Swedish singer Shirley Clamp may have entered Melodifestivalen in 2003, but it was her 2004 entry, the somewhat haunting "Min Kärlek," that really broke her. 2005 marked another Melodifestivalen entry, "Att älska dig," which was a little more straightforward upbeat schlager--less of that sort of underlying darkness. She's released three albums so far, but the most recent contained all covers. Recent years may have seen a turn towards more serious material, but anyone who can turn "Do They Know It's Christmas" into such an amazing pop song--you have to seek it out if you haven't heard it; maybe the incredible upbeatness of her version doesn't fit with the lyrics, but it's a must have for any Christmas playlist--is a singer worth having around.Lever mina drömmar--I guess this is fairly straightforward schlager, but it's so upbeat, so uplifting that I dare you not to get swept up in it. This comparison is going to seem strange, but I'll go for it anyway: a Cher song ("If I Could Turn Back Time," if I remember correctly) came on in the car right after I'd finished listening to this song on my iPod and I realized they wouldn't seem out of place together on the same playlist at all--not that the two singers are equivalent, but that those songs could serve similar functions. And, as for lyrics if you don't understand these ones, just imagine some upbeat lyrics about moving forward and living one's dream, and you're pretty much there (I think). Key change, here we come!
To buy Shirley Clamp's second album, Lever mina drömmar, go here (physical) or here (digital); it's also available on iTunes in all countries.
Next up: maybe that German singer, but I do still need to write about Páll Óskar.
5 comments:
Yes, I do love Shirley when she's schlager-ific, but I can't wait for you to get on to the long-promised Pall Oskar post. I knew Pall when I was a bartender in New York in the 90s and he would stop in when he was in America for a visit. It's too bad he has never broken through in this country.
Great blog you got here!
Personally, I think that the text of 'Lever mina drömmar' is rather arrogant in an 'i'm successful, you're not, ha-ha' kind of a way, but then perhaps I've misunderstood it somewhere along the line. I find Linda Bengtzing's 'Ingenting att förlora' is a lot more positive. Good tune though.
No way! Really? That's so neat! And I'd love him to have success here, though I'm pretty used to none of the artists I love having success here. All right, Páll up next.
Thanks! And you are probably right--trust me, I'm not anyone to attempt to be understanding Swedish language lyrics. If there was any sort of language course around here, I'd sign up in a heartbeat.
But Shirley has now ditched the schlager and is writing songs herself for her next album... a sure sign that there won't be a schlager tune in sight...
Oh well... maybe she'll do a Lena PH and come back to schlager after about twenty years... although there probably isn't a microphone stand in all Sweden that could cope with Ms Clamp...
Mmm, we can dream, though, right?
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