Right at midnight CET, The Per Gessle Archives – Demos & Other Fun Stuff!, Vol. 1 became available on Spotify. That meant no sleep at all! And not only to me. My neighbours will surely kill me one day (if I’m not killed by Per’s voice by then)… Yeah, you could guess it, I’m in love with this stuff!
Started listening to the songs one by one and I got breathless already by the first track. Don’t want to reveal what song it (or part of it) became later, because it’s an amazing thing, listening to such a demo for the first time without knowing any background to it. Awesomeness! Goosebumps all over me!
Always loved how Per can leave a song alone for years, even for more than a decade and then suddenly take the demo out of his drawer, come up with new ideas to it and oh-la-la, a new song is born. He is talking about it in details in the Conversations with Sven Lindström. I could really listen to him talking about songs and songwriting 24/7.
Per says regarding the release:
I’m a big demo fan myself … and I know there are so many people out there – hardcore Roxette fans and Per Gessle fans – who are really interested in my work. I just thought it was a nice thing to release for those guys.
The conversations are just like what we are used to anytime there is an interview / discussion involving Mr G and Sven. Good mood, friends talking to each other with the same enthusiasm about music. Lots of fun, smiles and laughs.
It’s fab to hear that Per is still planning to release an acoustic album in the future. Not the first time he mentions it and I trust he will really come out with such a record. That will be a glorious day.
In the first volume we get many Gessleish lyrics and melodies, as well as tremendous amount of details about where, when, how or even why the demos were recorded. It’s also cool to have this mix of English and Swedish demos.
Per says regarding the project that there is ”no stone unturned”. He is so wrong! There ARE stones unturned, but he is doing it so right. He gives us so much, but there is still something left to be longing for. After this project he could do a ”1st version demos” compilation album. He surely knows that after listening to the 3rd or any other numbered version demos we are just too curious about how they sounded for the very first time. Anyway, we can only be grateful for this wonderful gift from him. Still 10 volumes are waiting for us! Woohoo!
Enjoy listening to the first volume and don’t forget that Vol. 2 is out in a week on Spotify! iTunes will have it from 2nd June.
