God, I LOVE Roxette (see my review of Have A Nice Day), & this album only continues to solidify my conviction that Marie Fredriksson is one of the world's leading vocalists. Have A Nice Day will probably remian my fave Rox album but Room Service does give a run for money, particularly the first electro-pop Centre of The Heart which has been a mammoth Euro-hit. The next single, Real Sugar, the album's opener is an infectiously catchy rock track which works in a similar vein to HAND's amazing Crush On You. The album's true winners come in the giddy rock of Make My Head Go Pop, a superb summer song & the album's closer My World, My Love, My Life, gorgeous ballad. Any1 ever noticed how the last track on each Roxette album is invariably the best of the album??? While it does not match the haunting beauty of Beautiful Things on HAND, Marie's control & delivery are unparalleled. A CD worthy of any record collection, it proves Per & Marie's enduring consistency & talent as our generation's equivalent of ABBA (and at times are often better).

That is, perhaps, the best thing about Per Gessel's pop- it's casual and fun, but not disposable. I love the Roxette sound- vocals that soar and soothe, sweet melodies, and hard driving, crisp guitar. There is an attention to detail in this music that is reminiscent of Queen. Many Roxette songs are fine tapestries of guitar, vocals, percussion, strings, and synth- with very thoughtful placement of aural delights. Roxette songs are never boring. I have to add a line commending Per's ability to select phenomenally good-sounding instruments. I was happy to discover with this album that Roxette hasn't lost their wonderful sound. On my first listen through I wasn't very impressed. Room Service is not as bulletproof as Crash Boom Bang! (or Joyride), but it is at least as good as Have a Nice Day, which says a lot. There are several gems on this album- Real Sugar, Center of the Heart, Milk & Toast & Honey, and Make My Head Go Pop. No Time to Get Here is a deliciously simple balad with traditional hooks, however it doesn't compare to Spending My Time, or What's She Like? from previous albums. Jefferson was a big disappointment (IMHO) because it could have been a much better song. The music is excellent, but the lyrics didn't go far enough to match, so it seemes off-balance. I bought the Japanese import version of Room Service with "Entering Your Heart", which proved to be well worth the extra money. it's at least as solid as the best songs on this album, with a very typical Roxette feel. If you are a Roxette fan, you should definitely buy this album. If only they would tour the US one more time...

I'm a big fan, so I bought this album as soon as it came out and was far from disappointed. Roxette went back to the kind of music they made in the late 80s and early 90s and added (quite) a bit of today's sounds. A mix of uptempo pop songs and beautiful ballads. Personal favorites: "Fool" and "My world, my love, my life". If you like Roxette and their kind of music, you'll love this album. Recommended for every RoxFan!!

I love Roxette, and this album is no exception. It didn't surprise me at all, which is a good thing. It's more pop with the same two great voices, great melodies, dense production (dare I say ear candy?), and quirky lyrics.

The album opens with the upbeat "Real Sugar," with Per's even-toned, grainy voice launching into some fun lyrics: "Well, every hour I try to get somethin' done, out in the weekend when I'm just havin' some fun, I'm windin' up with none, just zeroes, no ones, just space with no air." Unfortunately, Marie's insistent high note on "I don't wanna climb the walls" later in the song gets repetitive. The combination of this with the song's energy assault is a bit much. However, this is literally the only blemish in the entire album, for me.

By the way, I'm listening with my Sennheiser HD590s :-)

Marie sings the lead on the energetic yet flowing "Centre of the Heart," which treats us to some of the trademark Marie-isms: if you're a Roxette fan, I'm sure you will agree with a smile when you hear the melody to "you wear them so well, those innocent eyes..." This song has a slowish clubbish beat, with typical strings in the background and harmonies you could chew, plus a nice hook in the chorus.

One of the nice things about Roxette is that, unlike some other groups (Collective Soul comes to mind) that are also hook-laden, one hook doesn't carry the song. There's one to get your feet tapping in the intro, there's one that comes back again and again in the synth/strings, and there's great melody in the singing, chorus and verse both. This is typical of Roxette.

"Milk and Toast and Honey" is slower and reminds me of "I Was So Lucky" from Have a Nice Day. If you're a dancer, you might like to know that it's a fantastic nightclub two... Marie takes the vocals on a nice "love works out right" song.

"Jefferson" opens with an acoustic guitar riff that lays down a beat for the rest of the song. Per sings about a boy that always got the shaft when everyone else got the mine. It's upbeat and a lot of fun, with a pulsing verse underlaid with meaty bass (think Rage Against the Machine) and a jump-and-headbang chorus.

Marie sings lead on the next three songs. "Little Girl" is not a show-stopper: it's about remembering a litle girl "I remember when she was mine." This is where the lyrics lose me; the music is good though, about the same energy level as "Milk". "Looking for Jane," the next song, is more on the energy of Jefferson, and in this one, the not-particularly-graspable lyrics aren't an issue, because the song is so singable. "Bringing Me Down To My Knees" is another great ballad, this one asking for love forever.

We then take a surprise trip to the energy zone with "Make My Head Go Bop," which should get everyone dancing. Per carries most of the vocal. The song opens with, and repeats, a dancy string hook, and the vocals make references to "Pleasant Valley Sunday," which is unexpected but works like a charm. There's a hilarious bridge in which there's an a capella poke at overly stuffy people: singing the title line in pseudo-serious "this singing is an art form" voices makes me grin.

"Try" is one of those great songs that lets Marie do her slow-dance stuff in fine form. "Fool" returns to the upbeat mode, and of course, fun lyrics: "I was alone, I told my mouth to shut up!" This is one of the really, really fun songs on the CD.

"It Takes You No Time To Get Here" is a surprise twist, opening with acoustic guitar and Per's voice singing "Why don't you take the rest of the day off / You do deserve a break / Follow that road, it ain't long..." this is the gist of the song. It's slower, with a solid backing, and Per treats us to a trip to the upper vocal registers. It's followed by "My World, My Love, My Life," which features Marie and Per both on a slower song that is pretty much a power song: slow ballad, power chords, power chord progressions. This is a great way to end the album.

Overall, a highly satisfying listening experience: upbeat enough, but enough slower material to let you settle into it very nicely. I'd recommend it to almost anyone except acoustic purists, and hey, I'm one of those too!

We haven't seen an American release from Roxette since 1995, not only because EMI USA caved in years ago, but also because we, Americans, prefer to live inside of our own musical bottle, DEAF to greater music from around the world. Have a Nice Day would have been stellar here. And now Room Service, one of the highlights of Roxette's career, was an absolute miss in the American market.

This album is absolute genius. While American pop has taken itself on a twisted road of obscure lyrics and incessantly repetitive melodies, Roxette's music has taken an entirely different direction in the past decade and has landed exactly where pop should be; heavy guitar riffs, geat melodic chords, and powerful vocals. Room Service is definite proof of Roxette's continued existence in the music industry, worldwide, sans the United States.

Highlights include Real Sugar, the Centre of the Heart, Fool, Jefferson (a favorite of mine), Milk and Toast and Honey, and Make My Head Go Pop.

In my honest opinion, it doesn't matter what type of music you enjoy, buy this album and you will thoroughly enjoy it. I have played this album to all kinds of friends and they ALL enjoy it, no matter what their music background is.

Meanwhile, America, pull your head out of the sand and bring Roxette back to the States. Some company has to pick them up and start redistributing them here, because they are only getting older, and our pop music is only getting worse.