Gessle does it again
Ethan Straffin | Palo Alto, CA USA | 03/23/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you haven't discovered Sweden's greatest modern musical treasure by now, it's unlikely that you're going to do so by means of this uber-expensive, Swedish-language import. Seems like Gessle's pretty much given up on us here in the States.
It's entirely our loss."
THE GREAT PER HÅKAN GESSLE
Patuzzi Luca | verona, italy | 03/18/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"ANOTHER GREAT DISC FROM PER.....
FOR THE ONES WHO DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HIM, HE IS THE GREATEST SWEDISH MUSICIAN EVER....HE RECORDED HIS FIRST ALBUM, TOGETHER WITH HIS HISTORICAL SWEDISH GROUP "GYLLENE TIDER" IN 1979!!!!
IN THOSE FARAWAY YEARS, UNTIL 1982, THEY PUBLISHED THE ALBUMS "GYLLENE TIDER", "PULS", "MODERNA TIDER" AND "THE HEARTLAND CAFE", THEN THE GROUP SPLIT IN 1984 WHILE THE FIRST PER'S SOLO ALBUM CAME OUT (CALLED "SCENER")....ANYWAY THE GROUP REUNITED FEW YEARS AGO, PUBLISHING NEW ALBUMS SINCE THEN....
IN 1984 PER WAS ANYWAY GOING ON WITH HIS MUSIC, BUT IN THE MEANWHILE HE MET MARIE FREDRIKSSON: THE TWO CAME OUT WITH THEIR FIRST GREAT ALBUM "PEARLS OF PASSION" AS ROXETTE IN 1986......
.......
PER HAS CREATED SO FAR, TOTALLY ALONE OR CO-WORKING WITH THE ARTISTS HE WORKED WITH, HUNDREDS OF TRACKS (MANY OF THEM ARE NOT KNOWN TO THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE) IN DIFFERENT MUSIC STYLES....
I MANAGED TO ATTEND 2 ROXETTE CONCERTS THROUGHOUT YEARS, IN INNSBRUCK THEY BOTH....BUT NONE OF THE GYLLENE TIDER CONCERTS.....
PER, OM DU SKA LÄSA DE HÄR ORD FORT ELLER SENARE, HÅLL I SINNET ATT DU ÄR DEN BÄSTA MUSIKER I VÄRLDEN, TILLSAMMANS MED ROBERT SMITH OCH JIM KERR/CHARLIE BURCHILL.........FORTSÄTTA SÅ HÄR!!!!!
LUCA"
Another Hidden Gem
Brandon J. Smith | Philadelphia, PA | 12/15/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is the great thing about downloading music: the availability of releases such as this at an affordable price. To import the cd version, it would cost over $40. Downloading it for under $10 is a beautiful thing.
This album has more in common with Mazarin (a personal favorite of mine) than with his last release, the excellent double album, Son of a Plumber. The most obvious similarity is that the songs are all sung in Swedish rather than English, but there's also a calmer, more accoustic sound present here. Which isn't to say that this is a bunch of slow folk-songs - there's plenty of upbeat tunes and pop song hooks. The overall tone of the record is nevertheless more laid back than Son of a Plumber or Gessle's work with Roxette, a confident collection of beautiful songs. Towards the end, I notice a similarity to late-'80s Fleetwood Mac (especially in "Signal"). Gessle's an amazing pop craftsman, and he doesn't get the credit he deserves here in America. Our loss.
It's a strange experience, especially at first, to listen to songs sung in Swedish, but music remains a universal language. So, even though I haven't a clue what he's saying, I still feel like I understand what these songs are about. With En Handig Man, Gessle's released another great album that pretty much no one in the US will ever even know exists. Thanks to affordable downloading, those who do can actually get it without breaking the bank."
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1