I'm not an Ace of Base fan, and in fact found many of their hits from "The Sign" to be annoying. I'm not sure why I picked up this CD, but I was pleasantly surprised. It really represents the best of catchy pop. The singles (Beautiful Life, Lucky Love) weren't as big as the singles off "The Sign," so this CD was unfairly overlooked at the time. However, some of the songs are just as strong and should have been bigger. "Lucky Love" in particular is a maddingly catchy song and a highlight of the CD. I also really like some of the other up-tempo dance songs, like "Beautiful Life" and "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry." Plus, their are several beautiful ballads, especially "Angel Eyes," which has an unusual guitar effect on it. The music really is much more varied than you might expect. All of the songs were written by members of the group and they comment on writing each song and what it means to them, which is a nice touch. Overall, it's the kind of CD in my collection that I don't often think of playing, but whenever I do, the songs get stuck in my brain for days afterwards.

It's an unwritten rule in pop music- if your first album becomes a massive success, your next records will more than likely toss you into the "Where Are They Now?" category. When Ace of Base's second album, 1995's "The Bridge" only went platinum after a few months of its release (compared to the nine platinum certifications "The Sign" had recieved a year and a half earlier), the Swedish dance-pop quartet, made up of siblings Jonas, Jenny and Malin Berggren and friend Ulf Ekberg, that were written off as a flash-in-the-pan act fell into that status. Tragic, because "The Bridge" is one of the finest pop albums of the decade. A true depth lays beneath the candy-coated beats, and their knack for catchy melodies is unwavering on tracks like "Beautiful Life", "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry", and "My Deja Vu". Any assumptions that their songs were weak Euro-disco compositions are dispelled on beautiful pieces like "Ravine" (which chronicles singer Jenny's emotional turmoil after she and her parents were held at knife-point in their home shortly after Ace of Base became international sensations) and Malin's seductive "Whispers In Blindness".

The second American Ace of Base album, "The Bridge" is DESTINED to become a classic. Though overshadowed by the success of their American debut album "The Sign", which went an amazing 23 times platinum, "The Bridge" offers a more mature sound and better lyrics. 15 tracks on the American version, and SEVENTEEN on the European versions, allow for fans of all types of music to enjoy this album, a change from their earlier eurodance sound.

The major track on the album is "Beautiful Life"; the critics gave rave reviews for this song, and with GOOD reason. The song mixes dance music with gospel choir, and what's more... it sounds GREAT! Fans of all types of music may like this song.

The second single off the album is "Lucky Love", a softer sound for Ace of Base, very surprising for a group formerly known as the kings and queens of dance music, and not quite successful, as the lyrics don't make much sense.

Then it's back to dance music again with the third single, "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry", an inspirational song about being true to oneself. Also well-written, and it's simply irrisistable. One finds oneself humming along.

But it's not just the singles which shine on this album; the b-side tracks "Just N Image", "You and I", "My Deja Vu", "Wave Wet Sand", and "Angel Eyes" are among the true jewels of this album, hidden on the back side. And, three years after its release, one of "The Bridge's" little-known tracks, "Angel Eyes" is just now being released (in January of 1998). It's about time. These songs have lingered in obscurity for far too long.

I bought this CD in the middle of 7th grade back in 1996 because I absolutely loved Beautiful Life and I liked several other songs too in sound but didn't really appreciate them the way I do now that music in general has reached an all time low. The other day I pulled this CD out for old times sake and I discovered how beautiful and deep it really is, and I've come to the conclusion that Ace of Base proved themselves to be real musicians and not just another europop group(although I enjoyed the europop craze in the 90's)

I am going to start this review off by saying that Ace of Base is NOT a pop band. They have always broken away from doing what was popular and fun, and actually did what they wanted to do. It really makes me sad to see Ace of Base compared to Real McCoy, La Bouche, and Haddaway, because they have managed to make great music with true meaning behind the lyrics, while Real McCoy has a song without any meaning "Runaway and save your life", what does this lyric really mean?

Anyway, Here is a brief Description of each song:

(1) Beautiful Life - A fun poppy song with great melodies, and a great blend of gospel soul along with a fun keyboard sound.

(2) Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry - A Wonderful song with a positive meaning behind it which says "Never be sorry for who you are, because you are unique."

(3) Lucky Love - Possibly the only song with bad lyrics on the album, It is fun and makes you want to dance.

(4) Edge of Heaven - If this song doesn't make you see Ace of Base in a new perspective, I don't know what will, it is a very smooth ballad, and possibly one of the most "one of a kind" songs on the album.

(5) Strange Ways - A fun dance song with a great back-beat, and fun keyboard sounds such as the middle east.

(6) Ravine - A slower moving song with moving lyrics that drag you right into the singer's world and really makes your mind work while listening to the song, the song is about rediscovering yourself.

(7) Perfect World - A Fun dance song, yet slower moving than most dance songs. It's message is similar to "Happy Nation" from the first album.

(8) Angel Eyes - This is One of the first love songs by Ace of Base. Most people think of Ace of Base, and they get the wrong message, that Ace of Base is just a band who makes immature pop but it is not true, just listen to the song, and you will see for yourself.

(9) My Deja Vu - Possibly the most Annoying song on the album, it has a great mood, a wonderful sound to it, but the lyrics just don't work with the sound of the song.

(10) Wave wet sand - A slow moving song about trust. It is truthful, and very mature.

(11) You and I - A faster moving dance song. This song is not available on the U.S. version of the album, which is quite a shame, because on the Euro version, it is the ultimate climax of the album.

(12) Que Sera - A slow song, similar to a lot of the other song on the album. This song is about reality, resembles, Blooming 18.

(13) Just ~n~ Image - A dance song, quickly moving, but a more, how you say, "Dramatic" sound to it with darker backbeats than the rest of the songs.

(14) Experience Pearls - A love song written by Jenny. It is very mature and never gets old, you will love this one.

(15) Whispers in Blindness - The third song on the album written by Malin. While none of the songs by Malin are alike, this one is unique as well, this is the new sound of a love ballad, it is mid-tempo, and keeps up at a good speed.

(16) Blooming 18 - The most realistic of all the songs, I think that this was a good idea of the record compagny to put this song on as the last one, because it is such a mystery, and it really makes you wonder how Ace of Base are going to top it off. This song is basically a reality slap in the face.

All in all, this is the best Ace of Base album to date, it is true, and the sound is pure. Even though Ace of Base aren't very popular anymore, it doesn't effect the sounds, I believe that the less popular you are, the more "true" you are, because in that case you still know who you are, and Ace of Base definitely have no problem with their identity.