封面人物：Aerosmith『s Joe Perry with talkbox onstage 空中鐵匠鋪樂隊吉他手 Joe Perry 正在舞臺上使用 talkbox 效果器。
Trying to explain how the talk box works can be confusing as hell. 跟人解釋一遍 talk box 的工作原理簡直是要命。
「There’s this tube, you see, and it’s connected to this box, which is connected to the guitar, and then you sing into the mic …」 這裡是管子，連接到一個盒子……呃呃……然後連接上吉他……然後你對著麥克唱歌……
It’s best just to say something like, 「You know that thing that makes Peter Frampton sound like a robot? That’s a talk box,」 and be done with it. 其實更簡單的說法是這樣：你想演奏出來 Peter Frampton 那種酷炫機器人聲音嗎？使用 talk box 就行啦。
It’s way too technical for us to understand. 我們不需要理解具體的技術。
All we know is that it looks like a beer bong, sounds cool and lots of artists have used it over the years, especially in the 』70s 我們只需要知道怎樣搞出來那種感覺，尤其是像1970年代老一輩吉他藝術家們那樣，做出他們那種酷酷的聲音就可以了。
第十名 Haitian Divorce by Steely Dan
On the surface, it may seem that Steely Dan are among the most unlikely of bands to use a talk box, given their perfection in the studio and the relative novelty of the device. 從表面上看， Steely Dan 似乎是不應該使用 talkbox 的那一類，就是那種錄音棚必須準備各種新奇玩意兒的樂隊。
But the group was one of the most sonically adventurous of the era 實際上他們可是很會搞聲音實驗的專家
employing electric sitar, jazzy arrangements and studio pros who weren’t afraid to branch off into weird, wonderful directions. 他們甚至使用過電聲西塔爾琴，這些專家們在錄音中嘗試過各種新奇又好玩事物
The talk-box solo on 『Haitian Divorce』 is performed by session guitarist Dean Parks, who played it straight on his instrument. 在單曲 Haitian Divorce 中，吉他手Dean Parks 演奏了多軌吉他，其中一軌吉他 SOLO 就使用了 talkbox 效果。
Steely Dan’s Walter Becker later went in and tinkered with it on a talk box. 另外一個吉他手 Walter Becker 跟進來的時候也使用了talkbox 效果。
第九名 Pigs (Three Different Ones) by Pink Floyd
Roger Waters more or less based Pink Floyd『s 1977 concept album 『Animals』 on George Orwell’s classic 『Animal Farm,』 in which animals represent different social classes. 平克佛洛依德樂隊1977年發行的概念專輯 Animals 借鑑了喬治奧威爾的小說《動物莊園》，裡面用不同的動物代表著不同社會階層的人群。
The 11-minute 『Pigs (Three Different Ones)』 focuses on the wealthiest and those in power, so it’s no surprise that Waters chose pigs to be their surrogates. 在小說中的豬代表著擁有財富和權勢的階層，因此也就難怪 Roger Waters 把一首長達 11 分鐘的單曲 Pigs (Three Different Ones) 作為該專輯的代表。
About halfway through the song, guitarist David Gilmour slips into the mix with a solo heavy on talk-box effects that nails both the anger and meaningless of the words being spewed in the barnyard of political waste. 大概在樂曲進行到一半時間左右，吉他手 David Gilmour 開始演奏使用了重度 talkbox 效果的吉他，用來暗喻那些當權政治家們像豬一般粗俗的、毫無意義的話語。
第八名 Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue
Like Bon Jovi『s 『Livin』 on a Prayer』 , Motley Crue『s 『Kickstart My Heart』 was a little late to the talk-box party. 就像邦喬維樂隊一樣，Motley Crue 也是比較晚期才開始使用 talkbox 效果的樂隊之一。
Showing up in 1989, just a few years before Vince Neil left the band and was temporarily replaced by John Corabi, it was also almost too late to the Crue’s party. 這首運用了 talkbox 效果的單曲 Kickstart My Heart 發行於1989年，本身也是 Motley Crue 樂隊後期的作品，吉他手 Vince Neil 不就後就離開了該樂隊，被 John Corabi 所替代。
