"Piece of Cake" | ||||
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Single by Roxette | ||||
from the album Bag of Trix | ||||
Released | 20 November 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2016 | |||
Length | 3:15 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | Per Gessle | |||
Producer(s) |
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Roxette singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Piece of Cake" on YouTube |
"Piece of Cake" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 20 November 2020 as the fourth single from their compilation album Bag of Trix . Originally recorded for their 2016 album Good Karma , it was the last song Per Gessle wrote for Roxette, and features the final vocal Marie Fredriksson recorded for the duo prior to her death in December 2019. A music video was created for the song, consisting of archive footage of the band on previous tours.
The track was originally recorded for Roxette's tenth studio album Good Karma in 2016; it was the last song Per Gessle wrote for Roxette, and contains the final vocal Marie Fredriksson recorded for Roxette prior to her death in December 2019. [1] Gessle said Good Karma "took forever to make, and by the end everyone was pretty exhausted so we never really got around to finishing ['Piece of Cake']". While compiling the Bag of Trix compilation, Gessle said he listened to the track and realised he had "all the pieces" needed to create a finalised version, saying: "All that's left to do is get a good mix." The song was mixed by Ronny Lahti, who also mixed Roxette's 2001 studio album Room Service . [2]
Gessle wrote about the song in the introductory prose of his 2014 book Songs, Sketches & Reflections: The English Part, saying the lyric is "quite typical of my way of writing English lyrics. Someone used that expression recently, and it stuck in my mind. That’s the way it’s worked for me ever since I started writing lyrics, and especially English lyrics. You catch words and phrases that probably get a partially different meaning for me than for someone with English as their native tongue." He described "Piece of Cake" as "an unusual title to work with, since it's pretty obvious. And since it means that something is dead easy, I will automatically focus on the opposite; I write the lyric about how hard everything is, but that thanks to one thing or the other it will become a 'piece of cake'." [3]
A music video was created for "Piece of Cake" using archive footage of the band on tour. [2] The video premiered on YouTube on 20 November, the same day a 3-track single was released digitally: this single featured their previous two singles, "Let Your Heart Dance with Me" and "Tú No Me Comprendes", as b-sides. [4] "Piece of Cake" was chosen as the 'Song of the Week' on Sveriges Radio P4. [5]
Polish website Interia commended Ronny Lahti's mix, saying he gave Room Service a "holiday lightness" while saying his participation on "Piece of Cake" resulted in a song which was "full of summer, sunshine and optimism, even if it was written during Marie's last days." [6] Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang gave the song a mixed review, describing it a track Roxette fans would both enjoy and dread, elaborating it was "the last song Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson recorded together. It is unfortunately a mess of misunderstood production and strange sounds that do not really belong anywhere. In many ways, it is akin to 'Stars'. That is, they tried to make something danceable and catchy at the same time." Their writer went on to compliment Fredriksson's vocals, but said that overall the song "sounds weaker than most would like to admit." [7]
Track 1 written by Per Gessle and Mats "MP" Persson; track 2 written by Gessle; track 3 written by Gessle, Desmond Child and Luis Gómez Escolar.
Credits adapted from Tidal. [8] [9] [10]
Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second album Look Sharp! Their third album Joyride, which was released in 1991, became just as successful as its predecessor. Roxette went on to achieve nineteen UK Top 40 hits and several US Hot 100 hits, including four US number-ones with "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "It Must Have Been Love", featured on the soundtrack of Pretty Woman, and "Joyride". Their other hits include "Dressed for Success", "Dangerous", and "Fading Like a Flower".
Have a Nice Day is the sixth studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released worldwide from 22 February 1999 by Roxette Recordings and EMI. Recorded over an 18-month period in studios in Sweden and Spain, the album was produced by Marie Fredriksson, Per Gessle, Clarence Öfwerman and Michael Ilbert, and was their first studio album since Crash! Boom! Bang! in 1994. The album was not released in the US, as the duo were no longer signed to a label there. A deluxe edition was released in Spanish-speaking territories and, in Arabian regions, the naked babies on the cover were digitally removed, due to religious concerns.
The Ballad Hits is the second greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 4 November 2002 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol Records. It was the first of a two-part series of "best of" albums released by the duo in quick succession, and was followed by The Pop Hits in March 2003. Two new songs were recorded specially for The Ballad Hits: lead single "A Thing About You" and "Breathe". The album was a commercial success upon release, and has been certified gold or platinum in a number of territories.
The Pop Hits is the third greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 24 March 2003 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol Records. It was the second in a two-part series of "best of" albums released by the duo in quick succession, and was preceded by The Ballad Hits in November 2002. The album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, although it did peak within the top twenty of various Scandinavian record charts. It was also certified gold in Brazil.
"Opportunity Nox" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 25 February 2003 as the lead single from the duo's third greatest hits compilation album, The Pop Hits (2003).
"You Don't Understand Me" is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. Written by Per Gessle with American composer Desmond Child, it was released as the lead single from the duo's first greatest hits compilation album, Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits (1995). The song was a hit in several European countries, reaching the top 20 in Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the duo's native Sweden. The song was also a hit in Germany where, despite peaking at number 44, it would spend over three months on the German Singles Chart.
