Inspelad live, dels på turné dels i Studio Decibel av Bengt Göran Staaf. Text och musik: Robert Broberg 1974-79. Stort tack till mina föräldrar, mina barn Emma, Ane och Oskar, min syster Louise, Eva, Agneta, Thèrése, alla i bandet, alla mina vänner, och ovänner, ja överhuvudtaget alla dom människor jag träffat, utan vars medverkan denna platta varit omöjlig.
ZERO
Circle O Zero on Uma N.E. 2 Juli 1979
Even the band's origins show that their later appearance was quite misleading; two heavy metal fanatics formed the group in October 1992 in Jonkoping, Sweden. Guitarist Peter Svensson met bassist Magnus Sveningsson in a hardcore group, though he had previously trained in music theory and jazz arranging. The two later grew tired of metal and decided to form a pop band with Nina Persson - an art-school friend who had never sung professionally - plus keyboard player Lars-Olof Johansson and drummer Bengt Lagerberg.
All five Cardigans moved into a small apartment in 1993 and began recording a demo tape, which entered the possession of producer Tore Johansson later that year. He liked what he heard and invited the group to record at his Malmo studio. Signed to the dance-oriented Stockholm label, the Cardigans released Emmerdale in May 1994. The single "Rise & Shine" became a hit on Swedish radio soon after the release of the LP, and a readers poll in Sweden's Slitz magazine voted Emmerdale the best album of 1994.
The Cardigans spent the last half of 1994 touring Europe and recording their second album.
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Review by John Bush
If any clue were needed to confirm a new direction for the Cardigans - that is, other than the music itself - it's the change of hair color for vocalist Nina Persson. Previously an icy blonde that approached white (best flaunted on the cover of Life), Persson's hair is now jet black, a color that matches her confessional mood and conflicted feelings about love on the Swedish group's fifth studio album. Produced by Per Sunding (career-long collaborator Tore Johansson left after an initial session), Long Gone Before Daylight is understated and well-designed, a musicians' record, one that sounds more like an MTV Unplugged session than the high-energy chamber pop of their early recordings. Unfortunately, it's also over-produced to within an inch of its artistic life, and lacks the quality songs and exquisite productions that the group had made a hallmark. Persson composed all the lyrics, rewriting the Spector standard "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" into "And Then You Kissed Me" (sample lyric: "Baby you hit me/Yeah, you punched me right in the heart/And then you kissed me...and then you hit me"). Guitarist Peter Svensson took care of all the music, relying on familiar pop archetypes but forswearing the catchy hooks in favor of carefully constructed songs. Still, the Cardigans don't have enough musical personality on their own to carry these songs; they've always been a surprisingly workmanlike band - their performances here are sympathetic and intricate - but they simply can't rise above this subpar material.
Anmärkning: [Stockholm 20 mars, utg april 1948. Även på Tono SSP 3015.]
Originaltitel: Now is the hour
Anmärkning: [Stockholm 20 mars, utg april 1948. Även på Tono SSP 3015.]
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