Guitarist Mick Mars lets loose at the end of the song with a series of talk box solos that acts like the 』70s, and the party, never ended. 吉他手 Mick Mars 在樂曲的尾奏部分加入了 talkbox 效果，就像1970年代又重現了一樣，希望樂隊永遠不要散夥。
第七名 Those Shoes by Eagles
Joe Walsh, no stranger to the talk box , dusted off his trusty box for this cut from the Eagles『 『The Long Run』 album 老鷹樂隊的吉他手 Joe Walsh 可是一貫喜歡使用 talkbox 的高手，這首單曲 Those Shoes 來自老鷹樂隊專輯 The Long Run
and then invited the band’s other guitarist, Don Felder, to join him on some double talk-box action. 後來另一位吉他手 Don Felder 也跟隨他一起使用 talkbox 效果。
There may be other double talk-box solos out there; we don’t know. 我不知道是不是還有其他的雙 talkbox 效果的歌曲。
And we really don’t care, because there’s no way it beats Walsh and Felder’s showdown on this buzzing cut. 不過那不重要，沒有哪個樂隊的雙 talkbox 效果能夠跟老鷹樂隊的這兩位吉他手相媲美。
Supreme awesomeness all around. 爽！就一個字，俺只說一次。
第六名 Do You Feel Like We Do by Peter Frampton
More than any other artist, Peter Frampton is pretty much the guy you think of when you hear the words 「talk box.」 也許你一聽到 Peter Frampton 這個名字，首先就會聯想到 talkbox
His 1976 mega-popular 『Frampton Comes Alive!』 album brought it into unsuspecting households 他在 1976 年的專輯 Frampton Comes Alive! 把 talkbox 的聲音帶進千家萬戶
and the album’s top two tracks, 『Do You Feel Like We Do』 and 『Show Me the Way』 , are essentially built on the device. 尤其是其中的兩首單曲 Do You Feel Like We Do 和 Show Me the Way ，完全是基於 talkbox 效果創作的。
The former includes an extended midsection that redefines the guitar solo and twists it into something that sounds an awful lot like a dialogue between an audience and the robot onstage. 在第一首曲子的中間擴展部分，吉他聲音突然開始扭曲，聽起來好像一個機器人在跟聽眾對話的感覺。
第五名 Hair of the Dog by Nazareth
The talk-box solo on 『Hair of the Dog』 doesn’t really call too much attention to itself. 在這首 Hair of the Dog 的樂曲間奏部分使用的 talkbox 並不引人注意。
It doesn’t show off. 它沒有那麼炫技。
It doesn’t try to strike up a conversation with you. 也沒有呼之欲出，與人對話的張揚。
And it doesn’t force its way into the mix. 它幾乎不需要混音，就存在整首歌之間。
It eases so effortlessly into the song that, really, you hardly notice it’s there. 沒有刻意地編曲，就那麼自然地使用了 talkbox 。
Also, Nazareth『s rhythm section is so air-tight here that the solo essentially just maneuvers itself into whatever open space it can find, and then does its thing for a glorious 40 seconds or so. 這首歌的節奏部分編曲非常緊湊，以至於SOLO部分好不容易才得到了 40 秒左右的喘息時間，就是在這個間隙裡面，talkbox 的任務完成得如此光輝耀眼，堪稱表現完美。
第四名 Show Me the Way by Peter Frampton
Few artists have mastered the art of the talk box the way Peter Frampton has. 很少有吉他手使用 talkbox 能像 Peter Frampton 這樣得心應手。
Even though there were songs featuring the effects device before his 『Frampton Comes Alive!』 brought robotic murmurs into homes across the globe in 1976, 儘管在1976年專輯 Frampton Comes Alive! 發行之前，也有很多人使用 talkbox
and after it started filling up used-record bins a few years later, two Frampton talk-box milestones have forever pinned the artist to the unit. 但是自從這張專輯之後， Frampton 的這兩首曲子就成為了裡程碑，一直被模仿，從未被超越。
