Remembering Roxette and Marie Fredriksson: From 'It Must Have Been Love' to 'Joyride', here's a look at their greatest hits
Marie Fredriksson has passed away at age 61, leaving behind an indelible imprint on the pop industry.
Fredriksson was born in May 30, 1958, in Össjö, Sweden. Fredriksson, the youngest member of a family of five children, teamed up with Per Gessle to form the '80s sensational pop-duo Roxette in 1986. If one were to "listen to your heart" and try to decant out in description on the entire trophy set of hits that Roxette has pumped out, you could be reading for a long time! Instead, we take a roadtrip down the memories that Roxette has given us.
The Look - Watch here.
'The Look' was the duo's (Gessle) first international hit to number one in the US, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany and Switzerland – while peaking at number seven in the UK. The 1989 hit, with its synthesized string effects and multiple electric guitar grooves and fills, moves forward at a steady pace, and manages to pull off a catchy blend of both pop and rock of that era. The duo sing back and forth almost in a playful manner and harmonize beautifully at each climatic point of the song. This is a song that samples some of the best blending of male and female vocals over an electrically-inspired track with their voices seemingly echoing and harmonizing with the "electric" sound of the song. It is easy to go unnoticed, but this is one of Roxette's talents and it gave them a unique rich sound in the pop industry.
Listen to Your Heart - Watch here.
'Listen to Your Heart', a more sentimental piece from 1989, touched on a more balladic theme, with a slow and powerful tempo that revealed the versatile prowess of Roxette and tipped the scale from the super-catchy upbeat to intimate, saddening and emotional tones in an instant. Long sustained strings play in the background, along with a "tripping" style of the drumbeat, each snare drum hit resounds in sounds of inspiration in a tired world and the self-analysis that is required for it.
It Must Have Been Love - Watch here.
A feature on the soundtrack for the 1990 romantic comedy 'Pretty Woman,' 'It Must Have Been Love' became Roxette's third No. 1 and topped charts in Australia, Canada and Switzerland, and could quite easily be regarded by many as their best track. The song reaches for the gut and would have easily been on every teen's "breakup songs" list for a long time. With lyrics like "It must have been love, but it's over now. It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows", Fredriksson delivered powerful vocals, unafraid to tackle a more negative view on the subject of love.
Joyride - Watch here.
'Joyride' bounces us back on the upbeat. With the visuals of the music video including carnival, jamming guitars atop a roadtripping car and train tracks, the rhythm grooves into a driving energy on par with the roadtripping imagery of the video. The song was named after a comment by Paul McCartney on writing songs with John Lennon being likened to a long joyride.
Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave) - Watch here.
'Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)' experimented more on the pop-rock niche that Roxette had with crunchy guitar distortion and guitar solo fill-ins. The impressive ability to use slower tempos but hit hard with rock ingredients is highlighted in this song. The song starts with a sweet melody on the piano and quickly builds into a harder force of rock n' roll afflatus. The song was the second single from their third album 'Joyride' which landed them their final top 10 hit in the US.
Looking back at Roxette and their songs, one is reminded of the glorious era of music of the '80s and how Roxette is always at the frontline of musical warriors of our memory. The genre of rock was challenged with the notion of incorporating a symbiotic relationship with ballads and pop, and Roxette succeeded, highly, in a time where using female vocals as a lead in a rock band would be a difficult task. Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle have given us a treasure chest of hits with Roxette that we have played and re-played over the years.