Room Service (Roxette album)

Production

The album was a shorter effort than their previous release Have a Nice Day. "The Centre of the Heart" was originally recorded during the Have a Nice Day sessions but was left off that album.

Singles

The album produced three singles; "The Centre of the Heart", "Real Sugar" and "Milk and Toast and Honey". "The Centre of the Heart" peaked at #1 in Sweden and was a minor hit in various European countries. The second single, "Real Sugar", was not a commercial success, and the third and final single, "Milk and Toast and Honey", was the only single from Room Service to be released in the UK but was also ultimately unsuccessful.

Critical reception

Room Service received a mixed response from critics. "Probably the best Roxette album since Joyride", wrote Leslie Mathew of Allmusic. "Room Service is an exciting, immediate, high-gloss pop gem that contains very little filler indeed." Chili Paddy from MTV Asia also praised the album, saying "There are many potential hit singles here such as the glorious chirpy sing-along 'Real Sugar'". Caroline Sullivan from UK newspaper The Guardian disliked the album, and wrote, "Fredriksson's vocals are compelling yet curiously unengaged as she tries to negotiate Per Gessle's lyrics."

Per Bjurman, from Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, bluntly put it: "It [the album] is not very good", and thought the album was not original. "Many songs sound like covers of old Roxette material. Perhaps inevitable when you return to 'roots', but a little more imagination may be required." However, he did praise the three singles, "Real Sugar", "The Centre of the Heart" and "Milk and Toast and Honey", which he called "Roxette's strongest ballad since 'It Must Have Been Love' and 'Listen to Your Heart'", but ended the review with "Roxette is not finished. But soon, I suspect."

The verse from "Jefferson": "Jefferson was always out of luck/I remember when we both grew up/ Jefferson got hit by a westbound truck/I guess that didn't make him look like a million bucks", also brought a mixed response. Simon P. Ward from Dotmusic called the verse a "lyrical gem", while Sullivan from The Guardian called it "one of the worst first verses in history." Ward additionally noted that "Make My Head Go Pop", "...has everything and the kitchen sink thrown into it - keyboards, techno beats, the guitar riff from the Stones' 'Satisfaction' and strings."

In more recent years, Anders Nunstedt from Expressen gave a more critical overview to the album. Speaking of the album in relation to Roxette's other studio albums, he said it was, "Outdated, unattractive and also relatively unmusical." While in another comment he stated "On Have a Nice Day, you heard a band that has lost its compass. You do not have to listen carefully to Room Service to hear the sound of a duo who have been lost in the woods so long that the search ended."

Artwork

The visual theme to the album sleeve and promo shots, photographed by Jonas Åkerlund, was shot at the Californian hotel The Madonna Inn. The video for "The Centre of the Heart", directed by Åkerlund, was shot at the hotel. The video became the most expensive Roxette video ever produced, surpassing long-time title holder "Spending My Time" from their 1991 Joyride album.

European tour

The Room Service World Tour 2001 was Roxette's first tour in over six years, and saw the duo perform live in many parts of Europe except the UK. Concerts planned in South Africa were cancelled after the September 11 attacks. On reviewing one of their concerts, Bjurman from Aftonbladet was critical of the duo's chosen playlist and suggested that the duo had become too stuck in their past glories. Johan Lindqvist from Göteborgs-Posten was more positive, scoring their Munich concert four stars.

Track listing

All tracks written by Per Gessle, except "Little Girl" written by Marie Fredriksson.

Singles

Personnel

Charts