The Golden Ratio | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 24 September 2010 | |||
Recorded | January 2009–June 2010 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:53 | |||
Label | Universal Music Group | |||
Ace of Base chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from The Golden Ratio | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The Golden Ratio is the fifth studio album by Swedish pop music group Ace of Base. It was recorded in early 2009 through mid-2010. It is the only album to feature two new vocalists: Clara Hagman and Julia Williamson. Production on this album initially began with former band member and lead vocalist, Jenny Berggren in which the resulting sessions were shelved.
The Golden Ratio marks the band's first album of completely new material since their 2002 album, Da Capo . The album entered the German album charts at number 20 and at number 100 in Switzerland.
The band have said of the album “The Golden Ratio” is the end result of three years of work in the studio for Ulf and Jonas. Their main challenge was to find what the Ace of Base sound would be in the second decade of the twenty-first century. After a year of experimenting, they realized they wanted to embrace and preserve the original Ace of Base sound and make it contemporary at the same time." [2] Following the release of the album, an acoustic version was in talks but never eventuated. [3]
The sole single released from the album was "All for You". The song was serviced to European radio stations in mid-July 2010, and was released as a single in digital and physical formats on September 10, 2010. The music video for the song was released on August 27, 2010.
"Mr. Replay" was released as the first promotional single from the album prior to its release and was the first Ace of Base release to feature Clara and Julia. The song appeared on a promotional DJ disc which was released in early July 2010. [4] [5] "Mr. Replay" was described as an "amalgamation of every song Ace of Base has ever recorded" and features guest vocals on verses by Lex Marshall. The song received mixed reviews from critics, who felt it was too similar to their previous material. [6] The song appears in a slightly different format on the album in comparison with the promotional release.
The title track from The Golden Ratio was planned as a future single in Sweden; however, it was only released promotionally and was the final release from the album. [7] [8] [9]
The Golden Ratio received mostly positive reviews from critics. Rock&Review gave the album a positive review, stating, "Sonically, The Golden Ratio is everything you expect in an Ace of Base album and it's quite hard to tell that Jonas Berggren's sisters are absent as the new vocalists do a great job of filling in where Malin and Jenny left off." [10]
ScandiPop also gave the album very high praise, saying "It’s a jaw droppingly good album. They’ve gone back to everything that made them so brilliant when they first started out in the early nineties." [11]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "All for You" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg, Jonas Saeed | The Sign [A] , Saeed | 3:38 |
2. | "Blah, Blah, Blah on the Radio" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:48 |
3. | "The Golden Ratio" | Berggren, Ekberg, Saeed | The Sign, Saeed | 3:47 |
4. | "Southern California" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Kasper Lindgren | 3:15 |
5. | "Told My Ma" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Henry Bergström, Ari Le Tennen | 3:50 |
6. | "Black Sea" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign | 3:42 |
7. | "One Day" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Harry Sommerdahl, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:02 |
8. | "Juliet" | Henry Bergström, Peter Bergström | Henry Bergström, The Sign, Harry Sommerdahl, Peter Bergström | 3:14 |
9. | "Precious" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:52 |
10. | "Vision in Blue" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | The Sign, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:56 |
11. | "Mr. Replay" (featuring Lex Marshall) | Berggren, Ekberg, Ari Lehtonen, D. Massy | The Sign, Ari Le Tennen, Magnus Vänttinen | 4:17 |
12. | "Who Am I" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, One Life Publishing | 3:05 |
13. | "Doreen" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Ari Le Tennen | 3:37 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "All for You (The Disco Boys Remix)" | Berggren, Ekberg | 6:02 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "All for You (Club Version)" | Berggren, Ekberg | 4:03 |
15. | "All for You (The Sign Dub Remix)" | Berggren, Ekberg | 4:42 |
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
German Albums Chart | 20 |
Swiss Albums Chart | 100 |
South Korean Album chart | 23 |
Billboard European Top 100 | 86 [13] |
Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group, formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg.
Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren is a Swedish singer-songwriter, best known as a former member of the pop music band Ace of Base. Having been interested and involved in music since her childhood, she formed the band in 1987, along with her sister Jenny, her brother Jonas and their friend Ulf Ekberg. Before forming Ace of Base, Malin sang in her church's choir. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Jonas Petter Berggren is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter and record producer, also known as Joker. He started writing songs when he was seven, and continues to write for the Swedish band Ace of Base, which he is a founding member of, as well as other bands. He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Bridge is the second album by Swedish pop music group Ace of Base. It was composed during 1994 and 1995, and released in Europe on 30 October 1995. It is the only Ace of Base album to feature sizable writing, production, vocal, and harmony contributions by all four band members.
Ulf Gunnar Ekberg, also known as Buddha, is a Swedish musician, best known as a founding member of the pop group Ace of Base, along with siblings Jonas Berggren, Linn Berggren and Jenny Berggren.
Jenny Cecilia Petrén,, professionally known as Jenny Berggren and Jenny from Ace of Base is a Swedish mezzo-soprano singer and former lead singer in the Swedish pop band Ace of Base. Since 1995, she has also been writing songs and performing solo. In 2010, she released her debut album My Story.
