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Roxette: The Ballad Hits

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: EMI Records
Released: 2002.11.04
Time:
 73:23
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Roxette, Michael Ilbert, Clarence Öfwerman
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.roxette.se
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] A Thing About You (Per Gessle) - 3:49
[2] It Must Have Been Love (Per Gessle) - 4:19
[3] Listen to Your Heart (Per Gessle / Mats Persson) - 5:14
[4] Fading Like a Flower (Per Gessle) - 3:53
[5] Spending My Time (Per Gessle / Mats Persson) - 4:36
[6] Queen of Rain (Per Gessle / M.P. Persson) - 4:57
[7] Almost Unreal (Per Gessle) - 3:59
[8] Crash! Boom! Bang! (Per Gessle) - 4:26
[9] Vulnerable (Per Gessle) - 4:29
[10] You Don't Understand Me (Desmond Child / Per Gessle) - 4:28
[11] Wish I Could Fly (Per Gessle) - 4:40
[12] Anyone (Per Gessle) - 4:32
[13] Salvation (Per Gessle) - 4:38
[14] Milk and Toast and Honey (Per Gessle) - 4:03
[15] Breathe (Per Gessle) - 4:34
[16] The Weight of the World (Per Gessle) - 2:52
[17] It Hurts (Per Gessle) - 3:54

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Per Gessle - Acoustic & 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Mixing, Producer, Programming, Vocals
Marie Fredriksson - Mixing, Producer, Vocals

Clarence Öfwerman - Keyboards, Mini Moog, Mixing, Piano, Producer, Programming, String Arrangements, Synclavier, Synthesizer, Tambourine, Tubular Bells
Pelle Alsing - Drums
Micke "Nord" Anderson - 12 String Electric & Acoustic Guitar
Vicki Benckert - Vocals
Hasse Dyvik - Flugelhorn
Bo Eriksson - Oboe
Anders Evaldsson - Trombone
Anders Herrlin - Bass, Engineer, Programming
Jonas Isacsson - Bass, Acoustic & Electric Guitar
Christer Jansson - Cymbals, Drums, Snare Drums, Percussion, Tambourine, Tom-Tom
Christoffer Lundquist - 6-String Bass, Bass, Tambourine, Vocals, Zither
Staffan Ofwerman - Vocals
Shooting Star - Programming, Synthesizer

S.N.Y.K.O. - Strings
Stockholm Session Strings - Strings
Mats Holmquist - Conductor, String Arrangements

Michael Ilbert - Engineer, Mixing, Producer, Programming
Alar Suurna - Engineer, Mixing
Ronny Lahti - Engineer, Mixing
Humberto Gatica - Mixing
George Marino - Editing, Mastering
Mattias Edwall - Photography
Sven Lindström - Sleeve Notes

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


The Ballad Hits is part one of two "best of" albums by Roxette, released on 4 November 2002. The other is The Pop Hits, released in March 2003. The tracks "A Thing About You" and "Breathe" were recorded especially for this album. Only the first one was released as a single. The limited edition of the CD included an EP featuring four tracks: "The Weight of the World" (B-side of "A Thing About You"), "It Hurts", "See Me" (B-side of "Salvation") and "Every Day". The European version is copy protected. The album proved to be a reasonable success in Europe, reaching the top 10 in many countries and reaching #11 and achieving Silver status in the UK.



Lengthier variations on this album were released overseas a couple of months before the American version; the Swedish edition, Love Peas: Ballad Hits, contained 19 tracks to this one's 15. But Roxette is a much bigger act in Sweden, and in Europe generally, than in America, where most of those who remember the duo will wonder how they could fill an album of only their ballad hits. Indeed, as far as the U.S. is concerned, there are only five singles-chart entries here, and only three real hits: "It Must Have Been Love," "Listen to Your Heart," and "Fading Like a Flower." Roxette scored more hits than that stateside, of course, during the three-year period, early 1989-early 1992, when they were successful here. But tracks like "The Look," "Dangerous," and "Joyride" are a bit too up-tempo for the concept. Outside the North American continent, they carried on throughout the '90s and beyond, scoring with hits like "Crash! Boom! Bang!" and "Wish I Could Fly," included here. (The album opens and closes with new tracks, "A Thing About You" and "Breathe.") And they kept to their usual practice, coming up with attractive pop hooks, playing their synthesizers, and relying on Marie Fredriksson's emotional singing to put their greeting-card lyrics across. Americans may have lost interest at about the time that Nirvana came roaring in from the Northwest, but Roxette has been consistent, and nostalgic fans ready to rent Pretty Woman for the umpteenth time and relive their late-'80s/early-'90s adolescence will find plenty of ear candy here, in addition to the few songs they know by heart.

William Ruhlmann - All



From 1989 to 1991, Roxette dominated the charts with a string of super-dramatic hits. "Listen to Your Heart," "It Must Have Been Love," "Fading like a Flower" - classics all, and they're all here, along with much else. Their ballads don't always follow the duo's comic dictum—Don't bore us, get to the chorus." "Queen of Rain," with its moving oboe breaks, takes time to grow, as does the string-laden "Crash! Boom! Bang!" There are misses here, too, notably "You Don't Understand Me," co-written with hit-maker Desmond Child, and "Salvation" sounds like a collage of other people's work. Fortunately, the two new tracks - "A Thing About You" (sung by songwriter Per Gessle) and "Breathe" - are sweet and strong enough to repair the damage.

Dominic Wills - Amazon.com
 

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 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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