Yet another post and a follow-up to my last entry, these are my 10 choices when it comes to uptempo, sing-a-long songs from one of Swedish pop's finest; despite their last few albums have been spotty, it is thus, the pairing's earlier success from the late 1980s that still reigns. It is still amazing to think of how remarkably triumphant Roxette has been, especially throughout the 1990s.
'The Look' (1988) - the song that literally broke the mould for the duo in both the United States and the UK, respectively, it became a #1 Smash in America. & it's still amazing and timeless.
''She's got the look, she's got the look, what in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue when everything I'll ever do for you and I go: ''la-la-la-la'', she's got the look''
'Dressed For Success' (1988) - The Look Sharp! album spawned two mega-hits Stateside: The Look and this one, Dressed For Success. This one didn't get as much airplay as The Look, It Must Have Been Love and Listen To Your Heart, and yet it still is yet another emphatic pop anthem from Roxette, nonetheless. Big vocals from Marie, as always and like so many of their great songs, this one never gets old. No matter how many times I hear it.
''I'm gonna get dressed for success, shaping me up for the big time, baby. Get dressed for success, shaping it up for your love, yeah, yeah, yeah''
'Fireworks' (1992) - this has a Beatles-ish, summery vibe to it, this is one of my personal favourites & hugely overlooked as well, although the remix version in the Roxette In the Mix (Magic Dance) megamix is even more glorious, I wished that version was released as a single instead of the original cut which is nice, but the dance beat makes it sound better
''Checkin' in, checkin' out, making love I like watching all your fireworks, I like it when I light those stars, just like fireworks in the sky''
'Run To You' (1995) - taken from Crash! Boom! Bang!, which was a hugely disappointing offering, altogether, this is one of 5 tracks that I enjoy listening to out of all the others, along with Sleeping In My Car, Vulnerable, Fireworks and Almost Unreal. The acoustic and orchestral feel Run To You gives off makes it sound so much unlike their older stuff, and still, it still remains infectious, catchy, melodic and terrific too
''I'm gonna run to you, I'm gonna come to you, I wanna find you, in everything that I do, I'm gonna run to you, I'm gonna count on you, I'm gonna follow, baby what else can I do?''
'Joyride' (1991) - Joyride is... so joyous, uplifting, there is a positive energy that brims with this song, whenever I hear it, and it's infectious too
''She says: ''hello, you fool, I love you, come on join the joyride, join the joyride'' ''
'(I Could Never) Give You Up' (1988) - should have been released as a single off the Look! Sharp! LP, this is a really good effort with a catchy chorus
''I could never give you up, the way you make my love shine. I could never give you up, the way you make my love shine''
'Dance Away' (1988) - they have performed this song live several times, but the studio production is still the best sounding version. It's a very underrated pop song of theirs which flew under the radar and didn't get as much airplay as many fans expected. Which is a pity because this is one of their far better uptempo songs on the Look! Sharp! LP
''I can see him dance away now, oh oh - oh oh oh''
'How Do You Do!' (1992) - the lead single from 'Tourism', it became a success in the charts in 1992; it was also covered by Trance act, Cascada in 2005, of whom is no stranger to making (questionable) dance covers of older pop songs
''How do you do, do you do, the things that you do. No one I know could ever keep up with you. How do you do! Did it ever make sense to you to say 'bye'? Bye, Bye?''
'Come Back Before You Leave' (1992) - a great uplifting, poppy track which was originally intended for 1991's Joyride, in the end, this one didn't make the cut and it ended up on the Tourism LP. Although in listening to it, I can see how this would have suited the Joyride LP, as the sound is very much similar to the remaining tracks on that album.
''Come back before you leave, I haven't got room for a broken heart. Come back before you leave, you shouldn't go at all, you shouldn't go at all''
'Dangerous' (1988) - this is one of those songs that is best suited when you are driving and humming along in your car or perhaps riding your motorbike. It is also one of the fewest instances where Marie's and Per's contrasting vocals and harmonies (hers being silky smooth and his being rugged & unconventional at times, - and I don't mean it in a negative way) sync well with each other
''Hold on tight, you know she's a little bit dangerous. She's got what it takes to make ends meet, the eyes of a lover that hits like heat, you know she's a little bit dangerous''
*Honourable mentions: Secrets That She Keeps (1986), The Centre Of The Heart (2001)
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