Massive Luxury Overdose | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 26, 1991 March 13, 1992 | |||
Genre | Pop, dance, euro house | |||
Label | Ton Son Ton Stockholm Records (1992) | |||
Producer | Alexander Bard, Anders Wollbeck, Per Adebratt, Emil Hellman, Ola Håkansson (also exec.), Anders Hansson, Tim Norell | |||
Army of Lovers chronology | ||||
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Singles from Massive Luxury Overdose | ||||
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Alternative Cover | ||||
![]() 1992 cover |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | (favorable) [3] |
Massive Luxury Overdose is the second studio album by the Swedish pop group Army of Lovers. The album was released in 1991,and the second version (called U.S. Edition) was released in 1992. The album contains the band's biggest hits,including "Obsession",and "Crucified",which was a #1 hit in 29 countries. [4] The original version of this album also includes three songs from their first album Disco Extravaganza (1990),which aren't included in the U.S. edition."
When La Camilla left the band in 1991,she was replaced by Michaela Dornonville de la Cour. For the second release in 1992,the band recorded four new songs and released the album under the same name but with a new cover,introducing Michaela.
Army of Lovers made their first tour in March 1992 and at that time the album had already sold over 500,000 copies. The tour began in Sweden,at High Chaparral in Kulltorp,and after several Swedish cities the tour continued throughout Europe. [5]
AllMusic editor Neil Raggett wrote,"Some album titles do nail it,and this is one of the prime candidates." "Crucified" was named the "most memorable number","a totally over-the-top disco anthem on all fronts". He also mentioned the "half-twinky,half-ominous" "Candyman Messiah" and "Say Goodbye to Babylon",which are "taking religious imagery and tweaking it for all it's worth". [1] David A. Keeps from Austin American Statesman felt the album is "audacious in its appropriations". He added;"We Stand United" is "a rote re-creation of Chic's classic disco","Say Goodbye to Babylon" "blends Theme from Midnight Express into massive hallelujah choruses suitable for Andrew Lloyd Webber","I Cross the Rubicon" has "a piano bass line [that] thunders beneath cymbals,horn crescendos,whispered male vocals and soul diva whoops","Walking With a Zombie" "fuses boulevardier accordion with an insistent Latin beat",and "Crucified" is "steeped in romantic and biblical imagery that suggests,in a typically broad camp stroke,that obsessive love is the most religious experience of all." [6]
American magazine Billboard constated that the "campy Swedish trio continues to reverently pilfer through '70s-era disco and '80s-style hi-NRG on this glittery sophomore outing." They highlighted the "bombastic" "Dynasty of Planet Chromada" and the "swin-vibed" "Say Goodbye to Babylon",and concluded,"Melodramatic dance/pop that should make acts like Pet Shop Boys green with envy." [7] NME said,"A great record,proper disco style dance music and packed full of cultural surprises." [3] Joe Brown from The Washington Post wrote that here,"the Army presents its unapologetic,exuberant Eurodisco as if house never happened." He felt that on tracks like "Crucified" and "Dynasty of Planet Chromada","the Army reveals a lyrical obsession with a millenarian-apocalyptic- sacrilege thang,and La Camilla's kitschy cooing includes imitations of Grace Jones and Debbie Harry." [8]
In Sweden,Massive Luxury Overdose sold about 70,000 copies,and worldwide the album sold at least 2 million copies. [9]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "We Stand United" | 3:44 |
2. | "Crucified" | 3:32 |
3. | "Candyman Messiah" | 3:24 |
4. | "Obsession" | 3:39 |
5. | "I Cross the Rubicon" | 4:01 |
6. | "Supernatural (1991 remix)" | 3:54 |
7. | "Ride the Bullet (1991 remix)" | 3:42 |
8. | "Say Goodbye to Babylon" | 4:26 |
9. | "Flying High" | 3:39 |
10. | "Walking with a Zombie" | 4:09 |
11. | "My Army of Lovers" | 3:27 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Dynasty of Planet Chromada" | 3:54 |
2. | "Crucified" | 3:32 |
3. | "Candyman Messiah" | 3:24 |
4. | "Obsession" | 3:39 |
5. | "We Stand United" | 3:44 |
6. | "Say Goodbye to Babylon" | 4:26 |
7. | "Ride the Bullet" | 3:27 |
8. | "The Particle Song" | 3:26 |
9. | "Someone Somewhere" | 3:18 |
10. | "I Cross the Rubicon" | 4:01 |
11. | "Flying High" | 3:39 |
12. | "Walking with a Zombie" | 4:09 |
13. | "Judgement Day" | 3:58 |
Chart (1991–92) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [10] | 126 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] | 7 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [12] | 28 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [13] | 13 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [14] | 9 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [15] | 21 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Sweden (GLF) [16] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard is a Swedish musician, author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, religious and political activist, and one of the founders of the Syntheist religious movement alongside his co-author Jan Söderqvist. Bard was a member of music band Army of Lovers.
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"Crucified" is a song by Swedish band Army of Lovers, released as the first single from their second album, Massive Luxury Overdose (1991), and the seventh single to be released by the band. It was released in May 1991, February–April 1992, and July 2013. The song was written by bandmembers Alexander Bard and Jean-Pierre Barda with Anders Wollbeck, and features Barda, Bard and La Camilla. It was successful in several European countries, including Belgium, where it reached the number-one, and Germany, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland, where it reached the top 10. In the United States, "Crucified" became a huge club hit and radio favorite, debuting at number six on the Billboard Dance singles chart and spending a total of 14 weeks in the top 20. The initial remixes available on the CD maxi and vinyl 12" maxi are by Nuzak. The track samples the drum break from James Brown's Funky Drummer.
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"Ride the Bullet" is a song recorded by Swedish Eurodance group Army of Lovers. It is written by group members Alexander Bard, Jean-Pierre Barda and Camilla Henemark with Emil Hellman and Anders Wollbeck, and was originally released on their debut album, Disco Extravaganza (1990). In 1991, the song was remixed and included on the group's second album, Massive Luxury Overdose (1991), and the US release of Disco Extravaganza titled Army of Lovers. A single was released both times, in 1990 and 1992.
Obsession is a song recorded by Swedish band Army of Lovers. It is one of their most well-known songs and scored chart success across Europe. Released in September 1991 as the second single from their second album, Massive Luxury Overdose (1991), it soared to the number-one position on both the radio and the dance charts in Sweden. It also peaked at number two on the Swedish singles chart, number four in Belgium, number seven in Austria and Germany, and number nine in Spain. The lyrics are written by Alexander Bard and Anders Wollbeck, and the song is in part inspired by Laurie Anderson's 1981 song, "O Superman". Primarily, the "ah ah" looped backing track.
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