Gyllene Tider – GT40 LIVE! is out!

Gyllene Tider’s farewell tour is now out on all streaming platforms! Listen to it on Spotify, iTunes or Deezer! After a week delay vs. the originally planned date, GT40 LIVE! is released digitally and on CD on 1st November. We still have to wait a bit for the double LP (out on 22nd November), but we can already enjoy all 28 songs played live during the tour. Amazing to have them all on the digital sites! HERE you can check the tracklists.

The songs on the album are mostly from Gothenburg. The whole Ullevi gig is on the record with its 23 songs and there are 5 additional tracks. 2 songs from the last GT album recorded at the 2nd Halmstad show, 1 song recorded in Linköping, 1 song in windy Malmö and the last track is from the soundcheck of the very last tour stop in Halmstad.

It’s fantastic to relive the complete Ullevi show and feel the energy of 7 amazing musicians on stage and 54340 people in the crowd. While listening, I’m in the mood to sing along and clap and dance. I close my eyes and the ”movie” plays. I suddenly remember the choreography during the songs, the looks, the crowd reactions, the laughs – you can even hear Per laughing here and there while singing –, all.

At some parts I have the feeling that the crowd’s sound could be louder on the album, because I remember how harmonious it was at the venue when the band and the audience became one. I could sometimes hear the crowd being louder than Per’s voice, but not in a disturbing way. Anyway, the mixing is nicely done and the crowd can still be heard on all songs. Singing and clapping along.

One of my personal favourites is Det kändes inte som maj. It rocked live and it’s awesome to have it recorded. Inside the song these 2 lines, Per’s tone of voice still makes me smile: ”jag bor i huset intill”, ”jag spelar bara musik”. Haha. But all the other rocking party songs and wonderful ballads sound fab.

There is not much talking recorded between the songs. Some thank you’s from Per and a tiny little part of Micke Syd’s speech before Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga! Just the parts that are also adding to the live feeling.

When I first saw the tracklists and realized När alla vännerna gått hem is not the last song on any of them I was wondering how it would sound, a few more tracks after the real closing song. Hey, it’s cool to have a bit more party after that beautiful ballad. Regarding the last song, Vill ha ett svar, why the soundcheck version and not the show opening version was included, no clue. But this way I can at least also relive the moments of the soundcheck that we watched from the top of the small hill outside Brottet in Halmstad.

Lovely memories!

So if you have a spare 2 hours, go ahead and party with the Golden Guys and Girls! Relive last summer! The last GT summer… Hopefully, on DVD soon too.

Order your physical copies HERE if you haven’t done so yet!

Gyllene Tider – GT40 LIVE!

Gyllene Tider will release a live recording of their farewell tour on gatefold CD and gatefold double vinyl LP, as well as digitally. The CD and digital version are out on 1st November, the LP is out on 22nd November. According to Per, the different physical and digital releases will contain different number of tracks. 20 tracks will be on the CD, 21 on the double vinyl LP and 28 tracks on digital download & streaming services. The different amount of songs is because the CD holds about 78 min of music, the LPs hold around 82 min, digital download & streaming are, of course, without any time limits. The CD and the LP’s got different tracks on them.

The majority of the songs were recorded at Ullevi in Gothenburg, but there are also songs from Halmstad, Malmö and Linköping, including a soundcheck.

CD tracklist

1. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
2. Juni, Juli, Augusti
3. Det hjärta som brinner
4. (Hon vill ha) Puls
5. Flickorna på TV2
6. Vandrar i ett sommarregn
7. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
8. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
9. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
10. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
11. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
12. Tylö Sun
13. Billy
14. Det är över nu
15. Gå & fiska!
16. När vi två blir en
17. Sommartider
18. När alla vännerna gått hem
19. Vanliga saker
20. Chrissie, hur mår du?

 

Vinyl tracklist

Side A:

1. Skicka ett vykort, älskling (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
2. Juni, Juli, Augusti (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
3. Det hjärta som brinner (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
4. (Hon vill ha) Puls (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
5. Vandrar i ett sommarregn (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)

Side B:

1. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
2. En sten vid en sjö i en skog (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
3. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
4. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
5. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
6. Tylö Sun (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)

Side C:

1. Billy (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
2. Det är över nu (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
3. Gå & fiska! (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
4. När vi två blir en (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)

Side D:

1. Sommartider (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
2. När alla vännerna gått hem (Live Ullevi 3 augusti 2019)
3. Vanliga saker (Live Halmstad 5 juli 2019)
4. Skrot och korn (Live Halmstad 5 juli 2019)
5. Chrissie, hur mår du? (Live Malmö 6 juli 2019)
6. Vill ha ett svar (Soundcheck Halmstad 10 augusti 2019)

