Per Gessle’s Top9 songs from the ’70s

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The fifth part of Per’s Swedish Radio podcast starts with Mr. G opening a bottle of water and Per says ”En flaska vatten” (”A Bottle of Water”) would be a great song title. Sven jokes it sounds like a late Gyllene Tider song. Badabam! Listen to the podcast or download it from HERE!

 

Per’s Top9 ’70s hits:

9. T. Rex – Metal Guru (1972)
8. The Allman Brothers Band – Midnight Rider (1970)
7. Joni Mitchell – River (1971)
6. Lobo – Me And You And A Dog Named Bo (1971)
5. Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way (1976)
4. Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (1978)
3. Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone (1978)
2. Mott the Hoople – All The Young Dudes (1972)
1. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Refugee (1979)

 

Per says the ’70s was a fantastic decade for music with so many genres and it was a decade that formed him a lot musically. He grew up on Tio i topp and on early ’70s music, then he himself started playing music in the middle of the ’70s and they started Gyllene Tider in 1977. Mr. G says everything started in the ’60s in the pop world, but in the ’70s even more things happened, including glam rock.

T. Rex is a fantastic band with a unique sound and a fab singer-songwriter-guitarist (Marc Bolan), according to Per. The Allman Brothers Band’s Midnight Rider is an incredibly catchy, awesome song, thinks Mr. G. Joni Mitchell is an obvious part of this Top9. Per listened to her and The Beatles the most during his life. Joni Mitchell’s singer-songwriter period from the ’60s until the mid ’70s was absolutely fantastic. Then she became a bit too jazzy and fusion for Per. She is the type of artist who other artists look up at and everyone loves her. Per mentions that during those times he started writing lyrics. He couldn’t play any instruments, but he had the melody in his head.

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Still is from the Warner Mexico video

For Sven, Lobo is a surprising choice by Per after Joni Mitchell. Mr. G says they had some songs that were damn good. They weren’t a one-hit wonder band, but a three-hit wonder band. Here Per googles Lobo and he realizes that lobo means wolf in Spanish. Then Sven mentions Los Lobos and Per says aaaah. (You learn something new each day.)

Fleetwood Mac’s studio album Rumours is a pop masterpiece according to Per. He chose a song off that album. Besides talking beautifully about the band, Mr. G also mentions all guys of his generation were in love with Stevie Nicks. From Buzzcocks Per chose a song that had a great effect on them in Gyllene Tider. He thinks Ever Fallen In Love is the best song of the British new wave era.

No. 3 is Blondie with Hanging On The Telephone. The song is a rocket, a magnificent hit according to Per. The album, Parallel Lines is a jukebox of hits, says Sven. Per says David Bowie meant incredibly lot to him and he chose a song written by Bowie as No. 2 on his Top9 list. It’s Mott the Hoople’s All The Young Dudes, which Per thinks is a terribly good song. Don’t miss out on Per’s reaction at the end of the song. 😉 He mentions sometimes it’s almost as much fun talking about music as listening to it. No. 1 on the list is Refugee by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Mr. G says when they started Gyllene Tider, they wanted to sound exactly like them. The band is extremely competent and Tom Petty is a fantastic singer and songwriter. Winning!

At the end of the podcast Sven says he hopes we liked the show, but if not, we can write to Per Gessle. Per says no, write to Sven instead. I guess we won’t write to anyone, but wait for next Thursday to hear the next part, right?

 

Thank you!

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roxette_in_drammen_02Roxette just announced that the upcoming summer tour has been cancelled.

Roxetteblog wants to send Marie Fredriksson a huge THANK YOU for all the great shows and many great tour memories.

If you feel up to joining us: We created a page where you can leave your messages for Marie.

The first ones will be delivered to Marie next week.

/ Roxette Blog Team (Kirsten, Patrícia, Sascha, Tomasz and Judith)

Per Gessle’s Top9 songs from the ’60s

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The fourth part of Per’s Swedish Radio podcast is about the ’60s, Per’s happy childhood. Mr. G and Sven among other things talk about their favourite tunes from the decade and how Per started collecting records by buying his first The Kinks LP from his brother who needed money for cigarette. Listen to the podcast or download it from HERE!

Per’s Top9 ’60s hits:

9. The Kinks – Days (1968)
8. The Monkees – Steppin’ Stone (1966)
7. Alma Cogan – Tennessee Waltz (1964)
6.  Small Faces – All Or Nothing (1966)
5. Bee Gees – To Love Somebody (1967)
4. Paul Revere & The Raiders – Kicks (1966)
3. Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood – Summer Wine (1967)
2. The Trashmen – Surfin’ Bird (1963)
1. The Beatles – Dizzy Miss Lizzy (1965)

