Track Listing

1. Play
2. My Only Reason
3. Underneath the Heart
4. Electric
5. My Truth
6. Main Thing
7. Healthy Love - Robyn, Robyn
8. Monday Morning
9. Giving You Back
10. 88 Days
11. Long Gone
12. Not on the Inside
13. Universal Woman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #93496 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

Robyn's Best Album Yet
It's such a shame this was never released over in the UK because it was by far my favourite album of all of hers. Here's my trac by track rating.

1) Play - An acoustic happy-go-lucky song about life. 8/10
2) My only reason - A very light pop style record, could have been a hit if released. 9/10
3) Underneath the heart - This really grows on you, a beautiful ballad. 10/10
4) Electric - Very catchy r&b/pop song, great lyrics. 10/10
5) My truth - Her most personal song yet, about herself and how she feels, really good song too. 9/10
6) Main thing - One of my favourites on the album, kinda r&b disco with a great chorus. 10/10
7) Healthy love (feat Cindy) - A fab duet, these girls sing so well together, i would love to hear more from Cindy. 10/10
8) Monday morning - I like the acoustic style of this song, a nice song about love. 9/10
9) Giving you back - This is my all time favourite Robyn song, i love everything about it, a beautiful ballad about letting go of love. 10.10
10) 88 days - I love the lyrics in this song, it's got a really nice r&b summer feel about it. 9/10
11) Long gone - Fab tune really soulfull and the lyrics blend so well with the music. 10/10
12) Not on the inside - Wasn't sure at first but it grew on me so much it's now my 2nd fave, about a celebrity, i like the idea of the story in the song. 10/10
13) Universal woman - A nice way to end an album with this delicate ballad. 8/10

All in all i love this album, and if you like her first one then you'll love this, her voice just get's better, so much soul and talent so young, she also writes on all of the tracks.

Time Transcendent
Robyn had cut out a spot all her own with her 1st CD "Robyn Is Here" by the time she turned 18. It's American pop music with a Scandinavian soul. But the truth is that many labeled her work as merely "dance pop" when it's so eclectic in style that no label seems to do it justice. It's pop, soul, gospel, at times mocking, and even self-mocking -- as in "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)]. It also has a genuine "Beat Club" flavour. Darn if you can't imagine a "BC" video in your head for every tune -- even if you've never seen the program, or even been to Britain.

Unfortunately, a "dance pop" label is the quickest path to the bargain bin in any American music store. That's pretty much what's happened to Robyn over here since "Robyn Is Here." "My Truth" has yet to be released in America even though her first album sold over a million copies in the US. Go figure.

I have no idea why Zomba/Jive hasn't released it in the US but maybe they think of it as dance pop, too. It's more likely that don't have an any idea what it is, period. That's despite Z/J releasing three great singles off this effort. "Play" is light as a feather and an exhilarating interpretation of the passage into adulthood. "Electric" is best known for its special effects but Robyn's vocal talents provide the real power in this work. Two more: "My Truth" and as yet to be a single, "Universal Woman," reveal Robyn as artistic lyricist painting so subtle shades of altruism and feminism as to be seamless with the joy each song conjures up. They also reveal Robyn's real strength as a songwriter.

One tune that will probably never be released as a single, at least here, is "Underneath The Heart." American tastes probably deem it as too sentimental and too somber. But if you love Robyn, this is the most beautiful song on the CD and the most meaningful; so much so that it's often confused with some of Mariah Carey's work. And Mariah, no doubt, would have to be having a very good day. Her work seldom conjures up a genuine fire beneath the surface that Robyn's work does.

But when I say "time trancendent" I mean that a lot of Robyn's work in her first two CDs deals with the rite of passage into adulthood (normally read: boring!). That opinion is an all-too superficial judgement and terribly post haste. It's like saying that pop music has to be shallow. Robyn's work harkens to a romantic earlier era when they used to put real vanilla in vanilla -- at first it's never really sweet, it's just vanilla. But you know it's the real thing about half an hour afterward because it's left a taste that's both vanilla and sweet.

Robyn also reminds us that the future can be just as real a flavour as we want. "My Truth" is as good a recipe as any.

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My Truth
Even though this CD is a couple of years old, it is new to me. I picked up her first CD while living in London and I have been a fan ever since. She is definitely mellowing. Her sophomore album is a brilliant and much more mature album than her self-titled debut.

Hard to believe a Swedish Girl can have so much soul. Check out tracks such as "88 Days" and "Monday Morning". On a more playful note "Play" is the bomb, and "Long Gone" shows a jazzy, soulful, R&B feel.

Shame she is not more popular because the girl has talent! Trust me, you will not be disappointed.