 

Running order of the digital version

1. Skicka ett vykort, älskling (Live Ullevi)
2. Juni, Juli, Augusti (Live Ullevi)
3. Det hjärta som brinner (Live Ullevi)
4. (Hon vill ha) Puls (Live Ullevi)
5. Flickorna på TV2 (Live Ullevi)
6. Vandrar i ett sommarregn (Live Ullevi)
7. (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän (Live Ullevi)
8. Det kändes inte som maj (Live Ullevi)
9. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång (Live Ullevi)
10. Tuffa tider (för en drömmare) (Live Ullevi)
11. Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga! (Live Ullevi)
12. Kung av sand (Live Ullevi)
13. En sten vid en sjö i en skog (Live Ullevi)
14. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta (Live Ullevi)
15. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly (Live Ullevi)
16. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet (Live Ullevi)
17. Tylö Sun (Live Ullevi)
18. Billy (Live Ullevi)
19. Det är över nu (Live Ullevi)
20. Gå & fiska! (Live Ullevi)
21. När vi två blir en (Live Ullevi)
22. Sommartider (Live Ullevi)
23. När alla vännerna gått hem (Live Ullevi)
24. Vanliga saker (Live Halmstad 5 juli 2019)
25. Skrot och korn (Live Halmstad 5 juli 2019)
26. Marie i växeln (Live Linköping)
27. Chrissie, hur mår du? (Live Malmö)
28. Vill ha ett svar (Soundcheck Halmstad 10 aug 2019)

You can already pre-order the CD and LP at Ginza, Bengans and CDON. Probably more retailers will list the items soon. Pre-save the digital edition HERE. And don’t forget that a book is in the making! Now it has a release date, too: 15th November! You can pre-order it here or here. And hopefully, a DVD will also see the light of day soon!

Pic on the sleeve was taken by Patrícia Peres on 5th August 2019, Kalmar during Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång.

Spanish edition of Marie Fredriksson’s biography

Marie Fredriksson’s autobiography, Kärleken till livet was first published in Swedish in 2015, then in German in 2016 (Listen to my heart: Meine Liebe zum Leben) and in Czech in 2017 (Listen to my heart: Moje láska k životu). On 18th June 2019 the book was finally released in Spanish (Listen to my heart)! We are still badly missing an English version. Maybe one day…

You can order the Spanish edition HERE!

From what we know, in Argentina the Spanish version was released only as an e-book, so fans started a petition that you can sign HERE if you also want the book to be published physically in Argentina.

Longtime fan Bianca Martins Cappelletti took some pictures of the Spanish edition. Here you can see those pages that contain different photos vs. the Swedish version. Could be that these photos already appeared in the German and Czech versions, because I remember I saw at least some of these.

Per Gessle’s Roxette – Quotes + pics around Europe in 2018

When the Per Gessle’s Roxette tour ended in 2018, I wrote this as a closing thought in my last concert review: ”Now fingers crossed for a fat tour photo book full of beautiful pictures, a live CD and a DVD! AND an announcement of any PG-related tour in the not too far future! GT40, anyone?” Oh well… except for a live CD everything else is there to enjoy. Haha.

Per Gessle’s Roxette – Quotes + pics around Europe in 2018 is a photo book consisting of 144 pages which also includes the whole last show of the tour (in Gothenburg, Sweden) on DVD. Together with Anders Roos’ amazing pictures you’ll find interviews with Per and all band members. The edition is limited to 1000 copies, all of them signed by Per Gessle. The book comes in the size of an 7” inch single, 17 x 17 cm. Each book also holds a piece of the printing press plate which makes every book unique.

The book looks beautiful already on the outside. I like the color choice of it, as well as the Per photo appearing on the cover and hey, there is Mr. G’s signature too. It’s actually a box and inside you will find the book. The book’s binding is a bit strange. I’m not a pro in book binding, so I don’t know how this type of bindery is called, but it’s used creatively, the way Per Gessle’s Roxette is printed on it. On the cover of the book you can see another wonderful Per Gessle shot and on the back cover you can see the number of your limited edition copy. Your number / 1000. Don’t be surprised if you bump into an edition that has XXX/1000 written on the back. Some extra copies were printed above the 1000 limited edition for reviewers, give-aways to friends, etc. All those are marked by XXX/1000. The rest is divided among several resellers. So from the official resellers you will get a book with a number / 1000 upon order.