"The Sign" is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base from their first North American studio album, The Sign (1993), and their re-released debut studio album, Happy Nation (1992), titled Happy Nation . The song was released by Arista and Mega as a single in Europe on 1 November 1993 and the US on 14 December 1993. It was written by band member Jonas Berggren, who also produced the song with Denniz Pop and Douglas Carr. "The Sign" is a techno-reggae, Europop, and pop ballad with lyrics describing a couple contemplating the state of their relationship.
Cruel Summer is a 1998 album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, released as the band's third album in North America on 14 July 1998 and in Japan on 25 August 1998 by Arista Records. Flowers was the group's third album worldwide, but Arista Records decided to release a different version of the album in North America, Japan, and Latin America, retitled Cruel Summer. This version of the album featured the new track "Everytime It Rains" and many new versions of songs that were first featured on Flowers. As executive producer, Clive Davis enlisted collaborators including production team Cutfather & Joe and songwriter Billy Steinberg. While primarily a pop album, Cruel Summer explores the genres of euro disco, Motown, and dance.
Da Capo is the fourth studio album released by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was released in 2002 in Europe and Japan.
Originally written for Annie Lennox, "Everytime It Rains" is the fourth single released from Swedish band Ace of Base's album Flowers in the UK, featured on a re-release of the album. The song was written by Rick Nowels, Billy Steinberg and Maria Vidal. The single peaked at number 22 in the UK in April 1999.
"Lucky Love" is a 1995 song recorded by Swedish group Ace of Base. It is taken from their second album, The Bridge (1995). The song became their fifth worldwide single, and was the first single from the album to be released in Europe; the acoustic version of the song was the second single in the United States and Canada. "Lucky Love" also became the group's first number-one hit in Sweden and it also peaked at number-one in Finland. The single peaked within the top 10 in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Hungary, Israel, Spain, and Zimbabwe. The song's lyrics describes the feeling of being a teenager in love and never forgetting that feeling.
"Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" is a song by Swedish band Ace of Base, released as a single on 11 March 1996. It was the third single taken from the band's second album, The Bridge (1995). In Europe, the song peaked at number six in Hungary, number 12 in Denmark and number 17 in Finland. In the US, it reached number six on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. And in Canada, it peaked at number 53 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.
"All That She Wants" is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in Scandinavia in August 1992 by Mega Records as the second single from the group's first studio album, Happy Nation (1992), and in the following year, it was released as the first single from the 1993 album The Sign in North America. Produced by Denniz Pop with group members Jonas Berggren, and Ulf Ekberg, the drum beat was inspired by the Kayo song "Another Mother". Berggren and Ekberg also wrote the lyrics.
"Wheel of Fortune" is a song by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, released as their first single from the debut album, Happy Nation (1992). The song was first serviced to Danish radio in early 1992, through Mega Records, but failed to pick up much support. When re-promoted for a third time and released in stores on 29 June 1992, it entered the official Danish singles chart at number six, before later peaking at number two. It wasn't released elsewhere in Europe until 1993, following the success of their second single, "All That She Wants".
"Happy Nation" is a song recorded by Swedish group Ace of Base from their debut album with the same name (1992). It was first released in Scandinavia in December 1992 and later released twice in the UK. The first appearance was in October 1993, when it peaked at number 42, it reentered the chart twelve months later at number 40. "Happy Nation" reached number-one on the singles charts of Denmark, Finland, France and Israel in 1993 and 1994. Its music video was directed by Matt Broadley. In 2008, the song was remade by Ace of Base for a remix kit.
"Waiting for Magic" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group Ace of Base from their debut album, Happy Nation (1992). It was released in Scandinavia in April 1993 as the fourth single from the album. The song reached number one in Israel, and the top-10 in both Denmark and Finland. The original version of the song appears only on the original release of Happy Nation. On the album's re-release and The Sign (1993), it was replaced with its remix. No music video was produced for "Waiting for Magic", but it was promoted through a number of live performances, including one at the Miss Universe Denmark pageant.
"Living in Danger" is a song recorded by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in October 1994 by Arista and Mega as the seventh and final single from the group's debut album, Happy Nation and fourth single from their American debut release, The Sign (1993). Written by bandmembers Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg, the single peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in December 1994. On the US Cash Box Top 100, it peaked at number ten. The single later reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1995. Its music video was directed by Matt Broadley and filmed in Stockholm, Sweden. Ace of Base performed the song on the first ever MTV Europe Music Awards in Berlin, Germany in 1994. Q Magazine included "Living in Danger" in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" in 2003.
Clara Hagman, known professionally as Clara Mae, is a Swedish singer and songwriter currently signed to Big Beat and Atlantic Records. She has released two major label singles: "I'm Not Her" and "I Forgot". From 2009 to 2012, Mae was a member of the Swedish pop group Ace of Base. In 2016, she was featured on and co-wrote the Kream song "Taped Up Heart", which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
Hidden Gems is a 2015 compilation album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was released worldwide by Playground Music on March 6, 2015.
"Would You Believe" is the first single taken from Swedish pop group Ace of Base's compilation album Hidden Gems.