Per loves The Kinks, they are a fantastic band, they did incomparable music. The Monkees did the best version of Steppin’ Stone. First time Mr. G heard the song, he got hooked. Tennessee Waltz is a country song and Alma Cogan did a great version of it, she has a fantastic voice, Per thinks. Here you can hear Mr. G using Google to find out some info about the song. All Or Nothing by Small Faces still sounds good today and the guitars in it are special, just like its whole sound. The Bee Gees did fantastic pop music, they have a great catalogue and among other songs of theirs, Per loves To Love Somebody. Mr. G’s copy of the single has Per Gessle written on the backside, because he lent his friends his vinyls, so it was good to state who they belonged to. Paul Revere & The Raiders is another fantastic band with great guitar riffs. Summer Wine is at the 3rd place on the list. It’s a real masterpiece, Per thinks. Nancy and Lee have awesome voices. The Trashmen’s Surfin’ Bird is No. 2. This song is one of the party songs on Mr. G’s mixed tape we love to dance to while waiting for a Roxette show to begin. The video to it on YouTube is irresistible, Mr. G says. The Beatles is the greatest band of the ’60s, so it’s obvious they are at No. 1 on Per’s Top9 list. Dizzy Miss Lizzy is an inspiring song, a masterpiece, one of the best songs of the ’60s.

 

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Still is from the Thank you! video posted on Roxette’s Facebook page.

One week left until the next podcast part is out.

 

It just happens – a review

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Roxette just released a new siIt Just Happensngle, “It Just Happens”, and we felt we had to write some words about the song. The release was very much anticipated by fans all over. To celebrate the release many fans decided to change their profile picture to a butterfly, sweet, isn’t it? Another surprise of the day: It Just Happens was #1 on iTunes Argentina today! All very exciting, it all just puts a big smile on your face.

And now let’s get to the single:

Judith: Some people say it happened with some Roxette songs in the past, that they had to listen to them a few times to really appreciate them and kinda fall in love with them. It happened to me this time around.

It wasn’t until I listened to the song totally focused, meaning with my high-quality ear phones, and concentrated on all the details and the lyrics that it went boom! It was the part with “It just happens / you don’t know what’s going on / if it’s new or if it’s been there since long / if it’s right or wrong / you fall in love” that gave me goose bumps and brought me back to some very special events in my life. For example, when I fell in love with my big love, or even back to the time when I listened to “The Look” for the first time in 1989. It just happens.

I hadn’t thought about the fact that sometimes it takes a few listenings to appreciate a song. I then started to think and realised it wasn’t the first time that I needed a few listenings to realise the depth and awesomeness of a song. I remembered it was the same with “Sleeping In My Car”. It was quite a different sound to Joyride or Tourism and I had to listen to it a few times till it captured me. Or “A Thing About You” to mention another example. And then I just realised this is one of the things that fascinates me about Roxette. Even though they stay true to their Roxette sound, there is always some new component in their music. And there is always the attention to perfection and those (what I call) playful sounds and details here and there that you only hear when you mindfully listen to the song a few times. And it is always the combination of music, lyrics, voices and those playful details that makes it magical.

Have you noticed that in choruses Per usually slightly changes the lyrics? (“Don’t underestimate, your heart is never late vs your heart can never wait) Or the way they pronounce/sing certain words? (the first “it just happens”, “just yesterday”) Or those little hidden sounds or clappings or drum beats that just happen once but that you know perfectly when they are in the song and are anticipating them? (one keyboard sound after the second “don’t undererstimate” in the chorus is not there in the first chorus, it sounds only again after “your heart can never wait”)…This is Roxette!! And Marie’s voice is amazing on this one!

Of course, the song reminds me of many other songs, and the more I listen to it, the more connections I find to other songs. That is the essence of Roxette. Typical Roxette with a touch of new.

A great appetiser for the upcoming album “Good Karma” on June 3rd!

Kirsten: Before I had heard the song for the first time, a friend already had sent me a message via WhatsApp telling me what she thinks about it – and I think it’s a bad way to be introduced to a song/film/album whatever by another one’s opinion. Especially when it isn’t the best.

I must add that I am really trying hard not to expect anything anymore Roxette-wise. The Travelling album has its gems, same goes for Charm School, but they aren’t my favourite Roxette albums. On the other hand I want Per and Marie of course to do and record what they want, what they feel up to – it’s what I am curious about. How do they sound, what do they want to tell me?

Another not so good thing was that I had read on The Daily Roxette that Per rated the song as a “power ballad” which was sung by Marie. So, when I listened to “It just happens” for the first time, I was of course disappointed twice, because his words had made expect me something – which I really tried to prevent hard. 1.) This isn’t a power ballad (to me), 2.) It is not sung by Marie. When I hear power ballad and “sung by Marie” I have songs like LTYH, IMHBL or SMT in my head – immediately. I can’t help it; it’s what I grew up with.

So, my first listening didn’t make me feel like 12 again. It was an “ok” song with “ok” lyrics. But nothing that blew my mind.

When I posted my opinion on my Facebook page, some other fans and I started to discuss the song very intensely (that’s what I love about this fandom, btw) and came to a funny conclusion. Somehow, “It just happens” sounded like a Coldplay song to us, “Paradise”, in this case. But since “Paradise” totally reminded me of “Wish I could fly” all I could write was: “Roxette sound like Coldplay who sound like Roxette” which basically means that Roxette sounds like Roxette. That’s the way it should be, right?

