STOCKHOLM - I put the advance-listening CD that TDR was provided in the player and out pours "Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)". I'm stunned, this song will absolutely kill all competition on every radio chart in Sweden this summer! A Swedish "country" song, if there ever was such a thing! And when I've heard it for the tenth time, I'm all smiles. I move on to "Om du bara vill", a mid-tempo song in the "Chrissie, hur mår du?" genre, very lovely vocals.

  "På promenad genom stan" features Marie Fredriksson on background vocals. The lyrics seem to be about when Per first met his wife, Åsa, and about them strolling through an empty Halmstad. Another mid-tempo number with a sha-la-la chorus that can very well be a hit. To me "Gungar" has a Kent-feeling, but people I've asked don't hear that. A very simple mid-tempo song that grows and grows on you. A bit 70-ish sound. (Which really saturates the whole part of the album I've heard.)

  "Idag är det är min födelsedag…" ("It's my birthday today") Per sings in "Födelsedag", a rocker reminiscent of Roxette's "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" or Gyllene Tider's "Faller ner på knä", I like this song! I continue with "Tycker om när du tar på mej", a ballad that reminds me of the songs on "The World According to…" with a cute flute (keyboard?) intro.

  "Spegelboll" - what can I say? This is Kylie Minogue, Gyllene Tider, Per Gessle and Pet Shop Boys all combined. If this isn't single #2 I will personally visit Capitol and have a talk with them. This is a power disco rocker complete with a glockenspiel, and all! A guaranteed hit!

  What strikes me over and over again is how happy Per sounds, even if the lyrics are of the sadder kind, like in "Här kommer…", he still sounds truly happy. I assume the recording sessions were fun. His voice is also wonderful on this album.

  If the rest of the album is as good as these seven songs, there is no doubt in my mind that this album will sell more than a few copies… I understand the problems they had to pick a single.