Roxette Album: “Room Service”

That is, perhaps, the best thing about Per Gessel's pop- it's casual and fun, but not disposable. I love the Roxette sound- vocals that soar and soothe, sweet melodies, and hard driving, crisp guitar. There is an attention to detail in this music that is reminiscent of Queen. Many Roxette songs are fine tapestries of guitar, vocals, percussion, strings, and synth- with very thoughtful placement of aural delights. Roxette songs are never boring. I have to add a line commending Per's ability to select phenomenally good-sounding instruments. I was happy to discover with this album that Roxette hasn't lost their wonderful sound. On my first listen through I wasn't very impressed. Room Service is not as bulletproof as Crash Boom Bang! (or Joyride), but it is at least as good as Have a Nice Day, which says a lot. There are several gems on this album- Real Sugar, Center of the Heart, Milk & Toast & Honey, and Make My Head Go Pop. No Time to Get Here is a deliciously simple balad with traditional hooks, however it doesn't compare to Spending My Time, or What's She Like? from previous albums. Jefferson was a big disappointment (IMHO) because it could have been a much better song. The music is excellent, but the lyrics didn't go far enough to match, so it seemes off-balance. I bought the Japanese import version of Room Service with "Entering Your Heart", which proved to be well worth the extra money. it's at least as solid as the best songs on this album, with a very typical Roxette feel. If you are a Roxette fan, you should definitely buy this album. If only they would tour the US one more time...

I love Roxette, and this album is no exception. It didn't surprise me at all, which is a good thing. It's more pop with the same two great voices, great melodies, dense production (dare I say ear candy?), and quirky lyrics.

The album opens with the upbeat "Real Sugar," with Per's even-toned, grainy voice launching into some fun lyrics: "Well, every hour I try to get somethin' done, out in the weekend when I'm just havin' some fun, I'm windin' up with none, just zeroes, no ones, just space with no air." Unfortunately, Marie's insistent high note on "I don't wanna climb the walls" later in the song gets repetitive. The combination of this with the song's energy assault is a bit much. However, this is literally the only blemish in the entire album, for me.

By the way, I'm listening with my Sennheiser HD590s :-)

Marie sings the lead on the energetic yet flowing "Centre of the Heart," which treats us to some of the trademark Marie-isms: if you're a Roxette fan, I'm sure you will agree with a smile when you hear the melody to "you wear them so well, those innocent eyes..." This song has a slowish clubbish beat, with typical strings in the background and harmonies you could chew, plus a nice hook in the chorus.

One of the nice things about Roxette is that, unlike some other groups (Collective Soul comes to mind) that are also hook-laden, one hook doesn't carry the song. There's one to get your feet tapping in the intro, there's one that comes back again and again in the synth/strings, and there's great melody in the singing, chorus and verse both. This is typical of Roxette.

"Milk and Toast and Honey" is slower and reminds me of "I Was So Lucky" from Have a Nice Day. If you're a dancer, you might like to know that it's a fantastic nightclub two... Marie takes the vocals on a nice "love works out right" song.

"Jefferson" opens with an acoustic guitar riff that lays down a beat for the rest of the song. Per sings about a boy that always got the shaft when everyone else got the mine. It's upbeat and a lot of fun, with a pulsing verse underlaid with meaty bass (think Rage Against the Machine) and a jump-and-headbang chorus.

Marie sings lead on the next three songs. "Little Girl" is not a show-stopper: it's about remembering a litle girl "I remember when she was mine." This is where the lyrics lose me; the music is good though, about the same energy level as "Milk". "Looking for Jane," the next song, is more on the energy of Jefferson, and in this one, the not-particularly-graspable lyrics aren't an issue, because the song is so singable. "Bringing Me Down To My Knees" is another great ballad, this one asking for love forever.

We then take a surprise trip to the energy zone with "Make My Head Go Bop," which should get everyone dancing. Per carries most of the vocal. The song opens with, and repeats, a dancy string hook, and the vocals make references to "Pleasant Valley Sunday," which is unexpected but works like a charm. There's a hilarious bridge in which there's an a capella poke at overly stuffy people: singing the title line in pseudo-serious "this singing is an art form" voices makes me grin.

"Try" is one of those great songs that lets Marie do her slow-dance stuff in fine form. "Fool" returns to the upbeat mode, and of course, fun lyrics: "I was alone, I told my mouth to shut up!" This is one of the really, really fun songs on the CD.

"It Takes You No Time To Get Here" is a surprise twist, opening with acoustic guitar and Per's voice singing "Why don't you take the rest of the day off / You do deserve a break / Follow that road, it ain't long..." this is the gist of the song. It's slower, with a solid backing, and Per treats us to a trip to the upper vocal registers. It's followed by "My World, My Love, My Life," which features Marie and Per both on a slower song that is pretty much a power song: slow ballad, power chords, power chord progressions. This is a great way to end the album.

