Customer Reviews

Robyn Is Here

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

More Pink than Britney, this songwriting Swedish funkstress helped set off a teenpop revolution, and remains the best solo artist the movement has produced. Though her voice has a bit of the helium-tinged quality that makes Europop females entertaining, Robyn's style is hard, soulful, funkdafied pop a la "Bedtime Stories": opener "Bumpy Ride" is one of the all-time great shouldabeen-singles, with a speaker-slammin' bassline punching out Robyn's life-is-tough advice. But, as the great single "Show Me Love" indicates, she equates love and life, and it's the pleasure and the pain of this formula that determines her vision of this bumpy ride. Those two famous singles, "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love", introduced the world to Max Martin, and his name's never been attached to anything as good since, but it's indicative of Robyn's musical chops that his credits are limited to those. "You've Got That Something" shows her softer, boppy side, but that "mm mm mm baby baby baby" reveals that her soulful roots are never far away. The syncopation of "In My Heart" and the ocean-kissed "How" couldn't be more throbbingly sexy. "The Last Time" is a densely, sensuously layered slow jam, handing a lover the eviction notice, while "Just Another Girlfriend"s bossy beats and challenge-laden lyrics play for keeps. "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" is a delightful girl-power catechism with a playful, Sesame Street-like melody but firm beat. As for "Do You Know (What It Takes)", nothing on the radio today sounds so quintessentially modern, so (as Francesca Lia Block would say) "slinkster-cool." This whole album is stacked with sassy appeal, butt-wiggling grooves, and gorgeous vocals. Funloving yet thoroughly adult, Robyn is the queen of pop princesses-- may her reign continue and her realm expand forever!

You'd be a fool to dismiss this fine debut CD just because it's "another pop princess". But if you look past the tired genre, you'll find a very talented, vocally rich and likeable singer in Robyn, who has 3 Top 10 singles. Her voice, right off the bat, will stun you. She's Swedish, but sounds like a legitimate R&B/soul diva, a la Diana Ross or Toni Braxton. She's incredible. Her songs border on irrestistibly catchy to amazingly heart-felt, and they all pack a punch. I reccommend this to anyone looking for a fine album. I heard she's releasing a sophomore effort soon... I can't wait.

Back in 97-98, this teen came on to the scene amidst the teen pop explosion. She released this album and although it spawned two top 10 hits, she vanished just as quietly as she came despite the fact that others of this pop movement *BSB, Britney, and the Spice Girls* became huge. It's a shame because this album was actually pretty enjoyable and still is.

The big hits that are still played on the radio once in a blue moon were "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love." "Do You Know" is a catchy piece of funk-based dance pop and is my absolute favorite. "Show Me Love" is a little more soulful and ballad-ish, but with a beat. "Do You Really Want Me" was also a single, but didn't do as well, but was still a minor hit. It's also very catchy with it's taunt-like chorus. The filler is pretty fair too. "Bumpy Ride" could have easily been a hit. Other stand-outs include "Here We Go" and The Last Time."

Unless you were really paying attention, you probably missed Robyn the first time. I'm surprised that her album is still in print so I recommend getting it while you still can.

I've wanted to give Robyn credit for a while now. She was the first singer to start the Mandy Moore/Britney Spears/Jessica Simpson/Christina Aguilera/Vitamin C/Jessica Riddle - (shall I go on?) craze. Back then, pop music took a back seat to alternative/rock and soul/R&B...but Robyn set it off.

The first time I heard the song, "Do You Know What It Takes", I was in my car on my way from Santa Barbara to the Bay Area and INSTANTLY fell in love with the song. I thought it was 702 or some other new group, but when I found out who she was, I was impressed because her sound was R&B and she wasn't even American, she was from Sweden. This was back in the summer of 1997. I quickly bought the single (the e-smoove bounce mix is the best version) and bobbed my head to this new pop sound along with Aaliyah, Missy, Puff and Ginuwine that summer.

Then that fall/winter, "Show Me Love" came out with the 'cK' style video, and I HAD to buy the album cuz the song had that 'bright' sound to it. (I'll explain 'bright' in a second). I wasn't dissapointed because it was a good buy. Both "Do You Know What It Takes" and "Show Me Love" were produced by the late Denniz PoP and Max Martin, the team behind Britney Spears, NSync and the Backstreet Boys. The 'bright' sound behind these acts is also what makes Celine Dion's "That's The Way It Is" such a great song too. (That's what I mean..."Show Me Love" is musically, a close relative to "That's The Way It Is - trust me)

Although most people don't seem to know about her (in the U.S.), Robyn was revolutionary because she paved the way for artists like Pink (who is the closest thing to Robyn) to do R&B music and do it well. She also paved the way for Cheiron studios (the swedish producers behind the dance pop explosion) to really take the United States by storm. This fact alone makes this CD a buy for music fans.

