Magnus Carlsson's first post Alcazar english album

After a self-named solo album in swedish in 2006 and a swedish/english christmas album the same year, Spår I Snön, ex Alcazar (and former Barbados) singer Magnus Carlsson has finally released his first album in english. Named after his entry of this year MelodiFestivalen, Live Forever, it includes the A-Ha inspired single version as well as an accoustic one and 11 other disco pop gemms. THIS song should have gone to Eurovision's night instead of The Ark's one and sure 2008's party would then have been in Stockholm! This tune was Take on me Part II, vamped up for 2007 and with some Magnus' incredible vocal performance. Magnus even recorded this song in french (and spanish) on the CD single and although it suffered of some translation (its title J'ai vivrai is ungrammatical and should have been Je vivrai), like previous Alcazar's french version of Here I am, his french singing is charming and I'd be ready, more than willing & able to help him with his french accent with some tutoring anytime he wants .


The new single Waves of love is a summer anthem in the making but the album is full of pure pop dance hits. Crazy summer nights, I won't cry, Another rainbow, Give a little love, Don't you worry, You, Boogie time should ALL become singles as they're catchy as hell!
Magnus has worked with 3 different swedish songwriting/producing teams (HitVision, Thomas Thörnholm & Michael Clauss and Figge Bogström) but they've managed to create a full on disco pop anthem party from track 1 to 12, just before Magnus calms it down with his piano led acoustic version of Live forever. Track 7's midtempo, Never walk away, was right at the middle to slow it down a little too.
Live Forever - The Album is so much the follower of Alcazar's Alcazarized album that I now nearly can bear with the lack in my heart this missing quatuor have created. Andres, Magnus, Tess & Annikafiore were such a fabulous group I still hope they reunite someday. Till then, and with Andres' career not as sparkling as his ex boyfriend's, we only have this CD to help us forgive them for parting away...

I had waited for this CD to come in my post for long (it is an import from Sweden you know, thank you www.cdon.com!) and I was hoping for a great surprise maybe with the booklet or hidden tracks... I was deceived : no printed lyrics nor bonus included! I was so harder deceived that the iTunes version of the album includes some bonus material and I can't understand why Warner Music gave bonuses for digital downloads and none for CD buyers.
THAT will only lead to the die of the CD format! And I still like having that piece of plastic in my hands, opening it up feverishly to read the notes, discover who wrote what, who produce what, which guests have been invited, sing along to it with the help of the lyrics...

Instead, I've been to iTunes and have bought the bonus tracks to complete the tracklisting and the added part is GREAT!
Nothing less than 3 other new songs plus a demo version of one of the songs that made it to the CD version plus some remixes, and the newbies What about love, I found love & I belong to you could all have fitted in the original tracklisting. The space was enough to include them too so that makes me hate it a little more when the music industry takes us CD buyers for fools : that can only lead to peer-to-peer files trade and make consumers take over the market.

Till then I hope there'll still be plenty of releases of that quality on CD and I will sure buy them all ! I'm so proud to have this new CD in my personal discothèque.
I also hope Magnus will release plenty of singles off it just to get them with fabulous remixes as we've been used to with its Alcazar & former releases... Bring Emil Hellman & his Soundfactory's mixes in! There's never enough of a good song and there ain't a bad one here!

www.magnusonline.se