Overall, a highly satisfying listening experience: upbeat enough, but enough slower material to let you settle into it very nicely. I'd recommend it to almost anyone except acoustic purists, and hey, I'm one of those too!

On vacation this past July in Europe, I noticed that Roxette had come out again with a new album. Not that anyone in the US would seem to care. No airplay anymore for this former chart-topping band of catchy melodies ("Joyride", "The Look") and sweeping ballads ("Crash Boom Bang").

Well, US audiences don't know what they're missing! The Swedish duo is back with a thoroughly enjoyable album. As tradition requires, the album starts off with a couple of up-tempo songs with killer hooks ("Real Suger" is perhaps the best track of all, although "Centre of the Heart" is great too, and what would YOU do when you find that your heart is a "Suburb of the Brain"? haha!) "Fool" is great too, as is "Make My Head Go Pop", which has some funky underlying synth beats to it.

I must admit I've never been a big fan of Roxette's arsenal of ballads. Thankfully, there are fewer of them on this album than usuanlly is the case. The last track "My World My Love My Life" is supposed to be a "meaningful" song, but frankly, it didn't do much for me. Regardless, despite the flaws, there are far enough good tracks on here. So what if US radio bypasses Roxette, you can buy it and make your own great radio sounds.

The Scandinavian powerpop duo is back in 2001 offerring...well, Room Service (pun intended!).

12 tracks of what the fans ordered. 12 tracks of unmistakable Roxette pop. 12 tracks that will once again stand the test of time.

Room Service, unlike the 1999 release Have a Nice Day, is more guitar orientated, one of the prerequisites of the fans. No wonder tracks like "Real Sugar" (the album opener and 2nd single), Looking for Jane, It takes you no time to get here (a definite Dawson's Creek soundtrack choice for the future), Jefferson and Fool are PACKED with the guitar production and sound that has been a trademark of theirs since the 80's.

The 1st single, "The Centre of the Heart (Is a suburb to the brain)" gives the impression of a dance orientated album, which is not the case. Some songs do include the right kind of thumping which all good dance tracks are made of, but with a twist: here we have the guitars bleeding as well. "Make my head go pop" will definitely sit right up there with club and radio classics like Madonna's "Ray of Light" and Alice DJ's "Better off Alone", mixing guitars with pop with drumloops. Awesome.

The ballads on the album are extraordinary! "Milk, toast and honey" has already been snatched up as the theme music for a Brazillian soap opera. A song that can be named in the same sentence as "It must have been love", "Listen to you heart" and "Wish I could fly".

Anyone for some Room Service?

I haven't listened to this album as much as the older ones. I think the bests are LOOK SHARP, CRASH BOOM BANG, TOURISM AND JOYRIDE. There are perhaps some more grown up songs on this album. Its a bit of a mixture. It doesn't have the emotional heartfelt ballads of previous albums that really make Roxette but it has more of bubblegum upbeat Rock that does also make Roxette. What is different about the other songs is that they are bit more about grown up sentiments which is nice I guess.

None of these songs really stand out as being the best Roxette ever but they are certainly not the worst either. Its kind of a middle album for me I guess. There could have been more of Per on this album. Not lyrically their best a bit superficial in places. But look out for Little Girl.

Real Suger is a catchy number, Ill give you that, the video is really cool with the muppets. A bit repetitive.

Centre of the Heart - Nice beat. Apparently reminscent of Savage Garden. Roxette came first though. Not the best lyrics ever.

Milk and Toast and Honey - A different kind of song for Roxette. A bit more grown up. Its hard to know whether or not I like this song.

Jefferson - I kinda like this one. Its kind of quirky and nostalgic and slightly dark. Like Cinnamon Street which is one of my all time faves. Someone said it was trying to copy Summer of 69. I don't know about that. Per can do nostalgia by himself I think.

Little Girl - This is one of the better songs on the album. A bit more grown up. Talking about the child within. In fact this song inspired me to write my own song called Little Boy. I like this one.

Looking for Jane - Catchy. I guess. Whose Jane.

Bringing Me Down to My Knees - Schmoozy ballad. Nice song. doesn't have the melancholy of some of their other songs. Maybe a bit cheesy

Make My Head Go Pop - bubblegummy. quirky. dancey. lyrics? "I feed the ducks with a bun only to find me in love with you" Per what were you thinking.

Try - Verse is good enough. Not so sure about the chorus. A bit lacklustre

Fool - good name for a song. But I found it a bit disappointing.

It takes you no time to get there - Now this is a nice song with Per at the helm. About driving out of town. Mature song.

My World My Love My Life - This is a nice enough song.

I don't know I guess the songs don't stand out as much earlier albums, the lyrics aren't as great, not as much heart, not as much depth, passion, are they trying to get too intellectual in their older years. I dunno. Perhaps there are different sentiments being expressed. Perhaps they have grown up, and have lost that childlike wonder and passion that earlier albums had. Perhaps they are trying too hard. All the same its still a nice enough album.