release date: Apr. 11, 2007
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Göran Petersson, Sofia Karlsson, Jan Borges
label: Amigo Musik - nationality: Sweden
3rd studio album by Sofia Karlsson following two years after her acclaimed sophomore album Svarta ballader is her last studio album on the Amigo Musik label owned by Bonnier Music Group. The album follows closely the same recipe as her previous album, although, this has lyrics by various composers, and several of the selected songs are familiar Swedish folk songs interpreted by many other artists. It's also very much the same studio musicians as on the 2005 album; however, many of the songs here are live recordings at various locations.
The album fared even better than Svarta ballader and reached number #2 on the national albums chart list, though music critics generally were less positive in their reception. However, both album and Karlsson won several prizes after the release.
In my mind, this is even better than her 2005 album. There's a nice combo of more uptempo songs and quiet ballads, and perhaps other artists have made more than memorable interpretations of some of the songs (Cornelis Vreeswijk, Mikael Wiehe, Eva Dahlgren Joakim Thåström), but I really like the idea of the various lyrical sources and the musical skills and the artistic creativeness that have been put into the engagement of arranging these songs in such a way that it all makes one coherent whole. Don't (always) believe the critics - make your own choices.
This is a recommendable listen.
