Ace of Base: The Sign

Picture it. America. 1993. Ace of Base releases The Sign in the US. Kids go crazy. Girls watch handsome Swedish men on MTV. Boys watch hot Swedish women on MTV. We all sing along like the mindless freaks we were at the time. "All That She Wants" is making it huge. Why does this sound so sad? It's because music trends come and go and more than a decade later we look back and say, "My god, what were we thinking?" My answer... I have no earthly idea! Though I know most readers are pretty familiar with this album, I'll go into some detail as this is a review, but hopefully this will not be as painful as I anticipate. I'll try to be as brief as possible...

Big hits from this album "All That She Wants", "Don't Turn Around" and "The Sign" are all completely memorable songs, unfortunately. Though we've tried to forget them, as soon as you hear the synthesized melodies at the beginning of these songs, their lyrics come flooding back like a tsunami. You are completely at a loss for words as to how you actually remember EVERY lyric to these three songs. Why were they so popular? My only logical assumption is because they are so annoyingly catchy. Are they good? Not really, but that didn't change the fact that not only did teens listen to this, but teens' parents and younger siblings alike knew the songs. They each have unforgettable synthesized melodies, beats, and incredibly singable lyrics despite the obnoxious accents in which they're presented. They are all upbeat, no matter what the content. They're not necessarily fast, but you could have definitely danced to them in a club back in the day. Anyways, we move on...

Personally, when I was actually a fan of The Sign, one of my favorite songs was "Young and Proud". It begins as if it's an old Nintendo game theme. With an incredibly techno style, this song is not only danceable, but it's mostly enjoyable. I generally like the vocals in this song, though the lyrics are definitely cheesy... something about "the future" and what it holds and "love not being for sale". It's not a bad choice if you're wishing to grasp what Ace of Base is all about. "Living In Danger" is kind of dumb. Musically, it sounds like a mix between "The Sign" and "Don't Turn Around" except for there's a male rapper continuously in the background. He's terrible at best and never really featured in this track, so if he is better, the listener has no clue. "Dancer In A Daydream" is pretty cool as its very 80's in it's feel. The music and beats are reminiscent of music during that time. Although I was definitely too young to visit clubs during '93, I would have completely envisioned this song as being a big dance hit. The harmonies are pretty bad, but that's really my only complaint. It has some cool vocal melodies and synthesized fillers that make it interesting. A humorous observation of "Dancer In A Daydream" is that the female vocalist seems to sound hauntingly similar to Jessie Spano in the "Saved By The Bell" episode where she's taking pills and "so excited... and so scared". Seriously, listen to this track and see if you don't have the same opinion.

"Wheel Of Fortune" is awkward. It sounds a lot like "All That She Wants", only nowhere near as decent. It has a goofy chorus which is predominately irritating the whole time she's saying, "what'cha gon' tell your daddy?" Grrr... You're Swedish. It's funny sounding enough without the slang. There is nothing remotely memorable about this song and I can almost bet you will walk away with no morsel of enjoyment. The same can be said for "Waiting For Magic" in the annoying department. It's a dance track that is a purely techno remix which possesses almost nothing of a musical semblance. The words are actually "Kiss me baby, I'm attractive baby" and "I'm eternal lying in a coffin waiting for you" and metaphors of the vocalist as Snow White. So as we move on to "Happy Nation", my thoughts are "Please make it stop!" and "Why oh why didn't I pick another album?" (I keep telling myself that it's for the good of the Retro Review)... "Happy Nation" is just bad. It's hard to think of anything else to say about it. It's slower and has almost a middle eastern feel to it with something similar to a Gregorian chant at the beginning. It's almost as if they thought it might be a good idea to branch out, but it backfires and they have a complete bust where the only thing you walk away remembering, are the lyrics "Happy Nation". You'll skip over it... I can almost promise this.

"Voulez-Vous Danser" is the "return of the french song" song... The chorus "Voulez-Vous Danser avec moi se soir" ... a bit familiar right? I know, it's a language... you can say "baby I love you" in English 50 times, but these words seem too familiar to another song which I actually like. However, "My Mind (Mindless Remix)" is freakin' hilarious... it's truly a combination of the lost Mortal Combat theme and Madonna's Vogue. The same voice that Madonna uses to speak (not sing) the word "Vogue" is used in this song by a male who says, "Dance or fade out!" HA! Also, I'm not kidding about the Mortal Combat theme song... it was one of my favorite games growing up. It's recommended more than this album. And I thought it would never get here, but the last song on The Sign is a "Banghra Version" of "All That She Wants". Essentially, it's the same song only with a little more of an eastern feel and with less words. This song is comprised of only the chorus. There are no verses in this song. It gets pretty old after the first time the chorus is sung... And, there is not enough difference to make it a completely different song, separate from the first, and a better version. It's a dud.

Man, this was hard. So, in short, if you have never listened to this album, I lightly recommend the first 3 songs mentioned in this review plus "Young and Proud". Other than that, this album could be used as a coaster. Isn't is amazing how we like something so much and years later we realize that our hearing hadn't developed enough to recognize noise? Well that's all this is my dear friends... merely noise.

Key Tracks
1. All That She Wants
2. Don't Turn Around
3. Young and Proud
4. The Sign
5. Dancer In A Daydream

2 out of 10 stars