When I first got to know about what would be included in this limited edition goodie, I thought I might have misunderstood something. A piece of the printing press plate. I thought there would be a print-out pic, similarly to the RoXXXette On The Road’s Roxers edition, but it turned out I read it right. It’s indeed a piece of the printing press plate. Nice addition! It’s glued inside, under the cover. Be very careful when you open the book, because this part is sticked together with a velcro fastener. The DVD is in the back of the book and there you also have to be careful when opening it, because the same type of velcro fastener is used on the inside of the back cover too.

As the title says, the book contains quotes. Sven Lindström asked Per and all band members and they shared their thoughts on the tour, the preparations, song choices, the creative process and they also talked about how they had got asked by Per to join him on tour. This is first of all a photo book, so of course there are many pictures of Per and all band members, the crew, taken backstage, at the rehearsals, on stage, in town, in hotel lobbies, on the bus and other strange places. Anders Roos obviously had an all access pass, so he could follow the guys and girls anywhere. This is how we can now see fab photos of Per and Co. in places where we would otherwise never see them. 144 pages make the book thick, but one can flick through very quickly. I would happily flick through at least another 144 pages full of such great pics.

Do you remember? The first song on the setlist was The Look! When the DVD starts and I hear the intro, I suddenly want to be there again, in the front row and listening to those magical Roxette hits live. The DVD contains the complete last show (16th November 2018, Gothenburg). Complete gig is not really true though, because the talking parts are not in there, at least most of them. No band presentation either. It’s all focusing on the songs themselves.

I remember several concerts where Anders Roos was present, taking pictures and I saw him fixing cameras here and there and everywhere. Now one can check out all camera angles on the DVD. Cool thing! The whole vibe of the shot material helps to relive our memories. There are far-away recordings, close-ups, moves that turn into slow mo, as well as shaking camera during uptempo songs while Per is doing his trademark left leg stomping. Lovely to see the interactions between the band members and Per and how they all pay attention to each other. Hopefully, one day we can see them all again on tour with Mr. G.

A trailer is available for the DVD HERE!

The book is officially out on 1st July, but you can already pre-order it e.g. HERE or at Ginza or Bengans. Don’t wait until it’s all sold out!

Gyllene Tider’s last album is out!

Samma skrot och korn, Gyllene Tider’s 7th and last studio album is released today. The 43 min 43 sec long album is available on CD, standard black gatefold double LP and limited edition gatefold coloured double LP (Bengans, Ginza, CDON) and on all digital platforms: Spotify, iTunes, Deezer.

Tracklist

  1. Skrot och korn (3:03)
  2. Det kändes inte som maj (2:27)
  3. Jag drömde jag mötte Fluortanten (3:56)
  4. Någon att hålla i hand (2:42)
  5. Vid hennes sida (3:13)
  6. Aftonstjärna (3:12)
  7. Vanliga saker (3:01)
  8. Bjud till! (3:08)
  9. Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga! (3:54)
  10. Mannen med gitarr (3:15)
  11. Bara i en dröm (3:06)
  12. Henry har en plan på gång (3:06)
  13. Allt det andra (3:49)
  14. Final (1:51)

This is what Gyllene Tider told about the record:

We are terribly pleased with our very last album. Our ambition was to maintain our tireless love of pop music while the time has passed and we have grown older. It’s been 40 years since we started playing together. Everything has changed, but everything has also stood still in some strange way…

The guys can be very proud of what they have created. If it is really the end of their career as Gyllene Tider, this album is a fab last one. You can hear the unique GT sound as well as fresh melodies. You can dance along the uptempo and midtempo songs and get sentimental during the ballads. The Gessleish rhymes can’t be missing of course, there is a great dose of them.

While listening to the trumslagarpojke song I’m wondering why Micke Syd didn’t sing too often in GT. He sounds amazing! Helena Josefsson and Malin-My Wall provided backing vocals on Samma skrot och korn and they also sound great. Mr. G shows well his high and low voices. His vocals are powerful on the uptempo songs and soft on the ballads.

Göran’s Farfisa magic is outstanding, but you can hear several other instruments playing, including saxophone and trumpet too. MP’s guitar-playing and Anders on bass sound perfect too, not to mention Harplinge Ringo’s drumming.

By each and every re-play of the album you can discover new elements of the songs. A sound you didn’t hear before, a vocal addition you didn’t pay attention to for the first time you listened, an instrument that your ears couldn’t recognize until you heard the song for the third time. Those tiny little details that make the songs so enjoyable every time you listen. Hats off!

Samma skrot och korn cover (photos from Gyllene Tider’s archives)
Samma skrot och korn LP on the inside (photos by Anders Roos)