The Daily Roxette

So, here we are again.  The TDR team meets in the 'Virtual-Record-Review-Room' to review the latest album from Gyllene Tider.  This time Thomas, Kai, Paul & Colin discuss the album.  Find out their thoughts below...

Thomas: What strikes me is that this album sounds like it was been recorded in between Gyllene Tider (1980) and Moderna Tider (1981). It has the sound of the former, but the melodies of the latter. Moderna Tider is likely my favorite Gyllene album so I kind of like that. On some days Puls (1982) wins though... The band sounds as good (if not better) as ever, and especially Fritte is outstanding on this album! The Farfisa Fantom is adding another dimension to almost every track on the album. He wrote on Facebook during the recordings “Well, if it isn’t time to go and Farfisa-lize some tracks already!” I don’t find the album is as Red Bull/Green Day sounding as Per led us to believe, but at least half the album is on steroids. I know I’ve been knocking C&C’s productions lately, and while I still feel that Per should try new partners, this time the production suits the material. By the way, did anyone else notice that they’ve switched Anders’ face from the preview sleeve to the real one? Some trivia that will make no sense to non-Swedes: The album’s working titles were Sex laxar i en laxask and Duga. I’m not even going into that... Let’s review the record!

Paul:  Sex laxar i en laxask would’ve be an ‘interesting’ title...!  This album is definitely old-skool Gyllene Tider.  This sounds a million miles away from The Heartland Café (1983), which is a good thing (although I am fond of “Heartland”!), and there is a much edgier, harder sound.  Especially to the uptempo tracks.  If you’ve read previous TDR reviews, you’ll know that I like that!  It’s possible that GT have never sounded this good...

Kai: Don’t forget that at least Christoffer is a long-term Gyllene Tider fan. Judging from what has come to the surface, the boys seemed to enjoy the collaboration. And this you can hear.

Colin: I love The Heartland Café but it is different from the rest of the Gyllene Tider albums, I think. This album has a rough edge to it, the sound reminds me of the Per’s Garage songs!

Update: The release date of the soundtrack of "Small Apartments" is here! It will be released digitally March 18, CD March 27 and vinyl "asap." Per has shared the record sleeve with us, along with the tracklisting. Picky readers may notice this list is not identical to the one listed in the movie.

Small Apartments – Soundtrack

1.   Franklin’s Intro (0.56)
2.   I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) -Instrumental- (2.03)
3.   Drizzle #1 (2.02)
4.   Shopping With Mother (2.36)
5.   Franklin’s Theme #1 (1.39)
6.   He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (4.18)
7.   Burned Out Heart –Instrumental- (3.37)
8.   Are You An Old Hippie, Sir? –Instrumental- (1.49)
9.   Making Love Or Expecting Rain #1 –Instrumental- (2.46)
10. Waltz For Woody (1.03)
11. Drizzle #2 (2.02)
12. C'mon (2.59)
13. Warm. Again. (4.27)
14. Drizzle #3 (2.02)
15. Drizzle #4 (0.56)
16. Week With Four Thursdays (1.54)
17. Dixy -Instrumental- (3.06)
18. Making Love Or Expecting Rain #2 –Instrumental- (4.03)
19. Double-Headed Elvis -Instrumental- (1.31)
20. Franklin’s Main Theme (6.43)
21. I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) (2.09)

Get your brand-spanking fresh new hi-def Gyllene Tider desktop background here! Courtesy of Per. (Thanx mate!)

VOLLSJÖ - (Updated) Per and Micke are in the studio down in Skåne with the rest of the band. The album backgrounds have all been finished. Some vocals and overdubs remain on Dags att tänka på refrängen. The new tour schedule was presented today. Today is also press day so we got a few questions through the filter.

Per

How does the new album sound, compared to what you’ve done previously?
I’ve tried writing songs in the true GT-spirit. Very dangerous Farfisa organ, straddling guitar sandwiches, itchy bass eighths, snappy snare drum fills. It’s been fun. And it sounds fab since GT is awesome at just this.

Who produces?
Auntie Clarence and auntie Christoffer are helping out in the kitchen.

So, 12 songs, isn’t that very 1963??
’66 if I may say so. The best pop-year ever!

And when will the single and album be available?
Sometime this spring. We were planning on getting finished first…

There are a few holes in the tour schedule, will there be gigs added?
Micke has a few gigs with his GT-coverband that he has to perform. Sälen I believe.

Per also says to Aftonbladet that they’ve requested venues that fill about 10,000 people. They don’t think they can break the records from 2004.
There will also be a new greatest hits compilation released. That will be the 6th compilation so far.

