There are at least 17 different “The Looks” officially released already. More about that from Stevo later.

Thomas: So how is this any different? Well, apart from it being a totally new recording – a remake, Per, Clarence and Christoffer have finally brought in fresh blood. Not a day too soon if you ask me. The boys brought in are Addeboy vs. Cliff, or Andreas Broberger and Hannes Lindgren, known for among other things “Beep My Beep.” To be honest I’ve never heard of them, ever, but then again – I’m not an EDM fan, I like Roxette.  And they may be solid EDM gold for all I care.

Paul:  I quite like some EDM, but even I’ve never heard of them.

Kai: Not a huge EDM fan here, there are some collaborations I like. I tend to miss the D part of EDM in most of the songs, it’s sometimes too technical. Well, sometimes I fail to see the M, too.  But that’s just me getting old. Addeboy vs. Cliff? Never heard of before. Are they famous? Does it matter, actually? I checked out some of their songs and hey, they all sound the same to me!

Thomas: They have made the backing track – drums and bass – to this version of “The Look” and it does sound fresh. The rest of the instruments I assume are played by C&C. Interestingly enough I can’t hear a snare drum in the mix. At least not in the beginning. Maybe it’s hidden in the hand claps, yes that must be it!

Paul: Well, it’s certainly very different!  It’s strange hearing a song that we all know so well in a totally new light.  It makes me wonder how involved P&C&C were in the creation of the backing track.  Were Addeboy vs. Cliff given a brief, told to go away and come back when they came up with this?

Thomas: From what I understand not at all.

Paul:  Unlikely I know – we all know that Per likes to be in control, but I think that these new guys were given a lot more freedom to play around and explore new things when creating the backing track.

Kai: Doubt that Christoffer or Clarence would have come up with this style of remake themselves. On the other hand… well… nah… Good though that they are open for experiments like this.

Thomas: I love the vocals, both Per and Marie are at the top of their game. The vocals are a lot like the original track, but Per sings it a bit differently, with both of them adding some of that live vibe we’ve heard the last few years. Jonas Isacsson’s famous Beatles-inspired guitar hook is there, maybe a tad too overlooked for my taste, but it’s there. I have no way of checking the bpm but it feels like it’s about the same speed as the original. Very danceable and nice. Per’s spoken part is distorted, by the way. The song is the same length as the original – 3.56.

Paul:  Surely if the song is the same length, then the bpm is the same?!

Thomas: Yes likely.

Paul: Got to agree about the vocals though.  Per’s voice sounds great as always, but Marie sounds superb at the end of the track.  Her vocals sound almost the same as the original version and the addition of the live ‘ad-libs’ towards the end of the track add a little something to it.

Kai: I really like the fact that they recorded the vocals again, with all their years of live performance now giving the song more power. In some parts it sounds a bit staged, though. I also like the new guitars, yet I think they stopped half way to a really great rocky remake of the song. Due to the EDM layer it feels like the handbrake is still on. There is so much potential now with the live vocals, the better sound, the guitars and then they come up with a background track for a fashion show where models wiggle up and down the catwalk. Yes, it certainly is a product for a fashion chain and I understand why it sounds like it sounds. But still…

Thomas: If Cosmos (that’s right, no Warner) can get word about this single out, I’m pretty sure that it will get quite a lot of radio spins all over the world. I think it’s very radio friendly, as well as DJ friendly. Remixes? Surely coming up.

Kai: Remixes of a remake of a good song? Beware!

Thomas: The original “The Look” is an iconic song, which will be immortal, it’s not easy to remake that. So when I spin this for the umpteenth time all I can think is “Well done, Roxette!” If this is any indication of how the new album will sound, I can only bow my head. Stay out of that rut boys.

Paul:  Only the umpteenth time?  You need to catch up!  While this obviously isn’t a new song, it does whet the appetite for the new album out (Per’s) soon.  Does this new version surpass the original?  No, but it does speak volumes about Per’s talent as a songwriter and Marie’s amazing vocal talents and the fact that they have managed to breathe so much new life into a song that was originally written 28 years ago!

Kai: Agree fully that nothing can harm a great song.

The 7″ to be released end of August is limited, sort of, to a first pressing of 3,000 copies worldwide.

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