『Show Me the Way』 is the pinnacle, weaving in and out of Frampton’s best song with an effortless grace that makes it sound almost natural in the setting. 其中的單曲 Show Me the Way 簡直就是巔峰之作，盡顯 Frampton 編曲之功力深厚，他把 talkbox 效果運用得優雅而且自然天成。
第三名 Livin』 on a Prayer by Bon Jovi
The talk box was pretty much dead and forgotten by the time Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora dragged one out in 1986 for the band’s eternal No. 1 hit 『Livin』 on a Prayer.』 當1986年邦喬維樂隊推出該樂隊「永遠的金曲」 Livin』 on a Prayer 的時候，talkbox 效果已經被很多人忘卻了。
He doesn’t waste any time putting it to use either, working it hard on the song’s intro and carrying it through to the verses. 吉他手 Richie Sambora 不失時機地在樂曲前奏和副歌部分運用 talkbox
It would all seem like a Jonny-Come-Lately novelty if the song wasn’t so great. 如果不是這首歌如此火爆，也許這裡使用 talkbox 就是完全多餘的噱頭。
Loaded with Bon Jovi’s all-time greatest hook — hell, we』ll go as far as to say it may be the greatest hook of its era — 『Livin』 on a Prayer』 doesn’t really need a talk box. 確實，有了主唱 Bon Jovi 這塊金字招牌，Livin』 on a Prayer 不需要使用 talkbox 也一樣成功。
But admit it: You』d miss it if it wasn’t there. 但是你不得不承認，沒有了 talkbox ，這首歌是不完整的。
第二名 Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith
There’s a whole lot to like about Aerosmith’s 1975 classic, especially the monster riff that plows throughout the song. 你也許有無數個理由喜愛空中鐵匠鋪1975年發行的經典歌曲 Sweet Emotion ，比如他那猛獸般洶湧的連復段
But it’s that opening bit, where guitarist Joe Perry hums the song’s title like a robot wrestling with feelings, that pulls us in every time. 不過你肯定不會在忘記歌曲的開頭，吉他手 Joe Perry 通過 talkbox 反覆吟唱出來的 sweet emotion 那幾個字，像一個機器人有了感情宣洩一般，無數次把我們的思緒拉進這首歌曲。
The talk box is used almost as a narrative device on 『Sweet Emotion,』 more so than any other cut on our list of Top 10 Talk Box Songs, where it takes its place alongside the other instruments. 跟其他樂器配合在一起，talkbox 似乎變成了一個婉婉道來的敘事者，跟你講述它甜蜜感情的故事。
It’s almost begging for attention here, and we gladly give it, every single time. 它如此渴求被別人關注，而我們又是這樣心軟，一次又一次地輕易被它打動。
第一名 Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh
The basic concept for the talk box was around before Joe Walsh used it on his 1973 song 『Rocky Mountain Way』 and pretty much sealed its destiny with adventurous rock guitarists. 幾乎可以說，關於 talkbox 的很多基本概念就是由 Joe Walsh 在1973年的單曲 Rocky Mountain Way 所定義下來的，他為後來的搖滾吉他手們使用這種效果指明了方向。
But the guy who invented the one almost every rocker uses, sound engineer Bob Heil, manufactured the model Walsh plays on 『Rocky Mountain Way』 (Peter Frampton and Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora also used this version). 甚至連 talkbox 效果器的發明者 Bob Heil 也根據這首歌的音色專門製作了 Walsh 款 talkbox 效果器，包括後來的Peter Frampton 以及 Richie Sambora 都是使用這一款效果器。
The distinct tone gives Walsh’s blues stomp a futuristic wave, as if a hulking mechanical beast was looming just over those rocky mountains. 在這首歌裡面，talkbox 為其他的布魯斯效果器帶來了怒濤般的音效，仿佛一頭笨重的猛獸，在喘息著翻越落基山脈。
What could have been a gimmick totally transforms the song into a 』70s barnstormer. 只有運用這種演奏技巧，你才能感覺完全回到了1970年代。