The World According to Gessle | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 May 1997 22 May 2003 (reissue) 14 May 2008 (remastered) | |||
Recorded | September 1996 – January 1997 Atlantis, Polar & EMI Studios Stockholm, Sweden | |||
Genre | Pop rock, power pop | |||
Length | 54 mins. | |||
Label | Fundamental, EMI | |||
Producer | Per Gessle, Michael Ilbert & Clarence Öfwerman | |||
Per Gessle chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from The World According to Gessle | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Aftonbladet | [2] |
Expressen | [3] |
The World According to Gessle is the third solo album by Swedish pop singer Per Gessle, released on 2 May 1997. It was his first solo album in English. The title is a paraphrase of "The World According to Garp" - the novel by John Irving. The album topped the Swedish Album Chart. [4]
"Do You Wanna Be My Baby?", "Kix" and "I Want You to Know" were released as singles. The videos for the singles were all directed by Jonas Åkerlund. At the end of the "Lay Down Your Arms" track, there is a hidden track. The track, an alternate version of "Kix" is called Cha-cha-cha, sung like Elvis Presley. The Japanese release of this album features the ballad "Love doesn't live here", [5] the song was also recorded by Belinda Carlisle, featured on her album A Woman and a Man .
Gessle used Brainpool and Gyllene Tider as backing musicians for the album.
The World According to Gessle was re-released on 22 2003 as a low budget edition in a cardboard sleeve, [6] and again re-released on 14 May 2008 as an anniversary edition. This time it was a double CD, with 26 bonus tracks. [5] [7]
Original release
All tracks are written by Per Gessle, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Stupid" | 3:31 |
2. | "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?" | 3:47 |
3. | "Saturday" | 3:54 |
4. | "Kix" | 4:08 |
5. | "I Want You to Know" | 3:57 |
6. | "Reporter" | 4:17 |
7. | "B-Any-1-U-Wanna-B" (Homage to Brian W.) | 3:56 |
8. | "Wish You the Best" | 4:51 |
9. | "Elvis in Germany (Let's Celebrate!)" | 4:10 |
10. | "T-T-T-Take It!" | 3:16 |
11. | "I'll Be Alright" | 3:50 |
12. | "There is My Baby" | 3:47 |
13. | "Lay Down Your Arms" (incl. ghost track "Kix-cha-cha") | 6:50 |
14. | "Love Doesn't Live Here" (Japan bonus track) | 4:44 |
2008 remastered re-release
All tracks are written by Gessle, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Stupid" | 3:31 |
2. | "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?" | 3:47 |
3. | "Saturday" | 3:54 |
4. | "Kix" | 4:08 |
5. | "I Want You to Know" | 3:57 |
6. | "Reporter" | 4:17 |
7. | "B-Any-1-U-Wanna-B" | 3:56 |
8. | "Wish You the Best" | 4:51 |
9. | "Elvis in Germany (Let's Celebrate!)" (Battery Studio Mix) | 4:10 |
10. | "T-T-T-Take It!" (Battery Studio Mix) | 3:16 |
11. | "I'll Be Alright" (Battery Studio Mix) | 3:50 |
12. | "There is My Baby" | 3:47 |
13. | "Lay Down Your Arms" | 4:19 |
14. | "Kix-cha-cha" (Ghost track) | 1:30 |
15. | "Love Doesn't Live Here" (Outtake from album; B-side to "Kix") | 4:44 |
16. | "Always Breaking My Heart" (B-side to "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?") | 3:08 |
17. | "I Wanna Be With You" (B-side to "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?") | 2:52 |
18. | "Blue Umbrella" (B-side "I Want You to Know") | 3:18 |
19. | "Jupiter Calling" (B-side "I Want You to Know") | 3:05 |
20. | "Let's Party!" (B-side "I Want You to Know") | 3:59 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "There Is My Baby" (27 June 1994) | 3:42 |
2. | "I'll Be Alright" (16 July 1994) | 3:46 |
3. | "June Afternoon" (17 July 1994) | 4:13 |
4. | "Writer" (17 July 1994) | 4:23 |
5. | "T-T-T-Take It!" (12 Sep 1994) | 3:12 |
6. | "Elvis in Germany" (2 Nov 1994) | 3:49 |
7. | "Every Day Outside My Window" (28 Dec 1995) | 4:00 |
8. | "Love Doesn't Live Here" (25 Feb 1996) | 4:16 |
9. | "Detective Jones" (29 Feb 1996) | 2:53 |
10. | "Beautiful Things, Terrible Things" (7 Apr 1996) | 4:12 |
11. | "Elvis in Deutschland" (26 Apr 1996) | 4:46 |
12. | "Makin' Love to You" (acoustic version, 9 June 1996) | 3:30 |
13. | "Lay Down Your Arms" (23 June 1996) | 4:36 |
14. | "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?" (12 Aug 1996) | 3:45 |
15. | "B-Any-1-U-Wanna-B" (24 Oct 1996) | 3:32 |
16. | "Stupid" (28 Oct 1996) | 3:40 |
17. | "Saturday" (2 Nov 1996) | 3:24 |
18. | "Drum" (2 Nov 1996) | 4:33 |
19. | "I Want You to Know" (28 Dec 1996) | 4:00 |
20. | "Kix" (2 Jan 1997) | 3:55 |
Chart | Peak position | Certification |
---|---|---|
Swedish Album Chart | 1 [8] 1997 | Gold [9] |
14 [8] 2008 re-release | ||
Crash! Boom! Bang! is the fifth studio album by Swedish pop rock duo Roxette, released on 11 April 1994 by EMI. The album was an immediate commercial success, peaking within the top 10 in over 20 national charts throughout Europe, Australasia and South America. The full-length album was not originally released in the United States, where a shortened version titled Favorites from Crash! Boom! Bang! was sold for a limited time through McDonald's outlets; this version sold over a million copies in the US but was deemed ineligible to chart on the Billboard 200 as, until 2007, Billboard had a policy of excluding albums sold by an exclusive retailer.