And the comparison to WICF isn’t the worst. But after three listenings, I thought that it sounds more like LTYH. So, when Marie starts to sing “It just happens… you fall in love” you could also easily sing “Listen to your heart… when he’s calling for you”.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t mind artists stealing from themselves. Every singer/songwriter does it often. I don’t care. I just noticed it. And in the end I want them to sound like themselves, this only works when they stay true to themselves.

About the song: I love the sound, it is powerful, it is full, I love the instruments, the arrangements, it sounds very modern and updated. Thanks for finally turning away from the 60’s George Harrison sound. I loved it for the time being, but we really had enough of it!

What confused me from the very first time I heard it was the structure. I couldn’t get my head around it and I still don’t. It seems that the highlight of the song isn’t at the end, but in the first third. There is no build-up. Have I ever heard something like this before? I don’t know. The middle 8 isn’t the introduction to a great outro with even more instruments or another strong chorus. It actually gets quieter towards the end and this surprises me every time I hear it.

I like the lyrics and we all know why they are kept “easy”. I love both vocals, even though I had not expected Per to sing at all. I would have loved it even more if we had gotten a bit more from Marie in the verses (but that’s just me, because I think that both voices fit together like paper and glue, fire and wood.. you get the idea..).

I don’t know anything about the music business or the reception of a new song, but I always find that it’s hard to sell a song that doesn’t work from the first second at the first listening on. Something must set free in the listeners’ brain or soul.. if it doesn’t happen, they will never buy the song. I don’t know about “It just happens”. Maybe it’s a classical radio song that needs a lot of airplay to climb the charts. “She’s got nothing on (but the radio)” did it and this was a song I really only loved when I heard it live for the first time. Man, live this was a killer!

And I really would love to hear “It just happens” live, too. Just because Roxette are one of the best live bands at the moment. They simply rock and some of this rock couldn’t hurt their songs either.

So, long text… all in all I think it’s a good song with a catchy melody. For me, the last single that really flashed me was “Wish I could fly” and “It just happens” doesn’t change it. (But I didn’t expect that anyway. Just keep on singing together, Per and Marie!).

Interview with Per Gessle about the new Roxette album

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Ruutu (Finland) did a lovely and interesting telephone interview with Per Gessle yesterday. Listen to it HERE! It will play after 1-2 ads.

Per says It Just Happens was one of the first songs they started to work with for the new album. It’s a classic Roxette midtempo song, it’s some sort of a power ballad. They wanted to update their sound while keeping the classic Roxette sound. They decided quite early to bring fresh blood into the production side, so they started working with different producers. Some of them they used, some of them they got rid of very quickly.

The reporter asks Per if It Just Happens is his attitude for life and if he believes in destiny. Per replies most things in life that change you just happen. Like falling in love or situations that take you to different directions. You can’t really plan anything, it just happens. So in the end, he believes there is some sort of destiny.

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Still is from the Warner Music Argentina video

About Good Karma, the title of the new album Per says he had the song, Good Karma. He thinks it’s a positive thing and sums up Roxette’s special history. They had all the success, then came all the disaster when Marie got ill in 2002, then they did their 2009 comeback against all odds.

We want to make a positive statement with this album. There is a certain positiveness around the whole album.

Per says about his personality that he likes to have his antennas out and if there is something attractive to him, he uses it.

Going with the flow is just a great expression of how I live my life. Of course, you have to have your fundamental rules in life, but you have to be open-minded, curious. Especially when you’re getting older and especially in a business like the music business. It’s crucial to be aware of what’s going on, listen to new stuff. Otherwise everything is going to be the same and the same and the same and the same and I hate that, you know.

The reporter asks Mr. G if he still gets excited or even nervous when they release new stuff. Per says he doesn’t really get nervous, but he is always very curious about the reception. He is very much aware of the music industry. They still work in the Top40 format and it’s almost impossible for bands and artists like them being that old to get across, because pop music is always about today. It’s music for younger people. At the same time he finds it challenging to improve their sound or update his style of writing. He is not the one who can judge the end result.

Sometimes I say to myself, hey Per, you’re only just beginning. Everything is in front of you. And I think it’s a great attitude. I think it works.

According to Mr. G, the worst thing you can do is to close the door to new technology, new sounds. There is so much going on in the art world, not only in music, but photography, television, movies and social media for that matter that wasn’t on when he was a kid.

I thinks it’s crucial to be part of today and not only to be part of yesterday, because you’re getting old.

They talk about playing in Jyväskylä, Finland on 18th June and the reporter asks Per if he has any special memories from Finland or the Finnish audience. It’s always been great concerts there, so they are really looking forward to play at this place which he count pronounce. He asked just bring the sunshine for the outdoor show.

Thanks, Ruutu for the great interview!