Thinking back now, I realize how truly blessed I was to be coming of age and be able to buy my own records precisely in 1991. Sit back and reflect for a moment and I'm sure those of you who entered their teenage years around that time can recall a veritable barrage of amazing ambums from that particular year: Nirvana's Nevermind, Metallica's Black Album, Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion 1+2 & Michael Jackson's Dangerous (which spawned more singles than any album I can remember) and a host of Greatest-albums from artists like Queen, among others. And here in Denmark, where I'm from, rockers DAD released their pinnacle album, Riskin' It All. Now, alongside all of those there was a plucky duo (duette) from Sweden who were determined to claim their piece of the pie. They were & are Roxette and Joyride was the album with which they accomplished just that. My story with this record is like many you all can tell. I was visiting a friend and suddenly he says 'Hey I got something you should hear' and proceeds to put on Fading Like A Flower. I'm a sucker for power ballads, always will be, and needless to say I was hooked and sang it all the way home. So, inevitably, I bought the album (on Cassette, no less - I would switch to CD's the following year) thinking that if there was just a couple more songs as great as Fading on there I would like it. I started playing it...and then I found myself completely and helplessly unable to stop playing it! I simply fell in love with practically every single track on that damn thing - and now, 15 years later, I still get a kick out of putting it on. If THAT's not the definition of great music then I'll gladly admit that I've missed something. Yes, there are a couple of fun filler tracks but it's also very varied album and the percentage of great songs is nothing short of astounding! I would not hesitate to proclaim this one of the great pop records of all time. And in a way, I'm glad that Roxette decided to mature their sound after this. Because I honestly can't see how even they could have begun to try and top this...
So, in closing, if you're looking for a fun, energetic pop/rock album that features great songwriting to boot, then hunt this up. You shouldn't be dissapointed.

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I gave a recent spin to much of what I own in the Roxette catalog, after seeking to add a few of their songs to my digital device. In listening, I found that Roxette really are the binary opposite to the Eurythmics. There is so much light and brightness in the music, that even the songs with less-than-happy lyrical concepts like "Cry", 642-736 "Sleeping Single", and "Listen to Your Heart" feel more like reasons to be resilient rather than resignations to sadness. The album is time-stamped and there is no other time than the 000-076 mid-80's that would have allowed this kind of a production (even in the current Pro-Tools to infinity setups employed by many modern acts). Not to cop out entirely, but the highlights are the radio hits "The Look", JN0-303 "Dangerous", "Dressed for Success" and the album track "Half A Woman, Half A Shadow". If you lived in America anytime between 1988 and 1991 you have heard at least half of the album on the radio and Mtv. These days, the songs still make appearances on modern easy listening/adult contemporary radio, E22-280 and the original versions also can be found occasionally on the Muzak channels piped into grocery stores and shopping mall food courts. More than a few of their songs have made their way onto hits packages and compilations of the '80's, (not to mention Roxette's own retrospective, DON'T BORE US, GET TO THE CHORUS). If you like any of it, you'll like most of what you'll find here.