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The Bridge

Ace of Base - The Bridge Audio CD

A fair review of the Ace of Base "The Bridge" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Ace of Base reviews here, or go back to the Ace of Base tabs.

Band: Ace of Base
Title: The Bridge
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-01-01
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Beautiful Life 2: Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry 3: Lucky Love 4: Edge of Heaven 5: Strange Ways 6: Ravine 7: Perfect World 8: Angel Eyes 9: Whispers in Blindness 10: My D�j� Vu 11: You and I 12: Wave Wet Sand 13: Que Sera 14: Just 'N' Image 15: Lucky Love [Acoustic Version] 16: Experience Pearls 17: Blooming 18

Bridge to paradise
I was given The Bridge during the Christmas of '95 (I got The Sign when it came out the year before and loved it), and after sampling a few tracks, I didn't care for it as much as the previous CD, and it collected dust on my old CD shelf for several months. I'm definetly what you would consider to not be a typical Ace of Base fan, being an older male, currently 29 years old.

After getting tired of modern music after the death of Kurt Cobain and the end of Nirvana, I decided to set aside my Rush albums and give The Bridge another chance about six months later. For whatever reason, it finally clicked with me, and it became the soundtrack to my anti-social life. While other depressed teenagers might put on their hoodies and go on a night walk listening to NIN, Marilyn Manson, or Depeche Mode, I was walking the moonlit streets of my town with The Bridge playing in my ears. I was incredibly depressed at that time in my life, but the joyful melodies and hypnotic trance-like beats filled me with a rush of joy, and the smooth, powerful vocals of Jenny and Linn gave me a reason to wake up every day. Song by song, the entire album grew on me, and I was completely enveloped in its organic blend of Eastern rhythms, acoustic guitar, techno pulses, and soft treated piano and electric guitar. The sound was similiar to The Sign, but with a much wider scope, and highly cinematic. The lyrics were full of longing and regret, but also tinged with hope, joy, and a positive universal spirituality.

Two years later, Cruel Summer was released here in the US (titled Flowers everywhere else), and I was excited for its release. Unfortunately, I was highly disappointed, as it was a real mixed bag, and was a step down from previous efforts. I later learned that Arista mainman Clive Davis was responsible for "suggesting" various changes for the domestic release (changed tracklisting, dropping songs, changing lyrics and cover art), which no doubt led to the watered-down end result and further exacerbated Ace of Base's US commercial demise. (As an aside, never trust ANYTHING that Clive Davis has a hand in. More often than not he waters everything down in order to be digestible to the McDonalds-music Top 40 crowd, and due to their compromise, they lose all artistic credibility. Kelly Clarkson did the right thing by avoiding his influence for her My December album in 2007. ) These days, any new Ace of Base album is strictly import-only.

I eventually drifted away from AoB, discovering much more music better inclined for me (prog-rock, electronica, jazz, classical, metal etc. ) but always had a great respect for the group and kept intermittent tabs on their successive releases.

Earlier this year, I was in a cafe doing some work on my laptop, and "Strange Ways" came on the overhead speakers. I asked the cashier who put it on, and she mentioned that she did. I related my story about how I used to be a big fan, and that I was probably the only 15-year-old guy who liked them back then. We smiled and shared our stories, reflecting on how strange it was that such good music could somehow remain "uncool". I still don't understand it. The Bridge was so ahead of its time, and listening to it now after so many years, it brings back nothing but warm, positive memories of the 90's.

4 stars + 1 for nostalgia.

I loved this album even though I am a not a Ace of Base fan (4 Stars)
I was always into music so my friend gave me a recorded cassette of this album. I was in college around 1995, gosh it was way back, I never really listened to Ace of Base, I did like the song "The Sign", "Wheel of Fortune" they were big hits in South Africa. mmmmm Ace of Base I thought, I put it on, used it as my cleaning the room cassette. The songs grew onto me, especially the non - hits, it was deeper than I expected, more professional, "Angel Eyes", "Ravine" beautiful ballads, "Strange Ways", "Never gonna say I'm Sorry", "Whispers in Blindness" all great tracks. I wore the tape out, had to eventually buy the CD. Although I do not have any other Ace of Base CD, I actually loved this CD. It really is a mature sound for Ace of Base even if it is not their best commercial success. I give it 4 Stars.

One of the best albums of all times.!
Fantastic album, 'Is a beautiful life' was a smash hit of dance music, Ace of Base have that unique ritm and voices, I have this album and I could never part without it.

Don't let the lack of air play fool you.
The album is catchy throughout and there are a few great tunes on there as well. This album didn't get nearly as much attention in the states as the debut album 'The Sign' did, but if you were a fan of that album you'll probably like this one as well. Overall I felt is was on par with their first album in most every respect other than the lack of promotion and sales relative to their first record breaking album.

I highly recommend this great album!
Their first album, The Sign, is in the Guinness Book of Records as the best selling debut every, with 23 million copies sold. Ace of Base came out of nowhere in the early 1990s, and swept to worldwide fame. Their second album, The Bridge (1995) was another great album, which sold over 5 million copies - OK, it's a lot less than The Sign, but it's still the kind of sales most bands only dream of.

The Bridge was a great album, with lots of great tunes, including a couple of my favorites - Beautiful Life and Que Sera. This particular CD is a Japanese reissue that has the album's original sixteen tracks, plus two extras! Overall, I found this to be a great album, with great sound, and even better performances. If you like Ace of Base, then this is a great album that you should buy. I highly recommend this great album!
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You can see a complete list of all Ace of Base discography, or go back to the Ace of Base tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.