What can you tell me about the new compilation Soldans på din grammofon? (From a line in "Juni, juli, augusti")
Nice sleeve, contains songs you already know, but maybe forgot about. It will sell a lot at the gas stations.

It’s been 9 years since last time, does it still feel awesome to be with the guys?
We are the Chateau Latour of pop. We only get better with time. But we need to be aerated from time to time.

Micke Syd

It's been 9 years, except for some appearences here and there, how does it feel to get back in the saddle again?
It feels amazing, I like this horse.

How does the new album feel, from your angle?
More Gyllene, with all what that means.

I understand you are very happy with your life at this point. Has that helped getting the reunion happen? Given that you've seemed a little angry after the last tours?
I'm very happy and greatful to be able to do all this one more time.

Will you sing "Min tjej och jag" on this tour as well?
I hope so, considering it's our best song! ;-)

How different is this album, not to say better, than Finn 5 fel!?
More GT, mostly because Per Håkan wrote the songs for us.

Tell us a secret?
I like girls...

STOCKHOLM - It’s more winter than ever and snow is piling high when The Daily Roxette sits down with Per for our traditional Xmas interview. It’s Thomas who is addressed, but the questions come from Kai-Uwe and Justyna as well. I am freezing in the bitter cold. It’s -21 C (-6 F)... TDR is very happy that Per has taken some time for us in his busy (?) Xmas schedule.

How are you doing in the snow and cold, Per?

Hi Thomas, I'm doing swell. Hate the winter though. It's so hard to dress up!!

Yeah I know, I can’t stand winter, who cares about fashion when the wind blows? 2012 has been a very busy year for you and Roxette, with the tour and new album and all. And it's not over yet, is there anything else happening the last few weeks of the year? The Roxette live/docu DVD and Small Apartments soundtrack have been postponed? How does 2013 look, Rox-wise, Gessle-wise, Marie-wise, anything else-wise?

Oh, I wish there were more hours in a day! I've been busy writing new songs, both for myself and Rox and for other extremely secret projects...

Extremely secret projects...?

K: In the meantime, after more than 100 concerts, it must have turned into a stable job for you already and you know, from 8 PM to 11 PM I'll have to work. Is it something that is going on in your mind in the afternoon already, do you think, “Oh, today I could try this or that”? Or is there a switch when you come backstage, doing the makeup and stuff?
C: Well, there is a switch. But that's when we go on stage. That's when we turn on. You pull the switch then. But all the other time, it goes on in your mind, at least in mine. There is some kind of preparation going on all the time. So it's stressful if too much other stuff happens because it feels “Uhhhh“. There's some kind of focus, you're on your way doing something. And because I try to play a new song before “Joyride” almost every night, I do need to learn this thing and find it, so I have some work to do and that is good also because it keeps away the risk of it being a routine doing the same thing all the time.
K: How do you find these songs actually?

K: Are you the one who does the tour arrangements?
C: We do them together!
K: All the band?
C: Yeah. We do them in the rehearsals together and we all contribute a lot, yes.
K: Is there a temptation during this to try something that you couldn't do on the album, something that might work out better being played live?

Friends and neighbors.

2012 turned out to be a smashing year. Big big tour, new songs = new album, loads and loads of autographs signed, letters written, stamped and sent, guitar picks urgently needed by all of you, thousands of intelligent and uplifting comments on the web published, old pictures and vids popping up, new ones finding their place in the Rox history. Everything turned out so much bigger and brighter than expected.

Thanks for helping us out and making all this possible. Without you we would still be playing the local Pizza Hut (and we never made decent versions of ”Streets of London” and ”Hallelujah” anyway...).

So… lots of love + have a most wonderful xmas-season + a groovy new year. See y’all again next year. New dice! Cheers!

+ the rest of the Rox bunch

K: Clarence himself told us he is not happy with quite a few songs that he has made in his career.
C: Yeah? Hehehe.
K: I'm wondering how a producer of a song can say this. Because he in the end gives the sound to the song.
C: This is actually a very good question!!
K: Yeah, so how could it happen. Is it about not having enough time?

K: Eurythmics?
C: Hehehehe, yeah, sure! I always thought that Roxette was a copy of Eurythmics.
K: Yes, so thought I!
C: A very obvious copy, hehe!
K: Yes, the singers looked similar, the concept was the same, the guy writing the songs and playing the guitar and the girl singing.
C: A very similar concept indeed, yeah!
K: Roxette, SOAP, Beatles I see here... almost no Swedish stuff, only English albums?
C: Yeah... there is very little Swedish music actually.
K: Why that?