Josefin Nilsson was raised on a farm near the town of village När
on the Swedish island of Gotland. Her father, like Agnetha's father,
produced local shows in which both she and older sister Marie performed. Her
love and involvement in music appears to have been lifelong. She moved
to Stockholm at 16 to train in music, but found the formal study of music
less satisfying than actual performance. Thus, she dropped out, and
funneled her musical energies back into her work with the Ainbusk Singers,
friends all from Gotland.
In an Aftonbladet interview in 1997 she acknowledged, as Benny Andersson
has acknowledged from time to time, mild regret for not having learned to
read music. Musicality nonetheless finds its way.
Benny produced her 1993 album, Shapes
, on his Mono Music label. It was recorded at Polar Studios.
Benny and Björn wrote the songs. One therefore expects it to be melodious,
and it does not disappoint. But IMHO, this CD also vindicates Björn
as a lyricist. It was released in the U.S. in 1997, by Sony through its
Epic label. Hopefully, this album is still available in the U.S. It is nothing
short of wonderful. I have two copies, just in case.
Eavesdrop on the following exchange, posted to ABBAmail:
Robert Diaz:
At first I was skeptical, but
after really listening to this CD, it is PURE ABBA. My favorite is WHEN
THE WHALES HAVE CEASED TO SING. Listen to this one, and feel the ABBA essence
pour out of this great song. It makes you stop, take a deep breath, and
live...
- Pablo Berroteraan:
You're SO expressive, Robert!
I also swim in the essence that is clearly ABBA when I play this CD! It
contains many great songs that it makes it difficult for me to pick out 1
favorite - I love it all! My only question is: why hasn't this album been
released sooner than it has in the U.S.?!?
As to the many strong cuts on this CD, I will make a few of my
own comments:
- High Hopes and Heartaches is a strong lyric which shows off
the strength of Nilsson's voice.
- Surprise, Surprise, the first cut, is perfect soft pop,
with masterful musical and lyric hooks. In using the phrase "defenses down",
Björn has (inadvertently?) linked it to Under Attack.
- The Film I'd Like to See reprises the probable theme of
the video to The Day Before You Came, and showcases the range and
gravelly texture of Josefin's voice. This is my personal favorite cut
Martin Courcy, in a post to ABBAmail, provided this review:
There are several songs I like
very much on this cd (Heaven and Hell, High hopes and heartaches and "The
film...) My first comment though, would state that it sounds a little
out of date; production wise. I know I'll get flames for this but I
think that it should have included more live instruments and less synth sequencing
and programmation.Even in 1992-93, that kind of production was getting dated.I
also think that ABBA did get the best results using real players and instruments(Knowing
me...The winner...SOS...)Don't get me wrong here, I really like the album(Benny
is still my favorite songwriter) but I think it could have been even better
that way.
Benny has, of course, also worked with Josefin when producing the first
Ainbusk
album. Listeners who love Shapes, or are
otherwise eager to sample more of Josefin, should also consider the later
Ainbusk
albums, in both of which she sings the majority of leads. At her
best, Josefin is sensual and sinewy, but there is some tendency to get merely
husky, a female Joe Cocker lunging at notes rather than hitting them. I
adore it.
Josefin has just opened (Februay 23, 2002)
in the new Swedish production of the B&B musical Chess, at Stockholm's
Cirkus theater. In the review in Aftonbladet, Jens Peterson writes:
Josefin Nilsson är väldigt känslosam som
den ryske schackspelarens lämnade hustru, och spelar den inledande talscenen
på temperamentsfull gotländska.
ABBA stalwart Claes Davidsson translates:
Josefin Nilsson is very emotional
as the Russian chess player's abandoned wife, and plays the opening
speech scene in temperamental "gotländska" .
"Gotländska" is the Swedish dialect spoken on Josefin's home
island. In my own efforts to learn Swedish, I was once warned by a
friendly citizen of Gothenburg that I shouldn't listen too hard to the spoken
parts on the Ainbusk Singers' album, as it was not "proper" Swedish.
Learn more about Josefin at her website.
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