Song: Do You Wanna Go The Whole Way? 
Album: Crash! Boom! Bang! 
Year: 1994 
Track: #11

Remember this one?

This one definitely qualifies as a Ghost Track. Rarely ever mentioned. No live performances that we know of and when you read the comments from the fans about what to play live, rarely do we see this one requested.

To be entirely upfront, this has never been a personal favorite – but the whole purpose of Ghost Tracks is not only to encourage debate but also to shine a light on a wide range of hidden songs, not necessarily indulge in the personal favorites. Having said that, it’s easy to see why some folks would love this song. Let’s take a closer look at it.

It’s got Marie doing her standard thing of singing to perfection. Per pops in for a bit. It’s got a very identifiable riff. And how about that grand string section? It’s got all the elements and definitely serves as an obvious “album” track.

The fierce intensity between that heavily pulsating electric guitar riff and the soaring, swirling string section give this song a powerful trademark, very intense… too intense? Too much happening in this one? This song doesn’t necessarily sound like a traditional Roxette power-ballad… perhaps because the preceding song on the album, “What’s She Like?,” makes much more sense… but perhaps that’s just me?

It would be interesting to hear Per do an acoustic re-visit of the song one day to re-discover the “nucleus” of the song, as Sven Lindström would put it.

It’s clear that the Crash! Boom! Bang! album had a very distinct sound; a more mature, rock orientated vibe which is why I’m guessing that an incredible track like “Crazy About You“ probably never made the album but “Do You Wanna Go The Whole Way?” did, which is real shame for “Crazy About You.”

Here’s what Per Gessle had to say about “Do You Wanna Go The Whole Way?”  in his book Songs, Sketches and Reflections – “…We had started the recordings for the Crash! Boom! Bang! album at Mayfair Studios in London in the spring of 1993 and I wrote this on the studio piano. Custom made for Marie…”

But then again, was this track really that forgotten? After all, it did feature on the ill-fated Favorites from Crash! Boom! Bang! release… but the less said about that project the better.

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?

“…Kick it in, kick it in slowly…”