''Rarities'' is a compilation album by Swedish

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

duo

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

, released from 10 February 1995 by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

exclusively in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The record is composed of previously released B-sides, demos, single mixes and remixes, as well as several songs from the duo's 1993 performance for ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

''. As of 2001, the compilation has sold in excess of a million copies worldwide.

Album information

The album was issued exclusively in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and

, with its release in those territories timed to coincide with dates of the band's "

Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour The "Crash! Boom! Bang! World Tour" was the fourth concert tour by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, launched in support of their fifth studio album ''Crash! Boom! Bang!'' (1994). Box office and commercial recordings The "Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour" s ...

". " Vulnerable" concomitantly served as both

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from ''Rarities'', as well as the fifth and final single from previous

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Crash! Boom! Bang! ''Crash! Boom! Bang!'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish pop rock duo Roxette, released on 11 April 1994 by EMI. The album was an immediate commercial success, peaking within the top 10 in over 20 national charts throughout Europe, Australas ...

'' (1994). The record includes four previously released remixes, including two single mixes: "

Fingertips '93 "Fingertips '93", is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released as the third and final single from their fourth studio album, ''Tourism'' (1992), on 26 January 1993. The single was only released in a select few countries, including Belgium, Germ ...

" – originally from 1992's ''

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

'' – and

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic range compression for molding mixes that ...

's US Single Remix of " Dressed for Success". In addition to these, a remix of "

Fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

" created by British

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Jesus Jones Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2025. Their track " Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globall ...

was also included, along with an "Electric Dance Remix" of "

Spending My Time "Spending My Time" is a song by Swedish duo Roxette, released as the fourth single from their third studio album, '' Joyride'' (1991). It was written by Per Gessle and Mats Persson, and produced by Clarence Öfwerman. The single attained moderate ...

" by MC King Carli and Dr Renault (pseudonyms used by regular Roxette producer

Clarence Öfwerman Clarence Öfwerman (born 22 November 1957) is a Swedish record producer and musician, best known as the longtime producer of Roxette, having been with the band from their debut album, ''Pearls of Passion'', in 1986, through to 2016's '' Good Ka ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Anders Herrlin). These had all been previously released on their respective singles. ''Rarities'' also contains two previously released

b-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

: "The Voice" appeared as the b-side to their 1988 single "Dressed for Success", while " The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye" was released as the b-side to their November 1991 single "Spending My Time". Earlier that year, in April, the song had been released as the lead single from

Thomas Anders Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the vocalist of the former pop duo Modern Talking. Starting his singing career while still in sc ...

' (of

Modern Talking Modern Talking was a German pop duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the to ...

fame) second solo album, '' Whispers''. The song also appeared on the 1993 album '' Over My Heart'', by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

pop

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist, peaking a ...

. The demo version of their 1993 single "

Almost Unreal "Almost Unreal" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 May 1993 by EMI Records as the lead single from Super Mario Bros. (film)#Soundtrack, the soundtrack of the 1993 live action film ''Super Mario Bros. (film), Super Mario Bro ...

" appeared on the " Run To You" CD single in 1994 while another demo - the non-album track "One Is Such a Lonely Number" - had previously appeared as the b-side to "

The Big L. "The Big L." is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. Written by Per Gessle, it was released on 26 August 1991 by EMI as the third single from their third studio album, '' Joyride'' (1991). The song became a top ten hit in Belgium, Ireland and Swede ...

" in 1991. The album also includes three recordings – " Joyride", "

The Look "The Look" is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. It was released in early 1989 as the fourth single from their second studio album, '' Look Sharp!'' (1988). It became an international hit, and was one of the most successful singles of 1989. It t ...

" and " Dangerous" – from the band's 9 January 1993 performance at the Stockholm Circus for ''

''. The rest of their ''MTV Unplugged'' set remained unreleased until a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

of their entire performance was included in ''

The Rox Box/Roxette 86–06 ''The Rox Box (Roxette 86–06)'' is a boxed set compilation by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 18 October 2006 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol. It is an expanded companion piece to the single-disc greatest hits album '' A Collection of R ...

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

Track listing

Notes * signifies a remixer.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Rarities''. Musicians *

Marie Fredriksson Gun-Marie Fredriksson (; 30 May 1958 – 9 December 2019) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist, and lead vocalist of pop-rock duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s an ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Per Gessle Per Håkan Gessle (; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was disbande ...

– lead vocals,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, keyboards,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, mixing, production , compiling * Per "Pelle" Alsing –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Vicki Benckert Vicki Benckert (born 17 October 1960) is a Swedish pop singer. Vicki Benckert broke through in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1984, where she had written three of the songs "Kärleksmagi", "Sankta Cecilia", and "Livet är som ett träd", which sh ...

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Christer Jansson – drums * Anders Herrlin –

acoustic bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar an ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, programming and remixing * Jonas Isacsson – acoustic and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

s * Jarl "Jalle" Lorensson –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

–

grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, keyboards, programming, production, mixing and remixing * Staffan Öfwerman – backing vocals and percussion * Mats "MP" Persson – acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, programming and engineering * Per "Pelle" Sirén – electric guitars * Alar Suurna – percussion , engineering and mixing * Nicolas "Nicki" Wallin – drums Technical *

– remixing * Mike Edwards – remixing

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rarities (Roxette Album) 1995 compilation albums Roxette compilation albums B-side compilation albums EMI Records compilation albums