The Golden Ratio (album)
| The Golden Ratio | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 September 2010 | |||
| Recorded | January 2009–June 2010 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:53 | |||
| Label | Universal Music Group | |||
| Ace of Base chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Golden Ratio | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
The Golden Ratio is the fifth studio album by Swedish pop music group Ace of Base. It was recorded in early 2009 through mid-2010. It is the only album to feature two new vocalists: Clara Hagman and Julia Williamson. Production on this album initially began with former band member and lead vocalist, Jenny Berggren in which the resulting sessions were shelved.
The Golden Ratio marks the band's first album of completely new material since their 2002 album, Da Capo. The album entered the German album charts at number 20 and at number 100 in Switzerland.
Background
[edit]According to the band, the album was the result of three years of work in the studio. Their main challenge was to find what the Ace of Base sound would be in the second decade of the twenty-first century. After a year of experimenting, they realized they wanted to embrace and preserve the original Ace of Base sound and make it contemporary at the same time."[2] Following the release of the album, an acoustic version was in talks but never eventuated.[3]
Singles
[edit]The sole single released from the album was "All for You". The song was serviced to European radio stations in mid-July 2010, and was released as a single in digital and physical formats on September 10, 2010. The music video for the song was released on August 27, 2010.
Promotional
[edit]"Mr. Replay" was released as the first promotional single from the album prior to its release and was the first Ace of Base release to feature Clara and Julia. The song appeared on a promotional DJ disc which was released in early July 2010.[4][5] "Mr. Replay" was described as an "amalgamation of every song Ace of Base has ever recorded" and features guest vocals on verses by Lex Marshall. The song received mixed reviews from critics, who felt it was too similar to their previous material.[6] The song appears in a slightly different format on the album in comparison with the promotional release.
The title track from The Golden Ratio was planned as a future single in Sweden; however, it was only released promotionally and was the final release from the album.[7][8][9]
Reception
[edit]The Golden Ratio received mostly positive reviews from critics. Rock&Review gave the album a positive review, stating, "Sonically, The Golden Ratio is everything you expect in an Ace of Base album and it's quite hard to tell that Jonas Berggren's sisters are absent as the new vocalists do a great job of filling in where Malin and Jenny left off."[10]
ScandiPop also gave the album very high praise, saying "It's a jaw droppingly good album. They've gone back to everything that made them so brilliant when they first started out in the early nineties."[11]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All for You" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg, Jonas Saeed | The Sign[A], Saeed | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Blah, Blah, Blah on the Radio" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:48 |
| 3. | "The Golden Ratio" | Berggren, Ekberg, Saeed | The Sign, Saeed | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Southern California" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Kasper Lindgren | 3:15 |
| 5. | "Told My Ma" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Henry Bergström, Ari Le Tennen | 3:50 |
| 6. | "Black Sea" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign | 3:42 |
| 7. | "One Day" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Harry Sommerdahl, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:02 |
| 8. | "Juliet" | Henry Bergström, Peter Bergström | Henry Bergström, The Sign, Harry Sommerdahl, Peter Bergström | 3:14 |
| 9. | "Precious" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:52 |
| 10. | "Vision in Blue" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, original co-production Henry Bergström | 3:56 |
| 11. | "Mr. Replay" (featuring Lex Marshall) | Berggren, Ekberg, Ari Lehtonen, D. Massy | The Sign, Ari Le Tennen, Magnus Vänttinen | 4:17 |
| 12. | "Who Am I" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, One Life Publishing | 3:05 |
| 13. | "Doreen" | Berggren, Ekberg | The Sign, Ari Le Tennen | 3:37 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "All for You (The Disco Boys Remix)" | Berggren, Ekberg | 6:02 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "All for You (Club Version)" | Berggren, Ekberg | 4:03 |
| 15. | "All for You (The Sign Dub Remix)" | Berggren, Ekberg | 4:42 |
- ^[A] "The Sign" on this record refers to Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg as a production team.
Charts
[edit]| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums Chart | 20 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 100 |
| South Korean Album chart | 23 |
| Billboard European Top 100 | 86[13] |
References
[edit]- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ “http://www.aceofbase-music.de/biography
- ^ Ace of Base Facebook - Hi!! We are talking about making an accoustic [sic]..., Facebook, retrieved September 27, 2014
- ^ DJ Promotion CD Pool Pop 126 (compact disc). 2010.
- ^ Bain, Becky (14 July 2010). "The Sign That The 90s Are Back—The Return Of Ace Of Base". Idolator. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ Welch, Michelle (14 July 2010). "Ace Of Base hits replay on itself with "Mr. Replay"". A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ "Ace of Base - The Golden Ratio (New single for Sweden)". YouTube. October 27, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2014.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ Ace of Base Facebook - The Golden Ratio will be our new single in Sweden!, Facebook, retrieved September 27, 2014
- ^ Ace of Base – The Golden Ratio (CD-R). Playground Music Scandinavia. 2010. SE-VJH-10-01404.
- ^ Miller, Matt. Ace Of Base - The Golden Ratio. Rock & Review
- ^ ScandiPop. Ace Of Base Review!. ScandiPop
- ^ "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ^ Billboard.com, The Golden Ratio
