As simple as that ... it doesn't get better.

Well, here they are ... 13 golden greatest Roxette ballads (does it get better?), 2 new ones, and if you get a hand on the now not-so-available limited edition, 4 extra ones to make your day perfect.

As it aptly says in the inlay card, 'It Must Have Been Love' is "everybody's favourite Roxette track" - and no wonder. The ballads have in my oppinion always been the major force of Roxette (even though I do find their pop hits absolutely delighting, and wouldn't live without them!). And this CD contains a very impressive collection ... 'It Must Have Been Love', 'Listen To Your Heart', 'Fading Like A Flower', 'Spending My Time', 'Crash!Boom!Bang!', 'Wish I Could Fly', 'Anyone', 'Salvation' ... well well, I ought perhaps just list the complete set-list. And the two new songs are terrific! 'A Thing About You' might take a little time to grow on you, but the harmonies of Per's and Marie's voices on this one are marvelous. 'Breathe' more or less just blows you away, simple but lovely, what more could one ask?

As is always the case with compilation CDs, fans will complain about lack of completeness. This time I actually think they did a quite decent job in selecting the song, with one exception - '(Do You Get) Ecxited?' ought have been included - this was a major hit in Denmark I'm pretty sure, a video was shot for it, and it was one of the highlights of the Joyride album. And it is not because of lack of disc space, the CD runs for only 60-some minutes. Of course I have my own favorites I should have liked to see incluted - I could name a long list from the superb Have A Nice Day album, probably one of the most underrated pop-albums of all time (and easily Roxette's best). However, two tracks that were never released for single would have deserved two have been included, since these are among the very best Roxette songs of all times - these are 'Beautiful Things' from Have A Nice Day (I know I'm far from the only one rating this as the best Roxette song ever) and 'My World, My Love, My Life' from Roomservice, a ballad nearly as impressive as the before mentioned. Neither might have great radio-potential, but this really says nothing about the quality of the songs.

The bonus EP contains 4 songs of surprising quality - the songs get better from first to last. 'The Weight Of The World' is good, but the two last songs, 'See Me' and especially 'Everyday' are fantastic, actually comparable in quality to the songs on the real CD. Very nice surprise, as this kind of extra material is often of mediocre quality (as is in fact the case with the Pop Hits bonus EP, in my opinion).

All in all, there is only one thing to say: Don't cheat yourself of this one. If you go buy it tomorrow you'll regret you didn't buy it today.

Ballad Brilliance

Pity Roxette has faded from the public eye so much over the years since the mid-nineties, they've still got the knack.
A new album would have been preferable of course, but at least we get a few new songs.
I'm appreciating Roxette's ballads more then ever these days, and this CD is chock full of great ones.
My opinion on each of the songs:

1. A Thing About You:
Fairly low-key compared to most of the other tracks here, but an enjoyable return to the classic harmonies that made us fall in love with Roxette in the first place. 7.5/10

2. It Must Have Been Love
Impossible to dislike this classic ballad, but it's not my favourite Rox song despite what the booklet says.
My favourite part is definatly during the fade-out actually, when Gessle joins in the vocals. 8/10

3. Listen to Your Heart.
One of the most successful Roxette songs, but it's never inspired me as much as it does other fans.
It's a pretty good song, but overlong, and starting to sound dated. 7/10

4. Fading Like a Flower
Slam-bam rocking ballad that could easily fit on the pop hits compliation. Great guitars, and very catchy. 8/10

5. Spending my Time
Superb ballad, that hasn't aged much at all- should've been an even bigger hit then it was. 9/10

6. Queen of Rain
Elegant and atmospheric, this is a VERY underrated track. 8.5/10

7. Almost Unreal
The highlight for me in this song is the middle-8 with Per's 'It's a crazy world out there' vocals. 7.5/10

8. Crash! Boom! Bang!
A song of epic proportions, one that gets better with each listen. 9/10

9. Vulnerable
Mellow and sweet, there's a lot of people who aren't keen on this one - but I'm not one of them.
8/10

10. You Don't Understand Me
Goodish song, but not one of my favourites. 7/10

11. Wish I Could Fly
Epitome of a sweeping ballad, this glorious return should have brought Roxette back to superstardom. 10/10

12. Anyone
Unfortunely no one much cared for this song on it's original release however, and though according to the booklet it's 'gaining momentum,' it's not often on my play list. 5/10

13. Salvation
Back to form with a vengeance, this is one of my all-time favourites. 10/10

14. Milk and Toast and Honey
Pretty, Breezy track from the 'Room Service' album. 7.5/10

15. Breathe

This album closer is the second new song, and is very worthy to be on the same CD as all the other greats.
Ambient and indeed 'irresistable,' as Gessle tells us. 8/10

Bonus Trax:

1. The Weight of the World
I just start to get into this song when it finishes right out of the blue... Wierd, it's like Gessle got sick of it, and just stopped it half-way through, it clocks in at under three minutes. Oh well. 7/10

2. It Hurts
Sounds very much like a demo, but it's very listenable. 7/10

3. See Me
Wonderful ambient song in the vein of 'Breathe.'
It's often compared to Enya's work, but the melody is very Gessle (which is why I was a little surprised to find the music was written my Marie, the first of which on this 2 disk set). 8/10

4. Every Day
The second Marie composed track is an OK, but somewhat unremarkable way to end the disc. 7/10

I hope we do eventually see another Roxette album, but if not, then this and the 'Pop Hits' compilation aren't a bad way to call an end to the Joyride.

Masterpiece.

A masterpiece. If you love Pop ballads, you will love this collection of classics from Roxette