Just as Per Gessle likes to release every second of his solo albums in english, this second and last post in this series will be in the Brits native language. If I really liked the outings of Gessle in Gyllene Tider and Roxette then I more or less adore his music as a solo artist. Especially the albums from the 21st century. They are nothing short of magnificent. But more on that soon.
What many people perhaps don’t know is that Gessle actually wrote the Lena Philipson song Kärleken är evig which she performed for the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986. He has also written the beautiful Love Doesn’t Live Here that have been recorded by Belinda Carlisle and also The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye recorded by Thomas Anders from Modern Talking. Both songs have been recorded by Gessle and Roxette respectivly as well.
But if we start talking about him as a solo artist and the songs he released there is particulary two albums that I really, really (really) like; Mazarin from 2003 and the album that this blog series has gotten it’s name from, namely Son of a Plumber from 2005. There are particular songs on these two albums that is insanely good. If we start with Mazarin, where all songs are in Swedish, we first have the lovely Tycker om när Du tar på Mig and then there is the catchy Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång). Both really good but they are both surpassed by what is, according to me, probably the absolute best song he’s written, all categories; Om Du Bara Vill. The version that is absolutly best is this live one where much of the singing is done by the fantastic Helena Josefsson. The song is amazingly beautiful and probably my absolute favorite when it comes to songs in Swedish, which I normally don’t like at all. Songs in Swedish there is. If we move on to the Plumber album there is a couple of songs that stands out and one of them is the gorgeous Hey Mr. DJ (Won’t You Play Another Love Song) and another is the great Late, Later On. The song that I like most from the album is however I Like It Like That. A truly magnificent song that could be one of Gessles finest moments, right after Om Du Bara Vill that is.
So why have I been writing these posts about Gessle? Well, besides the fact that he is a brilliant musician and someone that truly deserves everything that is written about him it is because he has just released the first single from his new album En Vacker Natt; Småstadsprat. Here he collaborates with Lars Winnerbäck, an artist that is not one of my favorites exactly. However, I don’t dislike him as much as I did a couple of years ago but I still have issues listening to him. Just not my cup of tea. The single is OK, not more and not less. Sounds a little bit to much Winnerbäck in my ears but I can at the same time sense the Gessle touch so I can definetly listen to it. A nice song that is what it is but not a personal favorite. So with a video for this new song I will now end this tribute to the greatest musical artist we have in Sweden. Without competition. Hoped you’ve enjoyed the reading…