰克·辛纳屈，小山米·戴维斯和狄恩·马丁就是才华横溢的风尚男士的代名词。

　　Each one a legendary (1) singer and performer, Frank, Sammy, Dean, and others were not a music group, but an informal group of friends who sang and acted together in the US in the late 1960s. Known as the “Rat Pack,” these men knew how to have fun: partying into the morning, dating famous women, and performing unforgettable shows at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas night after night.

　　法兰克、山米、狄恩和其他一些人个个都是传奇式的歌手、演员。实际上，他们并不是一个乐队组合，而是一个非正式的朋友团体——被称为“鼠帮”。20世纪60年代末期，他们一起在美国唱歌、表演。他们很会找乐子：派对狂欢到天亮，和名女人约会，一晚接一晚在拉斯维加斯的金沙宾馆上演令人难忘的节目。

　　The Rat Pack invented the star attitude, that manly style with boyish charm that all male performers since have tried to emulate (2). It is no wonder, then, that Westlife decided to pay tribute (3) to these unique performers and that golden musical era (4) in their latest CD “Allow us to be Frank.”

　　“鼠帮”带来了一种新的明星气质。从此，所有男艺人都试图仿效他们这种带着男孩气的男人味。怪不得西城男孩会决定用他们的最新专辑《纯爱年代》向这几位特立独行的艺人和那个音乐黄金年代致敬。

　　“We have always loved the spirit and style of the Rat Pack era,” Kian Egan said. “They had a strong family vibe (5) going on which is what we have in Westlife.”

　　“我们一直都非常喜欢‘鼠帮’时代的精神和风格”，奇恩说，“他们有一股浓郁的家庭氛围，这也正是我们所珍视并保留的。”

　　Recorded in Las Vegas, the album consists of 12 classic tracks from the days at the Sands. “We had a great time recording this album. The only problem was how do you choose an album’s worth of material with such a strong catalogue to pick from? It was tough but we got there in the end,” said Kian.

　　这张在拉斯维加斯录制的唱片共收录了十二首金沙宾馆时期的经典曲目。“录制的过程非常棒。唯一的问题是怎么从那么多侯选歌曲中挑出最上乘的。这很难，但我们做到了，”奇恩说。

　　The final selection includes enduring (6) hits like “Fly me to the moon,” “Mack the Knife,” and “Ain’t that a kick in the head (7).”

　　最终入选的包括一些不朽之作，比如《同游天际》、《飞刀手》以及《爱情强心针》。

　　Long-time Westlife fans may be a bit confused at first. Where is the boys’ usual pop sound? Where is the high-energy dancing, the modern fashion, or the familiar lyrics?

　　西城男孩的铁杆歌迷一开始可能会感到困惑：他们一贯的流行唱腔哪儿去了？还有热舞、时尚和熟悉的抒情旋律都到哪儿去了？

　　Instead, “Allow us to be Frank” shows our favorite boys from Ireland in tailored suits, slicked back hair, and polished shoes straight from the 1960s. A 60-piece orchestra replaces the boy’s usual rock ’n’roll accompaniment.

　　取而代之的是新专辑里四个爱尔兰男孩60年代的造型：笔挺的西装，光滑的分头，锃亮的皮鞋。一个60人的管弦乐队取代了摇滚伴奏。

　　But don’t let the sudden change scare you off. The Rat Pack songs actually show off the boys’ voices like never before. And these lyrics and melodies never go out of style.

　　不过，别让这些突然的变化把你吓跑。鼠帮的歌曲使西城男孩们的嗓音发挥到了极致。而且这些歌词和旋律永远不会过时。

　　Westlife will take their Rat Pack tribute on the road with their Red Carpet Tour. The boys will perform songs from this album, along with their own hits, in 10 cities across Europe. The concerts come just months after their successful Turnaround Tour, in which the boys performed 56 shows in just five months, continuing an amazing career that has sold over 34 million records worldwide. The Rat Pack never did that.

　　西城男孩还将把他们对“鼠帮”的敬意带到红毯巡回演唱会上。在此次欧洲十国巡演中，他们将演唱“鼠帮”的歌曲和他们自己的一些代表作。这次演唱会与大获成功的“回首真爱”巡演仅相隔数月。上次巡演中，他们在5个月里连演了56场，缔造了惊人的全球3400万张唱片销量记录，这样的成就即使连“鼠帮”也望尘莫及。

　　WORD KEY

　　1 legendary adjective 传奇式的

　　2 emulate verb 仿效

　　3 pay tribute verb phrase to praise and thank向…致敬

　　4 golden musical era phrase音乐黄金年代

　　5 vibe noun 氛围

　　6 enduring adjective long-lasting不朽

　　7 kick in the head informal phrase 失望