Wikipedia

Shine (Frida album)

Shine is the fourth studio album by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and her second international solo album as Frida. It was first released in September 1984 and has since been re-released several times, mainly in the digitally remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks. Shine, alongside the accompanying promotional videos and clips, is included in Frida – 4xCD 1xDVD. This album has never been officially released in the United States, but was issued in Canada by WEA. This is Lyngstad's last solo English language studio album to date.

Shine
Studio album by
Frida
Released11 September 1984
Recorded1 February – 31 March 1984
StudioStudios de la Grande Armée, Paris
GenrePop, Soft Rock, New wave
Length44:05
LabelPolar (Scandinavia)
Epic (UK)
WEA (Canada)
Universal (2005 re-release)
ProducerSteve Lillywhite
Frida chronology
Something's Going On
(1982) 		Shine
(1984) 		Djupa andetag
(1996)
Singles from Shine
  1. "Shine"
    Released: September 1984
  2. "Come To Me (I Am Woman)"
    Released: November 1984
  3. "Heart Of The Country"
    Released: November 1984
  4. "Twist In The Dark"
    Released: November 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Recording history edit

After the success of Something's Going On, Phil Collins was to produce again for Frida's next album, but as Genesis formed part of his other commitments, producer Steve Lillywhite took over his role.

Recording began on 1 February 1984, at the Studios de la Grande Armée, Paris, France. The producer was Steve Lillywhite, and at only 29 years of age, he was already known for his work with Peter Gabriel, the Rolling Stones and U2 amongst others. Lillywhite's then-wife Kirsty MacColl co-wrote three songs that made the album, as well as a fourth recorded at the sessions and used as a B-side.

At the time of recording, both Something's Going On and Shine, Lyngstad wanted to distance herself from the "typical ABBA pop-sound" and try new directions. Lillywhite managed to give Lyngstad an even more modern and complex soundscape than Phil Collins had done on her previous album. In Frida – The DVD, when speaking about Shine and its failure to recreate the success of its predecessor, Lyngstad herself said "that maybe this album became a bit too modern for its time".[2]

Reception edit

The Kingston Whig-Standard reviewed the album in January 1985: “What emerges is a wintery album: beautiful but not warm.”[3] “The wistful songs of ABBA are missed.”[3] “It’s not surprising that the best song is the sad ballad "Slowly", written by the ABBA men. Frida can also rock, as two songs, "One Little Lie" and "The Face", prove. This is, however, a transition album; it doesn’t indicate which way Frida is heading.”[3]

Music edit

Shine features songwriting contributions from musicians such as Stuart Adamson, Kirsty MacColl, Simon Climie (of Climie Fisher fame), and Pete Glenister, a frequent co-writer and producer of Alison Moyet's music. The Shine album is also unique as it saw the debut of Lyngstad as a songwriter in both "Don't Do It" and "That's Tough", the latter also features her son Hans Fredriksson as co-writer. (Frida also wrote "I Don't Wanna Be Alone" during this period). The track "Slowly" was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA.

The lead single from the album was the title track, "Shine". In some countries "Twist in the Dark", "Come to Me (I Am Woman)" and "Heart of the Country" were released as singles. Shine reached the Top 10 on the album charts in Sweden and Norway, and the Top 30 in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Track listing edit

Side 1

  1. "Shine" (Kevin Jarvis, Guy Fletcher, Jeremy Bird) – 4:39
  2. "One Little Lie" (Simon Climie, Kirsty MacColl) – 3:44
  3. "The Face" (Daniel Balavoine, Kirsty MacColl) – 3:40
  4. "Twist in the Dark" (Andee Leek) – 3:43
  5. "Slowly" (Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson) – 4:34

Side 2

  1. "Heart of the Country" (Stuart Adamson) – 4:38
  2. "Come to Me (I Am Woman)" (Eddie Howell, David Dundas) – 5:04
  3. "Chemistry Tonight" (Pete Glenister, Simon Climie, Kirsty MacColl) – 4:56
  4. "Don't Do It" (Anni-Frid Lyngstad) – 4:37
  5. "Comfort Me" (Pete Glenister) – 4:28

2005 remaster bonus tracks edit

  1. "That's Tough" (Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Hans Fredriksson, Kirsty MacColl) – 5:03
  2. "Shine" (Extended Mix) (Kevin Jarvis, Guy Fletcher, Jeremy Bird) – 6:31

Personnel edit

Production edit

  • Stikkan Andersson – executive producer
  • Steve Lillywhite – producer
  • Howard Gray – sound engineer
  • Frédéric Defaye – assistant engineer
  • David Edwards – studio coordinator
  • Thomas Johansson – album coordinator
  • Görel Hanser – album coordinator
  • Heinz Angermayr – cover photos
  • Cay Bond – styling
  • Digitally recorded and mixed at Studios de la Grande Armée, Paris France
  • Remastered in 2005 by Henrik Jonsson of Masters of Audio, Stockholm

Charts edit

Chart performance for Shine
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[4] 21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 49
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[6] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 67

References edit

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Frida – The DVD
  3. ^ a b c "The Kingston Whig-Standard 19 Jan 1985, page 58". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  4. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frida – Shine" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frida – Shine" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
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