Search - Josefin Nilsson :: Shapes

A Great Album

Gerald Kroeker | Portland OR USA | 03/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The artist is a former member of the group AINBUSK. This is her first solo album. All of the music has come from Benny and Bjorn (the two male members of ABBA) and they even play on some of the songs. The two best songs I like on this album are Midnight Dancer and Leave It To Love. The whole album is fantastic for ABBA lovers and also gives insight to the workings of Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulveaus, as they had just completed the musical CHESS before working with Josefin Nilsson. All of the selections are great and the songs High Hopes And Heartaches and Heaven And Hell were released as singles in Europe and had great sales numbers for the singles."

For Abba fans - and more

A. Griffiths | London | 10/04/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What a shame this album didn't get to a wider audience, but it seems to have been resigned to the files of " Benny and Bjorn's Abba Afterthoughts" which does it a disservice. I didn't know who Josefin Nilsson was before I was given this album as a gift, but she has a wonderful singing voice, strong and yet capable of the quietest understatement. She does a great job on all 10 songs here, each of which is written by Benny and Bjorn from Abba, and evidence of this pedigree is found both lyrically and musically on every track, which makes it the "missing" follow up to the album "The Visitors" in the eyes of some Abba fans ("We Won't Be Going Anywhere" sounds unmistakeably like that album's title track in places).

There are plenty of strong numbers here. The opening track "Surprise, Surprise" is in my view, the best on the album. A swaggering opening and chorus, interspaced with delicate, almost whispered verses make this an unusual and very catchy start. Sadly, it's followed by "Heaven and Hell", the weakest of all the tracks, and one that was released as a single to boot. I find this predictable and with very over-important production.

But the rest of the album is a joy. Benny and Bjorn write lyrics in ways that native English writers would never dream of doing, such as rhyming "No kiss, no touch and no surrender" with "And that was not on the agenda". They create little urban life-stories in a similar way as they did in the Abba single "The Day Before You Came", again, with lots of intricate wordplay. And they make a great job of creating moods such as in the track "Now You See Him, Now You Don''t", which sways seductively along, recalling the eastern promise present in the hit song "One Night in Bangkok". So maybe it is one for Abba fans, and yes it might be too similar to the final output of that group, but Josefin's voice makes for wonderful listening - and she's gorgeous too. Worth tracking down...it's pop music all right, but such that you can listen to and fool yourself just a little into believing that you are listening to something sublime."

A MIDAS-TOUCHED ALBUM FROM THE ABBA-SONGMEISTERS

S AARV | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA | 01/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Released in South Africa in 1992 this album was unfortunately [and misguidedly]ignored by many 'serious' music stations, despite its instantaneous adult contemporary pop-friendliness. Stand-out tracks are the ABBA-similes "We won't be going anywhere" and "Where the whales have ceased to sing". With synth-virtuoso Benny Anderson at the production helm and an array of sparkling adult pop-tunes to enjoy ["Now you see him, now you don't" and "High Hopes & Heartaches"] and a touch of the cautiously melodramatic ["Film I'd Like To See"] this album shines as a reminder of what brilliant songsmiths Anderson-Ulvaeus are. Ms. Nilsson's breathy voice is a welcome discovery for anyone tired of nowadays's often average new female pop voices, who without the right material invariably come off 2nd best. She effortlessly masters the highs and lows of "Heaven & Hell" [chosen as a single release, although not the catchiest song and a bit predictable] and her voice glides sensually across the soundscape that makes this album a must-have for anyone fond of well-executed adult contemporary pop."