I’ve read a few people say the alternate version is good. Could I ask what is different about it?
My box is still at the UK airport since 4th July!!
Ace of Base
- Thread starter AcerBen
- Start date
My box is still at the UK airport since 4th July!!
The released version of "Hallo Hallo" fits better with their reggaeish tracks, while the alternate version sounds more like "Life Is A Flower".
(I hope your copy arrives soon!)
I received my copy last week and I am slowly working my way through. The mastering sounds ok to me, but I am not the worlds greatest audiophile.
Looking back at their catalogue, I wonder why their Singles of the 90’s album flopped in the UK? Coming on the back of some successful singles but the underperforming album Flowers, I would have thought there would be some demand to get all their singles on one album.
Looking back at their catalogue, I wonder why their Singles of the 90’s album flopped in the UK? Coming on the back of some successful singles but the underperforming album Flowers, I would have thought there would be some demand to get all their singles on one album.
There was no single on the radio to publicise the release of the album though, and I don't think it was well stocked. Also Christmas 1999 was ridiculously competitive.
Seems strange the record company didn’t push it. It had additional tracks which were released as singles in other territories. Opportunity missed.
Like Ben said, lack of p
I also don’t think it helped that their biggest singles, All That She Wants and The Sign, were tracks on one of the CD singles for Life is a Flower. Don’t Turn Around and Beautiful Life were also on one of the Cruel Summer singles as well.
However, for me that Life is a Flower CD single is the reason why I got into Ace of Base properly. I only owned Beautiful Life before that. Now I’ve got a pretty good Ace of Base collection or did have until I sold a few rare things!
They did. They even commissioned extra remixes. The problem was the media hated the song.
C'est La Vie was scheduled as a single but was cancelled at last minute. There were no other plans. Love In December was only a radio single in Germany.
He/Him
I distinctly remember the adverts for Love in December and Hallo Hallo in Top of the Pops or Smash Hits magazine. I think I kept them somewhere. I remember going on and on and on about Hallo Hallo and telling everyone at school to buy it then it got pushed back a week and nothing more was heard. I don’t think it got that close but I definitely saw the adverts.
Was Mega sold around that time? I wonder if the label change had anything to do with promotion. It's still so bizarre that Malin wouldn't even lipsync in the videos. It was so over-the-top. I'm surprised they didn't go one step further and pixelated her face.
Agreed. The original is meh, honestly. In fact, it and “Hallo Hallo” were pretty underwhelming. “Love In December” was fantastic though.
Also, I’m fucking floored “No Good Lover” wasn’t a single.
I’m floored it wasn’t on an album and just a b-side! The only thing I can think of as to why? Maybe it sounded a bit too much like All That She Wants and maybe a little too ‘dark’ for the Flowers album? But then that doesn’t make sense because most of their albums always have a melancholy/darkness to them.
You must be misremembering. There was an advert for C'est La Vie in Smash Hits, which did keep going back from November into December, and one for Singles of the 90s in TOTP but that was it.
I was all over the magazines and on the AoB messageboard at the time so I can't imagine I'd have missed it - and after the failure of CLV and SOTN I can't imagine Polydor would have put any more effort in. And if they'd got to the stage of promoting them in magazines there would be promo singles.
Does this ring a bell?
She didn't lipsync in the Flowers videos either. It was probably entirely her decision and a pain in the arse for the label.
They explained in the Hidden Gems commentary - it was one of the first songs recorded for the album and initially it was highly regarded, but then "every song that came after was better". They said it was quite common that songs recorded early on would get boring for everyone and then eventually get discarded.
Having said that, personally I didn't miss it from the tracklist. They put it on as b-side of LIAF to "balance out" the single, so you still got some reggae.