Roxette Pearls of PassionRoxette Pearls of Passion -- view a video or purchase a CD.
Let's get to the point; this is an outstanding 80s pop album, comfortably exceeding all of Roxette's later work. It has the Roxette trademarks of soaring tunes, harmonies and rhythm. However, what marks it out are the excellent 80s production values which make the whole album soft on the ear by ensuring each track receives deft strokes of the engineer's brush. It therefore has great subtlety (which is often lacking on later Roxette works) which help each track to provide hidden depths with repeated listening. The songwriting is consistently good (a Roxette trait if ever there was one) - Joy of a Toy, Neverending Love and I Call Your Name are all great rock/pop tracks. The standout is Call of the Wild which has such emotional depth that it ranks with It Must Have Been Love (an extra on the album). It's hard to believe some of the other reviewers' comments about some poor songwriting and implications of superficiality (bubblegum indeed...). Such accusations are a mile wide of the mark. This is a very serious pop album that ranks alongside the best works of the 80s whilst remaining individual and providing high quality from start to finish. If you are a Roxette fan you should definitely buy this. If you are an 80s pop fan then you have even more reason. It won't let you down. Review by Timothy Plumb
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