Customer Reviews

Cruel Summer

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Yes! sadly their third and best record got the attention of the size of a peanut. Even though the leading single "Cruel Summer" climb all the way to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998, it didn't help to catapult the album to Gold status. And it's such a shame, because "Cruel Summer" is a clever album of Pop, the 11 tracks here are not even near to forgeattable, they're well constructed with innovative beats and incredible meaningful having fun lyrics. The highlights of this album could come in many flavors, for example "Everytime It Rains" it's a very emotional ballad, that features the girls best vocals ever. "Don't Go Away" another hit ballad that should have gone high on the AC charts. The uptempo songs are presceded by the lead single "Cruel Summer" and "Whenever You're Near Me", so this third combo could satisfied your appetitte for great done POP.

If you're not into a little change, and follow on, then you're not a true AOB fan. Romantis, is an absolute dancing jewel. This song is really fashioned from a dream land paradise.. and can get you going. Cruel Summer's hot popularity in the mid nineties overshadowed some of the best music mixes on the CD... Want something fast and real? Tokoyo Girl, stands on its own as a pure dance theme mix that rivals the talents of the finest song writers in the music industry. While Adventures in Paradise and Every time it Rains are still played daily on pop music stations everywhere, Whenever You're Near Me, and Cecilia lay in the background, just waiting for a kind ear. These last two of the best "relax city" beats that I've heard in years... and the nice thing is, is that you can actually dance to them.. or just lay back and listen and enjoy.

It's really a great CD. I'm really looking forward to more new songs from AOB.

It's unfortunate that Arista changed the name of this album from Every Time it Rains to Cruel Summer. Although Ace of Base has only done a couple covers, people still accuse them of being unoriginal. I'm also tired of the implication that anything "European" is bad. It's sad that people rarely give world music a chance if it doesn't conform with American conventions. The results is talented groups such as Ace of Base having to release several versions of the same album in order to appease egocentric sensibilities. Although not my favorite album, Cruel Summer shows amazing diversity. I also have the euro version, Flowers, which includes several songs not found on the US ablum as well as different versions of songs that are found on the US album. It's a shame that Americans will only get such a small taste of Ace of Base's talent. Everytime it Rains is a wonderful yet simple balled, and Don't Go Away is equally distinctive. He Decides is an interesting experiment but the reggae version found on the European album would probably have greater appeal in the US. Cruel Summer, for the most part, sounds nothing like previous albums but it's still recognizably Ace of Base.

Ok, we all remember Ace of Base and their wonderful hits so far this decade - All That She Wants, The Sign, Don't Turn Around and Beautiful Life...but this album takes a new direction and is completely underrated. I bought this album without hearing any of the songs first and it really was worth the money. The ballad "Everytime It Rains" sung by Linn has to be the most powerful song on the album...she did an EXCELLENT job. "Tokyo Girl" and "Travel To Romantis" are both great dance songs that should've been hits! Its unfortunate that more singles weren't released in America other than "Cruel Summer" (to be honest, i'm much more fond of the Bananarama version) and "Whenever You're Near Me" (a weak re-working of the Euro hit "Life Is A Flower"). Overall, the album is much worth the money...all the songs are catchy and you can tell that Jenny (Linn doesn't sing much on this album) but all her energy into every song. Wonderful album! but if you're still leerie about buying it...then get the Greatest Hits album due out in January of 2000. I've heard one of the new songs off of it and its great!

You don't always get a disc full of dance anymore. You can maybe say the Deborah Gibson days were more what you call dance. ACE OF BASE is more of a techno sound, singing constant and happy pop songs. Some are as speedy as lightning hitting the ground ("Beautiful Life", "Tokyo Girl") and some are some cool pop and jumper tunes ("Blooming 18", "Whenever You're Near Me"). On CRUEL SUMMER, Ace of Base really ties in more with the pop side. As you may or may not know, the opening song "Cruel Summer", is a song made famous by the all female group Bananarama. "Donnie" is like a song you would hear when the word Motown was mentioned or the movie Grease- real cool! "Adventures In Paradise", which is the third single coming soon, is the best song. It is so catchy and you'll be humming it throughout the night! Everything is great about this album except if you are a major AOB fan, good luck....because this album has 3 different titles depending on the area! In the US it is known as CRUEL SUMMER. In Germany it is known as FLOWERS, and in other places it is EVERY TIME IT RAINS. Not only that, but you will find so many bonus tracks on import versions such as "Dr. Sun", "Life Is A Flower", "I Pray", "Cruel Summer (Aqua Mix)", and "Captain Nemo". Talk about crazy! But never the less, CRUEL SUMMER or whatever version you have is great fun!

I love 'Cecelia' and their cover of 'Cruel Summer' is pretty good. The rest of the songs aren't horrible, but they're weaker than songs they've done in the past. Kind of an Ace of Base Lite. If you're a casual Ace of Base fan, you won't miss much not buying this one. I reccomend it for the hardcore fans because, hey, we need to have all their CDs, right? ;) Seriously, there are a few songs on here worth listening to again, and if you really love the group, I say buy it, but get a used copy. It's not worth paying full price for.

I originally hated Ace of Base when they first came out with "The Sign". I didn't like any of the songs off that album. All that changed when I heard "Beautiful Life" off their second album "The Bridge". When I discovered that "Cruel Summer" was out a couple of years ago, I immediately bought it.

Every song on this album reminds me of my favorite pop group ABBA. Each song is undeniably catchy and the melodies just stick in your head. "Always Have, Always Will" has such a Motown vibe to it. It is such a fun little song that I always like to hum along to. "Donnie" is another favorite track of mine. The title track is great. I thought I would hate their version of the classic Bananarama song but much to my surprise I didn't.

"Cruel Summer" is definitely my favorite Ace of Base record. Although they haven't had much success after "The Sign" I hope that they continue putting out good quality pop music.

Cruel Summer is a good CD for those who just wanna listen to some AoB-music, but more serious fans should go for the European version, titled Flowers, because it has some great songs that are not included on Cruel Summer. Take out a few extra dollars and get Flowers! I bought Flowers and I didn't regret it, and you won't either.

This is probably the best cd I'll ever hear by Ace of Base.The best song on the CD is obviously "Everytime it Rains" which is a normal Ace of Base sound mixed with a smooth Ballad Blend.Another good song on the cd is "Don't Go Away."

I loved the first single, "Cruel Summer", the minute I heard it on the radio, their version is much better than Bananarama's. When I bought the CD, I didn't really like it at first. But as I listened to it a couple more times I realized how brilliant it was. "Whenever You're Near Me" is one of the better songs I've heard in a long time and it's my favorite now. "Everytime It Rains" is a touching ballad and you can't help but hum the lyrics to "Donnie". "Always Have, Always Will" is my other favorite song on the album, it's a catchy love song that capitalizes on Jenny's incredable vocals, largely underused on The Sign and The Bridge. This is truly a classic and my only complaint is that not enough people are hearing it.