Crash! Boom! Bang!

Release and promotion

Prior to Crash! Boom! Bang!'s international release, a shorter version of the album was released by CEMA for a limited time exclusively through outlets of the McDonald's restaurant chain in the US. Favorites from Crash! Boom! Bang! sold over a million copies, the proceeds of which were used to fund Ronald McDonald House Charities programs for the health and well-being of children. The CD was sold at below normal wholesale cost, and the promotion angered traditional music retailers, who claimed that the campaign devalued the price of music. Despite a tentative "early summer" release date being set for the US, the full-length album was never released there until it was reissued globally with bonus tracks in 2009. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the full-length album sold 46,000 copies in the US as of 2005, as an import-release.

The record was released globally from 9 April 1994 on CD, cassette and vinyl formats. Japanese editions included "Almost Unreal" as a bonus track—the song had previously been released as a non-album single on the soundtrack of the Super Mario Bros. (1993) motion picture. The band toured extensively to promote the record, the "Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour" saw them perform to over a million people. Roxette became the first western act since Wham! in 1985 to stage a concert in communist China, performing to over 15,000 people at the Workers Indoor Arena. The tour concluded on 1 May 1995 in Moscow, with Roxette becoming the first act since 1917 to hold a concert on that date—a public holiday in Russia. As of 2001, the album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

Five singles were released from the album. "Sleeping in My Car" served as its lead single, and was an immediate commercial success throughout Europe. The song debuted at number one in Sweden, and peaked within the top twenty of national charts in numerous territories: namely Austria, Benelux, Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, Spain and the UK. It went on to peak at number seven on European Hot 100 Singles. The song was serviced to US radio stations from 2 June, and would be the duo's final track to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number fifty. "Crash! Boom! Bang!", "Fireworks" and "Run to You" were released as subsequent singles, each with varying degrees of success. "Vulnerable" concomitantly served as both Crash! Boom! Bang!'s fifth and final single and lead single from the band's 1995 compilation Rarities. The album was released exclusively in South America and Asia, and compiled previously unreleased demos and remixes, as well as songs from the band's 1993 MTV Unplugged set.

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews from the American music press. A writer for Entertainment Weekly was critical of the album's ballads and mid-tempo songs, and complained that "If only Per Gissle (sic) had let the charged-up Marie Fredriksson sing lead vocals on all 15 songs, Crash! might've qualified as an unqualified guilty pleasure." People expressed a similar sentiment: complimenting the scope and diversity of material found on the record, but said that "As with the duo's previous work, Crash! Boom! Bang! hits its best notes when Fredriksson is at the mike", and said that her vocals were "more subtle and graceful than [ever]". Although a review for AllMusic complimented the duo's vocals and songwriting, they lamented the album as being "too pop for rock listeners and too rock for mid-'90s pop fans." Conversely, Jean Rosenbluth of the Los Angeles Times praised the album's inclusion of harder rock influences, complimenting the "deliciously overwrought ballads, bubblegum and great almost-grunge."

Track listing

All lyrics written by Per Gessle; all music composed by Gessle, except "Lies" by Gessle and Mats MP Persson and "Go to Sleep" and "See Me" by Marie Fredriksson.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crash! Boom! Bang!.

Musicians

Technical