LJUSDAL (Updated) - 090909 the Beatles remasters were released (by EMI), both in stereo and in mono, now EMI is releasing Roxette's entire (well…) album catalog remastered, albeit only in stereo… "The Rox Archives." Which is more anticipated I cannot say, but from what I can gather both the Beatles's and Roxette's albums are released in this new "eco friendly" packaging. Which is a fancier name for a high gloss gatefold paper sleeve. The albums look very spiffy, with a collection name on the former jewel case spine; "ROX ARCHIVES VOL. X. FILE UNDER POP" written in the style of an old plastic strip type labeler - all labels of the releases follow this pattern. All the albums have the same back sleeve. Do the albums come with a booklet? Yes they do, and they are indeed redone, however, they are not better, in fact they are very plain with just the lyrics and the odd photo. These are not collector's items as Per stated, and mind you they are also not priced as new releases. So, to recap: very very nice looking sleeves, quite disappointing booklets. But the music, you ask? Hey, I'm getting there!

First, let me present to you some graphs of "Neverending Love." The top one is the 1986 release, the middle is from 1997 and the bottom is the new 2009 release. As you can see the sound has gotten more compact for every release. But is this a good thing? There's no right answer to that question, some songs are better more compressed and some aren't. In my opinion, pop music generally doesn't suffer from this, as long is it's not overly compressed and/or distorted. What gets lost is the dynamic range.
We're using "Neverending Love" as an example here and the song is much much louder on the new release, but I feel that the song sounds better than before so it's not just louder.

Read more…

STOCKHOLM - Per has kindly delayed his trip to New York to meet with The Daily Roxette… Well, not really, it's actually his wife's stomach flu that keeps him from going, which is great (for us, not her!), since we can interview him instead! And this time around we've gotten the questions from the fans.

So Per, let's fire away: what can we expect from Roxette at the Proms? Did you find any new dimensions in the songs?
- First of all this is a great opportunity for Marie and myself to get back together again without trying to do a full-scale Roxette concert. At this point we'd like to take everything concerning Roxette step by step. Also, of course, it will be thrilling to perform some of our biggest songs (especially "Wish I Could Fly," "It Must Have Been Love" and "Listen to Your Heart") with a big orchestra & choir. Clarence's & Christoffer's arrangements are truly stunning. And the idea of having strings on "The Look" sounds very South Park to me. I love it.

Sounds nice. And how will you meet Marie's nowadays more limited mobility on stage?
- Well, like I said, we take everything step by step. Time will tell how much she wants to work the stage. I don't know yet. But I don't consider this to be a problem. Her voice and presence are still magical.

Any advice regarding fans' (un)realistic expectations?
- No. Enjoy the shows. We certainly will.

Is there a possibility to see all the Prom versions get released after the tour? - How about a full orchestral album, like Metallica's "S & M"?
- Hmpff… I'm sure there will be DVD:s released with our Prom-performances. Full orchestral album? Not on the agenda at the moment, no.

How will you spend your spare time on the road? Songwriting, business or simply relaxing?
- We're actually bringing a serious amount of equipment to Belgium & Holland to make some groundbreaking recordings in the hotel corridors… How about that?

Read more…

STOCKHOLM (Updated) - October 24 Swedish radio P4 will broadcast Per's concert from Cirkus this summer. The concert won't be broadcast in its entirety, however there will be an interview before.

Update: The tracklist has been compiled:

P4 tracklist, October 24, 20:00-21:00 CET.

1. Dressed For Success
2. The Party Pleaser
3. Wish I Could Fly
4. Stupid
5. I Have a Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends)
6. Listen To Your Heart
7. Do You Wanna Be My Baby?
8. Opportunity Nox
9. Doesn't Make Sense
10. Joyride
11. The Look
12. Hey Mr DJ (Won't You Play Another Love Song)
13. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone

(Updated) - As you know, Roxette is taking part in the Nokia Night of the Proms 2009 tour along with many other top artists. EMI Germany has released the full list of the NOTP concerts where Roxette will perform:

Belgium:

• October 23, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• October 24, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• October 25, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• October 28, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• October 29, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• October 30, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• October 31, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• November 4, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• November 6, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• November 7, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• November 10, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis
• November 11, 2009: Antwerp, Sportpaleis

The Netherlands:

• November 13, 2009: Arnhem, Gelredome
• November 14, 2009: Arnhem, Gelredome
• November 18, 2009: Rotterdam, Ahoy
• November 19, 2009: Rotterdam, Ahoy
• November 20, 2009: Rotterdam, Ahoy
• November 21, 2009: Rotterdam, Ahoy
• November 22, 2009: Rotterdam, Ahoy 

Germany:

• November 27, 2009: Hamburg, Color Line Arena
• November 28, 2009: Hamburg, Color Line Arena
• November 29, 2009: Berlin, O2 World
• December 1, 2009: Oberhausen, Arena
• December 2, 2009: Mannheim, SAP Arena
• December 3, 2009: Stuttgart, Schleyerhalle
• December 4, 2009: Frankfurt, Festhalle
• December 5, 2009: Frankfurt, Festhalle
• December 6, 2009: Frankfurt, Festhalle
• December 8, 2009: Erfurt, Messehalle
• December 10, 2009: Munich, Olympiahalle
• December 11, 2009: Munich, Olympiahalle
• December 12, 2009: Munich, Olympiahalle
• December 13, 2009: Munich, Olympiahalle
• December 15, 2009: Bremen, AWD Dome
• December 16, 2009: Hannover, TUI Arena
• December 17, 2009: Hannover, TUI Arena
• December 18, 2009: Cologne, Lanxessarena
• December 19, 2009: Cologne, Lanxessarena
• December 20, 2009: Dortmund, Westfalenhalle

Read more…

The charts show Tracks has been broadcast on Swedish Radio P3 weekly for 25 years. Kaj Kindvall has been the host of the show all the way from September 8, 1984. Tracks celebrated this milestone last weekend when the show aired its 999th episode.

For Roxette fans this is interesting because on the Tracks all-time chart, Roxette is at #3 when the listeners' votes are summed up. Per Gessle is at #87 and Gyllene Tider at #96. Marie Fredriksson did not make the Top 100.