崔健作为中国摇滚的奠基人物,他的这首《一无所有》是早期中国摇滚的奠基之作。其中不乏传统摇滚的精神和气质。表现小人物,尤其是社会底层小年轻人对爱情的 追求,也流露出对社会的不满和呼喊。音乐风格上,有民歌的特色,明快的节奏,加上强劲的节拍,非常热烈的气氛。不免带一点“吵”的味道。而麦克学摇滚属于 软摇滚一派,软摇滚的特色,就是发展了民谣摇滚的特点,使原本比较硬性的传统摇滚,变得比较“软性”(softer)、“圆转”( smooth ),和更重其“旋律感”(melodic)。比较崔健的《一无所有》和他们的《I Walk This Road Alone》,除了是几乎相同的旋律,其表现的情感和味道,实在是差别太大太大了。崔健的《一无所有》作于1986年,麦克学摇滚组建于1988年。他们基本上是同时代的人。但是很明显当时中国的摇滚与当时欧美摇滚的发展走的是不同的路子。
欣赏崔健的《一无所有》,感到一种苍凉的呼喊,似乎有一种很深的无助感,虽然歌中的“你”最终愿意“跟我走”,但是这首歌的情调是苍凉无助的。反映了当时的 中国青年对自身命运的一种反叛。很契合传统摇滚乐的精神。看到视频中崔健身穿学生装演唱的样子,我马上想起当年我们自己的青葱岁月。完全能够想象歌者当时 的情感。迈克学摇滚的这首《I Walk This Road Alone》,翻唱于20年以后的2005年,这时无论是中国的摇滚音乐已经发生了很大的蜕变,而西洋的摇滚乐,在各种流派纷呈中,软摇滚是其中重要的一支。细细品鉴迈克学摇滚的这首《I Walk This Road Alone》,你可以发现,歌曲抒发的,从崔健那种热恋中男子痴迷执着的呼唤,变成了失恋青年对旧情的凭吊和准备另觅新爱的道白。两者的趣味是大不一样 的。这与软摇滚“商业化”和“无害化”(维基百科:Soft rock was commercial and inoffensive)的倾向是一致的。
【维基百科关于软摇滚的定义】:Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music (often combined with elements from folk rock) to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes saxophones. The electric guitars in soft rock are normally faint and high-pitched.
Soft Rock started in the early 1970s, partly as a reaction to the rising of hard rock music in the late 1960s. Soft rock was commercial and inoffensive, taking the sound of singer songwriter and pop rock but smoothing it out. Bands like Bread and the Carpenters relied on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. Throughout the '70s, soft rock dominated the airwaves and it eventually metamorphosed into the synthesized sounds of adult contemporary in the 1980s.