Bag Of Trix: Music From The Roxette Vaults

While more aimed at the true fan of the Swedish duo, there is lots here for the casual listener to enjoy as well. In all, 29 of the 47 tracks were previously unreleased and the rarities include four songs recorded at Abbey Road studios on Nov. 15, 1995, Spanish versions of four of their biggest hits and two songs sung in Swedish.Roxette consisted of vocalist/keyboardist Marie Fredriksson and vocalist/guitarist Per Gessle. For most songs, Gessle wrote the music and then Fredriksson came up with the lyrics, although Fredriksson also wrote songs on her own. The duo formed in 1986 and lasted until Fredriksson’s death from brain cancer on Dec. 9, 2019 at age 61. In the 16-page booklet, Gessle writes a paragraph about the genesis of each song or how the recording came to be.Roxette released 10 albums, with “Look Sharp!” (1988), their second album, being their big breakthrough, followed by the equally successful “Joyride” (1991). The duo went on to have 19 songs make the U.K. Top 40 and a dozen singles in the U.S. Billboard Top 100, including chart-toppers “The Look,” “Listen to Your Heart,” “Joyride” and “It Must Have Been Love,” with the latter song featured in the film “Pretty Woman” (1990).In this collection, both “The Look” and “Listen to Your Heart” are included in acoustic versions from the Abbey Road sessions, along with their “You Don’t Understand Me” and a cover of The Beatles’ “Help!” The Spanish versions include an unreleased “Tu No Me Comprendes” (“You Don’t Understand Me”), as well as versions of “Anyone,” “Salvation” and “Wish I Could Fly.”Among the unreleased material, the outtake “Let Your Heart Dance with Me” (2016) is very nice. Also good are the demo of “Like Lovers Do” (1986), originally intended for a Gessle solo album; the demo of the never-before-released “Happy Together”; the original demo versions of “Hotblooded” (acoustic) and “The Centre of the Heart” (slower); a semi-unplugged live version of “Wish I Could Fly”; a remixed version of the unreleased “Piece of Cake” (the last song they recorded together; it features nice synthesizer); and a version of “I Was So Lucky (The Golden Blow)” with soprano sax. In all there are 25 demo versions. The set is well worth tracking down. Other releases are in the planning stage.

If you're looking for the songs you are used to from the radio, I'd recommend looking around for "The 30 Biggest Hits XXX". Instead, on this album you'll find alternate versions of the hits that maybe didn't quite make the cut for whatever reason, or were early demos.You get a very different look at this iconic Sweedish duo, and a very good listen and the late Marie Fredrickson's voice that perhaps isn't so apparent in the "popular" versions we hear elsewhere. If you want a deep dive into the breadth of what this pair produced, this is a great window into their work.

It's become trendy in pop culture for the entertainment industry to mock or hate on their fans, but once again Per Gessle shows his appreciation for his fans by giving them what they want. This is a great package for any type of fan: it has new tracks, long-forgotten polished remixes, and strange items for ardent Roxette nerds like established tracks recorded in their original Swedish. Plus, it's big: 47 tracks big.In many ways it is similar in concept to The Per Gessle Archives, but that archive is better suited to hardcore fans since it is nothing but demos and many are very raw. Bag of Trix is far more polished and many listeners may be completely unaware that many tracks are demos.As for the tracks, "Dance With Me" sadly feels like what it was never intended to be: a farewell from Marie who died in 2019. I also thoroughly enjoyed the "Big L" demo. Like the other demo in the Gessle Archives, this one also seems superior to the official version on the Joyride album.Many diehard fans will notice that most of these oddball tracks were released on b-sides over the years, but this is a much easier collection to grab.

Music and songs were a plus Collecting music by Roxett for a long time and this was their collections of hits

A must for any Roxette fan. Good value for the number of tracks here.

I love it! Delivery fast! I enjoyed every song!

Excellent

This CD the look and listen to your heart is recorded not good don't buy

recomendo a todos

Great collection of rarities and demos good purchase

Una joya llena de nostalgia...

A great bag of trix a must for Roxette fan.

Esto es una joya más de Roxette, desde que publicaron Tourism, uno de los mejores discos de la historia de la música para mí, han sabido cohabitar con canciones de estudio, en directo y Demos. Este trabajo es un imprescindible para todo fan de Roxette y un regalazo por parte de Per a todos nosotros, que no tiene precio, desde la primera canción del primer CD hasta la última del CD 3 te emocionan y no puedes evitar sentir como se te pone el bello de punta y la piel de gallina a cada rato, esto es algo que hay que oir y vivir para poder entenderlo porqué no hay palabras para describir esto.