As expected now the full album, both CDs, have leaked to the Internet. According to TDR's sources the originating IP address is Swedish.

(Updated) - This weekend Roxette's forthcoming album Charm School leaked from French online store Qobuz which put up snippets of all songs from both CDs. Fans were fast and recorded them. Subsequently the snippets have been removed on EMI's request although the snippets are now all over YouTube and this reporter thinks that EMI is fighting a losing battle. Judging from the circa 30 second long snippets, fans are in for a treat!

Update: (Some different) snippets are now available on iTunes and JPC.

MILAN - Sergio Staffieri, a writer who contributes reviews to the Italian music site Accordo.it, was somehow able to listen to an advance copy of Charm School and has submitted what appears to be one of the very first reviews of Roxette's new album.  Our reporter Paulo Kaltenhauser provides this translation:

By Sergio Staffieri 

Roxette used to be for many years one of the best European pop rock groups, coming from Sweden and placing an epic song like “It Must Have Been Love” into the Pretty Woman soundtrack.

With time, the two (Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle) managed to find a balance and bring out all the components of their own style: the Beatlesian influences, the ballads mostly for female voice, the rock songs (Per Gessle, the main author, has always given space to his beloved instrument, even when he used to sing about loving the “sound of crashing guitars”) and curious pastiches bound more to the eighties both for sound and intention.

Between the early and the mid-nineties they came out with three albums (Joyride, Tourism [which I think is one of the best albums of that period] and Crash! Boom! Bang!) which definitely blessed them, and then – as often happens in these cases – they slowed down and took a break.

Today, ten years after the last album, Charm School is released (EMI). All of the songs are written by Per Gessle and show, it’s unavoidable, some good points together with some attempts  to be (ironically or not, we're not allowed to know) “à la page” or, on the other side, “retro”. There’s always the usual alternation of songs given to his and her voice, their choruses and the mix of the two voices outstanding still today. When Gessle doesn't incline to youthfulness or to pander (some sounds, some episodes like “Only when I Dream,” the electro-funky “She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio), or the closer “Sitting on Top of the World”), he proves once again to be one of the greatest rock assimilators and revisors, with enviable mimetic abilities.

Take as an example the first two songs: “Way Out” sung by him and “No One Makes It On Her Own,” where he looks to a Dylan's America through a George Harrison filter. The first one, starting with an acoustic mood – almost country – turns then more electric, with nice guitar sections. The second one, sung by her, again veined with country and with a piano, features a nice Harrisonian solo. Then there are the classic Roxette songs like “Speak To Me” and “I’m Glad You Called,” which has an acoustic rhythm a bit reminiscent of their classic “Crash! Boom! Bang!” …  the six-eight soul of “In My Own Way” and timeless pop songs like “Dream On,” with its twelve string and harpsicord … and a British-school jewel “After All” that show the true strength  of the duo: songs the stick inside your head and never come out.

This reporter was thrilled to see that "She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)" is listed in the "New & Noteworthy" section of iTunes in Australia when he logged onto the site today. Also here in Oz on bigpond.com/music you can buy the song as a gift and have it emailed to a friend… great way to spread the single!

LONDON - In a rather unique combination of both tech review and music review, CNET UK – a popular site that provides product reviews, software downloads, and tech news – published a review today of a Logitech product called Squeezebox that makes special mention of Roxette and the fact that they have a new single out!

"It's a good day for Swedish music," writes Rich Trenholm on the site's Crave blog. "Not only do Roxette have a new single out – it's called She's Got Nothing On But the Radio – but Spotify has a new main squeeze."

Then, at the end of the short review, he provides the lyrics to the chorus and invites his readers to sing along:

All together now: "She's got nothing on but the radio (Radio!) / It's a passion play / And like the break of day / She takes my breath away!" Ah Roxette, we have missed you.

CNET owns and operates many other leading entertainment, news and information sites. They have a large international footprint, particularly in the U.S. and China. 

You can read the entire Crave blog entry here. 

Editor's Note: By the way, it was a passion for both technology and Roxette – along with the ability to write well – that was the catalyst that caused our publisher, Visa Kopu, to launch The Daily Roxette so many years ago.  Seems like he and Mr. Trenholm have a lot in common! —LEO

Read more…

Radio ZET, the media partner of tonights New Year's eve event in Warsaw, will broadcast the show live. You can listen to the radio online or via an iPhone App as well. 

Unfortunately, there is no live stream of Polsat TV, the TV channel which is going to broadcast the show.

Tomasz Wysocki contributed to the article.

SÖDERHAMN - Roxette's own homepage, www.roxette.se, has gotten a long overdue and much needed overhaul. Head on over and take a look!

Amazon.de has published a snippet of Roxette's new single "She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)".

What she got she got to let somebody find it
– "Really?"
What she got is not for her to keep alone
– "Oh!"
Nobody’s got a clue if there is such a reason
–"Yea?"
Why she wanna play it o-on her own

She’s got nothing on but the radio
She’s a passion play
And like the break of day
She takes my breath away…

The Roxette iPhone app called Roxette Lyrics Studio is not offical or approved by Roxette and will therefore be removed from iTunes, says Per Gessle in a message to The Daily Roxette.

BYRON CENTER - The U.S. division of Amazon MP3 has Per Gessle's "Silly Really" available to download (for $0.99) with a release date of June 17, 2009 on Gessle's own Elevator Entertainment company.  No sign yet of the "Party Crasher" album, however.  Maybe this is a sign of more things to come for the U.S. market… at least when it comes to the digital realm?