"Neverending Love" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 8 July 1986 by EMI as their debut single. The track was originally written in Swedish by Per Gessle, as "Svarta glas", for recording artist Pernilla Wahlgren, who turned it down. However, she offered the song to her brother Niclas Wahlgren, who recorded his own version. The release of his single was cancelled at the request of EMI, when Gessle recorded an English version of the song with Marie Fredriksson.
"Milk and Toast and Honey" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 16 September 2001 as the third and final single from their seventh studio album, Room Service. It was also the only single from the album to be released in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 89. The song performed better elsewhere, particularly in Portuguese-speaking territories, becoming the album's highest-charting single on the Portuguese Singles Chart, and on the Brazilian Airplay Chart.
"A Thing About You" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 14 October 2002 as the lead single from the duo's second greatest hits compilation album, The Ballad Hits (2002). Their first release following vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis, the song charted in the top forty of numerous national record charts, including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan. The song received moderate airplay in the United Kingdom via BBC Radio 2, and remains their last single to enter the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 77. Its music video was directed by longtime collaborator Jonas Åkerlund.
"Real Sugar" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 18 June 2001 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Room Service. The single was not released in the United Kingdom.
Ballad & Pop Hits – The Complete Video Collection is the fourth music video compilation by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 17 November 2003 on DVD by Roxette Recordings and EMI. It features all of the music videos the duo recorded from 1987 to 2003 on one DVD, split into Ballad Hits and Pop Hits. It is a companion piece to the similarly-titled greatest hits compilation albums The Ballad Hits (2002) and The Pop Hits (2003).
Charm School is the eighth studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 11 February 2011 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol. It was their first studio album since 2001's Room Service, and their first since vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis in 2002. "She's Got Nothing On " preceded the album as its lead single, which became the duo's highest-peaking single in almost two decades in territories such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The song also entered Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart—making Roxette the only duo who appeared on that chart in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
"Speak to Me" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 18 April 2011 as the second commercial single from their eighth studio album, Charm School. The single version of the track was a remix created by Swedish producer Bassflow. The song was released internationally, excluding in Germany and Austria, where "Way Out" was released as the second and final single from the album. The track failed to appear on any international sales charts, although it peaked in the top twenty of Finland's Radiosoittolista chart, and also entered the Russian TopHit chart. The music video was directed by Mikael Sandberg.
"Way Out" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 June 2011 as the third and final commercial single from their eighth studio album, Charm School. The single was released solely in Germany and Austria, with their record label there opting to release another uptempo single, following the success of "She's Got Nothing On ". Elsewhere, a Bassflow remix of "Speak to Me" was released as the album's final commercial single. The song received generally positive reviews, and its music video was directed by Mikael Sandberg and Magnus Öhrlund.
Travelling: Songs from Studios, Stages, Hotelrooms & Other Strange Places is the ninth studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 23 March 2012 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol. It is a direct sequel to their 1992 album Tourism. Unlike that album, which was recorded in numerous locations all over the world during the "Join the Joyride! Tour", Travelling was primarily recorded in Swedish studios in-between legs of "The Neverending World Tour". The album also contains three live recordings and four studio re-recordings of older songs, two of which were previously unreleased.
Good Karma is the tenth and final studio album by Roxette, a Swedish pop rock duo consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. Released on 3 June 2016 by Roxette Recordings and Parlophone, it was the first and only album issued by the duo under an international recording contract signed with Parlophone's parent company Warner Music Group. The album was produced by Gessle alongside Christoffer Lundquist and Clarence Öfwerman, with co-production on several tracks by Addeboy vs. Cliff, among others.
"It Just Happens" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 8 April 2016 as the lead single from their tenth studio album, Good Karma. An electropop track, it was their first release under a new deal signed with Warner Music Group. The music video was directed by Tobias Leo Nordquist. Although the song was not as successful as the duo's previous lead singles on commercial charts, it performed well on numerous airplay charts; the track has been broadcast almost 15,000 times on radio in Russia.
"Why Don't You Bring Me Flowers?" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 4 November 2016 as the third and final single from their tenth studio album, Good Karma. Originally composed by Per Gessle as an uptempo song, the track was recorded as a ballad on the advice of vocalist Marie Fredriksson. For its single release, the song was remixed by Good Karma co-producers Addeboy vs. Cliff, who restored the original tempo. The original album version of the track received positive reviews, with several reviewers referring to it as one of the best ballads ever recorded by Roxette while noting its similarity to the work of Enya.
"Let Your Heart Dance with Me" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 2 October 2020 as the second single from their compilation album Bag of Trix. The song was written by Per Gessle, and contains vocals by Marie Fredriksson. The track was released on a limited edition gold-coloured 7" vinyl, which was limited to 1,500 copies worldwide and contained their previous single – a cover of the Beatles song "Help!", recorded live at Abbey Road Studios on 15 November 1995 – as the b-side. A music video was also released for the song, featuring previously unseen footage from both Gessle and Fredriksson's private archives.
Bag of Trix is the third box set compilation by Swedish pop duo Roxette. It was issued physically by Roxette Recordings and Parlophone on 11 December 2020, as a quadruple LP and triple CD set. The record consists of 47 tracks, 28 of which are previously unreleased, and features demos, alternate mixes, bonus tracks, live recordings and Spanish-language versions. Also included are several radio versions of singles, including Brian Malouf's CHR mix of "Joyride", which was the version predominantly played on US radio when the track peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1991.