Customer Reviews

Chess Pa Svenska

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This two-disc set comes with 64-page book full of color photos of the stage production and lyrics of the songs. I can't read Swedish so I can't make much use of the lyrics (I do wish it had translations so I could see if the lyrics have changed, and learn the meanings of the new songs), but the photos are great. I also have the DVD of the live show (which is fantastic) so I know these aren't necessarily staged photos.

Production quality is top-notch, and it's fun to hear how the order and style of some songs has changed since the 1984 work-in-progress album. I'm disappointed to find that "One Night in Bangkok" has been cut from this version (if you can get your hands on the DVD, though, you'll find that it is referenced as source music in a bar scene), and I have to say that I also don't care much for the way the character of the Arbiter is played. I guess I might understand his style better if I knew what these lyrics say, and could understand his dialog in the DVD.

This disc, as well as "Chess in Concert" (released in Sweden in the 90s and which includes at least one song, "The Soviet Machine," not on any other version that I know of), make excellent additions to the collection of anyone who loved the original "Chess" album and suffered through the Broadway soundtrack a few years after it (IMHO notable only for the addition of "Someone Else's Story").

Well worth getting if you love the music.

(Note: I understand that a NEW version of "Chess in Concert" has been recorded and will be televised in the US in the spring of 2009, and subsequently be released on CD and DVD. Tim Rice refers to this version as the English version he'd recommend for future performences in America.)

- MH

Having loved the original English language album of Chess, hated the Broadway one and been slightly disappointed by the 2008 Chess in concert, I was delighted to find this Swedish version of the musical (and the corresponding video).

I like Josh Groban alright, but Tommy Koerberg is the definitive Anatoly/Russian in my opinion. The rest of the cast is excellent as well (though the Arbiter is somewhat weird) and performs with passion and conviction that sadly can not be found in the Royal Albert hall concert. The plot and song order are different from the both original and 2008 English language versions and the there are a couple of new songs that are really beautiful. Too bad there is no Soviet machine, though it might simply be too upbeat for this generally melancholic production.

Overall, though my zero knowledge of Swedish makes it a bit hard to follow the plot in some places, this recording is definitely my favourite version of Chess.