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.
Room Service is the seventh studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released worldwide from 2 April 2001. A planned release in the United States failed to materialise, as the duo's label there, Edel Records America, had been disbanded the previous month due to financial difficulties. Marie Fredriksson was not as involved in the album's production as she had been on previous records, taking part in the composition of just two songs. The album was remastered and reissued with bonus tracks in 2009.
Don't Bore Us - Get to the Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 30 October 1995 by EMI. The record contains the duo's four number ones from the US Billboard Hot 100 chart: "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride", and a further two which reached number two on the chart: "Dangerous" and "Fading Like a Flower ". It also includes four newly recorded tracks, three of which were released as singles: "You Don't Understand Me", "June Afternoon" and "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore". The album's title is based on a quote from Motown-founder Berry Gordy.
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.
Dance Passion is a remix album by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 27 March 1987 by EMI. It consists of remixed versions of tracks from their debut album, Pearls of Passion (1986). The album was only released on vinyl in select European territories, namely Sweden, Germany and Italy. It failed to chart in the latter countries, and sold just 27,000 copies in Sweden, peaking at number 19 and spending four weeks on the Swedish Albums Chart. It has never been reissued or pressed onto cassette or CD.
Rarities is a compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released from 10 February 1995 by EMI exclusively in Southeast Asia and South America. The record is composed of previously released b-sides, demos, single mixes and remixes, as well as several songs from the duo's 1993 performance for MTV Unplugged. As of 2001, the compilation has sold in excess of a million copies worldwide.
The Heartland Café is an album released by Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider on 17 February 1984. The group's first recorded foray into the English language, The Heartland Café was the second album to feature vocalist Marie Fredriksson singing back-up and proved to be a precursor to the Swedish super-duo Roxette, which consists of Fredriksson and Gyllene Tider's lead singer, Per Gessle. The album peaked at No. 18 on the Swedish albums chart.
"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).
"Fingertips '93", is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released as the third and final single from their fourth studio album, Tourism (1992), on 26 January 1993. The single was only released in a select few countries, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain, and charted moderately. The song would be given a wider release when it was issued as one of the B-sides on the duo's proceeding single, "Almost Unreal", which was released four months later in May 1993.
"She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is a song by Roxette, released as the third and final single from their greatest hits compilation Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits (1995). The song had originally been written and recorded for the duo's 1994 studio album Crash! Boom! Bang! but, according to Marie Fredriksson, that version "sounded really tired", and has yet to be released. It was later re-recorded in July 1995 with members of Per Gessle's former band Gyllene Tider. It is the only song in Roxette's discography to not be produced by Clarence Öfwerman. "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" was only released in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, also in Hungary, in the Czech Republic peaking at number 86 on the German Singles Chart. The single included two remixed versions of "The Look" as b-sides. Its music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
"Milk and Toast and Honey" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 September 2001 as the third and final single from their seventh studio album, Room Service (2001). It was the only single from the album to be released in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 89. The song performed better elsewhere, becoming the album's highest-charting single in Portugal, and Roxette's longest-charting single in several years in both Sweden and Switzerland.
"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.
Crash! Boom! Live! is the fourth concert film by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 19 September 1996 on VHS and LaserDisc formats by Picture Music International and EMI. It contains a shortened version of the duo's 14 January 1995 concert in the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa of the Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour, which saw the band performing to over one million people during its eighty-plus concerts throughout South Africa, Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America. According to the video's liner notes, attendance for this show was in excess of 52,000 people.
"C'mon"/"Jo-Anna Says" is a double A-side single released by Swedish musician Per Gessle as the first single from his Son of a Plumber album. Issued on 4 November 2005, the single was a top five hit on the Swedish Singles Chart, and was one of the best-selling singles of the year in the country. "C'mon" is a glam rock song, while music journalists compared "Jo-Anna Says" to the psychedelic pop work of The Beatles. The artwork for the cover was shot by Anton Corbijn.
The "Join the Joyride! World Tour" was the third concert tour by Swedish pop duo Roxette. Their first tour to incorporate dates outside of Scandinavia, it was launched in support of their third studio album, Joyride (1991), and saw the band playing a total of 100 shows throughout Europe, Australia and the Americas. Canadian rock band Glass Tiger supported Roxette on all European dates, while support on the Canadian and US dates was provided by fellow Canadian pop groups World on Edge and West End Girls.
Party Crasher Tour 2009 is a club European tour by Per Gessle in support of his studio solo album Party Crasher. The tour was held in Europe from 16 April, till 10 May 2009. Along with the songs from the aforementioned CD, Gessle and his band played tracks by Roxette and from Gessle's solo albums like The World According to Gessle, Son of a Plumber, etc.
Roxette XXX – The 30 Biggest Hits is the sixth greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 3 November 2014 by Roxette Recordings in conjunction with Parlophone and Warner Music Group.
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.