Song: (I Could Never) Give You Up
Album: Look Sharp!
Year: 1988
Track: #11

Could this song be the original Roxette Ghost Track? Think about it. Those who only bought cassette tapes in the late ’80s would have missed out on this track. Could this be the original “I Remember You”? Or we do we reserve the title of “Original Ghost Track” for the very first Roxette song that went missing; “Pearls of Passion”?

This song never made the vinyl version nor the cassette tape but it did feature on the CD installment of Look Sharp! But do we really miss it? Let’s be honest – it’s weak. Bit of a “nothing” song – definite filler. There’s a reason why it didn’t make the cut and does it really add that much to the Look Sharp! experience apart from a waiting game til the dramatic “Shadow of a Doubt” kicks in?

The problem with “(I Could Never) Give You Up” is that it has a generic feel, nothing that really grabs your attention. The Spanish guitar solo is kind of nice, but there’s not much else happening here. Or is there? Remember, this is all about opinions, so please feel free to disagree with me and resort to name calling in the comments section below.

A little while back, Per commented on this song on social media and had the following to say “…This was written for the LS-album but wasn’t included on the original LP! We had too many songs and this fell off the shelf! However, it was included on the CD-release. I have no big story to tell about this. It was written and demoed in the middle of so many songs at the time. Still have the demo somewhere. Probably on a cassette…”

But of course, this series of articles is about shining a spotlight on certain Roxette songs that never get a mention, it’s not necessarily a celebration of every song they’ve recorded nor is it about praising absolutely everything the band does.

Actually. Upon re-listening to it, the second verse has a nice feel. Even in their “middle of the road” songs, Team Rox still pull out some cute techniques. Like in the aforementioned second verse when Marie hops in and joins Per on “when you say you don’t want to be lonely“, really helps boost the song by adding a dash more energy and don’t you love when Per sings “…when you need all the time you can find…” and you hear that harmonizing “aaa-haaah” backing vocal? Every little bit helps I suppose.

Then again, when you scratch a little deeper, this song is probably not that hidden after all. Although it missed out on appearing on the Look Sharp! album on certain formats – it did play a critical back up role as B-side to a little Roxette ballad you may or may not have heard of called “Listen To Your Heart”. But it’s interesting, isn’t it? Do you ever wonder as a result of being a B-side on one of Roxette’s trademark hits, that people actually know this track more than we realize? I often wonder about this, for example, does the wider audience know “Paint”, “Silver Blue”, “Come Back Before You Leave” and this track because they all served as B-sides to Roxette’s biggest hits? Interesting thought.

In summary, this is definitely not eyeball stabbing bad, but unfortunately, it’s probably fair to say that this isn’t anything amazing either. Never played live. Never featured on any compilations. Rarely ever mentioned. Didn’t appear on the original LP release, this is without doubt one of Roxette’s most forgotten about songs… unless of course you were one of the millions who bought the “Listen To Your Heart” single… then that’s a completely different story.

Agree? Disagree?

“…I’ve followed the moon and a song…”

Thoughts from The Daily Roxette crew:

Paul: Sorry Stevo, I have to disagree with you on this.  I adore this song, always have.  The harmonizing is fantastic – both P&M sound great.  The Spanish guitar adds something different as well.  This track is sometimes played on my local radio station, even to this day. Random.

Thomas: Stevo, are you deaf? You like “Cadillac” but not this?? My god. This is an amazing track, and the acoustic guitar solo is just sublime. I’ve always loved it.