2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good music but lacks that genuine touch, March 14, 2002
This review is from: R7 (Audio CD)
This record is - to someone who knows the language and cultural context - somewhat of a disappointment, even though the quality of the music and performance is certainly very good. The selection of songs is certainly excellent and the arrangements are great too.
Susanne Rosenberg is clearly very talented but she insists on robbing the songs of their local context by performing them in the most extreme and artifical "standard" Swedish that I have heard in a long while.
To illustrate what I mean to those who do not speak the language, imagine the Southern Blues sung in Oxford English or in that plain American accent of a network news anchor... The feeling would be entirely different, right? Local dialect and sensitivity to the cultural context certainly brings a lot to any style of singing!!
To add a little more context, the so called "standard" Swedish is only used in the capital and by TV and radio. People outside the capital have long felt colonized by those arrogant Stockholmers and have always insisted on their own local identity in language and otherwise. So, in this way, the people of the local areas where these songs originated might justifiably feel robbed by this insensitive use of their heritage.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Disc!, March 1, 2005
This review is from: R7 (Audio CD)
I bought this disc a few years back when I was getting into more world music, and its been in regular rotation in my CD player ever since.
What it sounds like... Cold, icy, blue, rocky, furious and majestic. The kind of music that you SHOULD hear when walking beside the sea with huge waves breaking across rocks. The strings are fantastic, clear and present. The album is well recorded, and the voices are incredible.
Can't recommend this album enough!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
cool singing, March 14, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: R7 (Audio CD)
I really enjoy listening to this cd. This group's talent is impressive. I especially enjoy the accompaniment by the string section. I've listened to other Swedish cds, and being somewhat familiar with the language myself, the accent of the singers seems different than other swedish folk groups I've heard. Nevertheless, this record is wonderful! If you don't buy it for the vocals, buy it for the string section!
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