But let me get to the point - the music is good. The best songs on this album (besides the ones I mentioned) are "Robyn Is Here", a chill summer song and "Here We Go", a beautiful ballad. Besides Christina Aguilera, Robyn may be the best singer of the bunch and at 15 years old, she turned this album out. Don't sleep on her - she wrote her own songs and that's the best part. She's the real deal - and she's the original blue-eyed Pop/R&B female singer of the millenium.

Every time I listen to this fantastic record, I wonder why she's not as famous as other young pop singers. I think: is it because she keeps her clothing on? Is it because she doesn't use studio tricks to disguise her real voice? The absence of purity and innocence? The Britneys and Christinas of the world have absolutely nothing on the immense talent of the Swedish Robyn.

I first purchased this disc several years ago, when her album was newly-released and her singles soared the charts. Since then, I have never become tired of those hugely-successful hits, SHOW ME LOVE, DO YOU REALLY WANT ME (SHOW RESPECT), and, especially, DO YOU KNOW (WHAT IT TAKES). Her unique sound can appeal to most everyone.

Aside from her famous chart-toppers, Robyn has many memorable tunes. The delightful THE LAST TIME is definitely high up there on the best-of lists, even if it was never released as a single in North America. The very catchy chorus "You always seem to come back into my life/When I thought I've forgotten you/You always show up" is one that you'll find yourself humming cheerfully all day. Another song of Robyn's that is worth any price is HERE WE GO, an incredibly satisfying piece of music. The final highlight of this album that I will discuss in this review is the a cappella I WISH. This song makes your breath catch, your eyes open wide, your jaw drop. I WISH is so intense and it displays Robyn's divine talent so wonderfully that you will almost literally be blown away (I know I nearly fell out of MY chair!). Her ethereal voice has such an impressive range and she can travel among the octaves as easily, it seems, as one can blink one's eyes.

Do not be foolish. You will regret having waited so darn long to buy this record. And, I'm telling you, the purchase of this CD just may be the most worthwhile and wise investment you may ever make at your local music store. Do NOT hesitate; get it NOW!

This was the first CD I ever purchased. I was 13 years old and my friends and I were all going through the POP stage, you know, N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, Britney, Christina, The SPice Girls, and ROBYN...I have to say that even now, 7 years later I still sit and jive to some of this stuff, including this CD which happens to be one of my favorite memory reminders. When I hear Robyn belting out "Do you really want me, am I really special" I can still see my sister at ten running around the house singing along. It feels like yesterday, but alas it's not. I like to remember my past for the soul purpose of appreciating the time I have now. My sister (who has now passed) was a big fan of Robyn, and so I enjoy looking through old pictures of us as kids while listening to this CD. All that aside (I mean what does that matter to the CDNOW.com reader) this is a solid CD by a songbird who dissapeared. I see through my searches that she has put out 2 other CD's, Imports, so I assume they were put out in her native Sweden. That aside, the hits on this CD just flow out of every track. My favorites include 'Just another g/f' 'show me love' and 'bumpy ride'...'do you really love me' has that seseme street kind of background music to it, a little kiddish, but sweet and catchy. Her debut single 'always be around (do me right)' is a great example of good pop song...catchy and the replay value is high...I can still see Robyn dancing on the car in the video...great CD, even better memories...goes to proof a little Robyn is good for the soul.

I've got all Robyn's CDs and I love them all, but most of all I love this one. This is her debut album, and - this is absolutely true - she was only fifteen years old when it was released. When Robyn was only eleven years old, she performed in a Swedish television show. I'm from Sweden, and I've seen it a couple of times. She was a great singer from the very beginning. One of the songs on this album, "In My Heart", was actually written by an eleven-year-old Robyn whose parents had just gotten divorced. So, what type of music is this, in which genre should i put it? It's a lovely CD, one of the best I own. It's something special about her voice, it's so...strong and secure. She's like filled up with soul and R'n'B and you can feel she loves what she's doing. This is it. This is real music. This is the funky soul-groove mixed with rhythms of pop and funky strings. If you like Brandy, you'll love Robyn. If you like Destiny's Child, you'll love this. But also if you like Aretha Franklin and Norah Jones, this is something for you. Or - should I just say if you like music then you love this CD? It's a mix of pop/soul/R'n'B/funk. You just simply can't miss it. You HAVE to give it a try. I promise, it's worth it. Robyn's something special. The lovely blonde girl from Sweden will make you groove til you drop:-) soft music is what it is!

Sophisticated pop without pretensions, made by a beat-wise young woman. Better than anything between Britney and Fiona, and with far more intelligence. Check out her second album, "My Truth," which hit big and won awards in Europe, especially Scandinavia, but didn't get out in the States because it wasn't dumb enough for what the U.S. label thought the target audience should be. Forget the girls getting the hype. This is the important artist to watch.

i think play is the best song on this album, whit a new groovy sound. The whole album shows that robyn has "grown" from the old songs.

NO TEEN POP HERE

Got this disk for "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know.." but was pleasantly surprised to find other good songs on the disk. This one will stay in the CD changer for some time to come.