Big Talk

Description

Big Talk is the fifth album by Swedish pop band Edin-Ådahl, originally released on the Swedish gospel label Royal Music in 1989. (As well released on Cantio Records.) Released in the US on Refuge Records the same year. The album was produced and recorded by the band at Edin Music Studio in Gävle, Sweden. All songs written and arranged by the band.

I had such high hopes for this album. I remember the early days of Edin-Adahl, when they released ‘No Alibi‘, one of the best foreign ccm releases of all time. It had great songs, reflecting a diverse range of sounds and stylings. Consisting of two pair of Swedish brothers, the band possessed an energetic edge that caused you to overlook their somewhat stilted command of the English language. That record was a favorite on my turntable for quite some time.

Well, no such luck this time out. Apparently the four Swedes have been trapped in a fjord for the past few years, and don’t have a clue as to what’s fresh in today’s music scene. The power pop/R&B groove throughout ‘Big Talk’ is retro-early 80s music (and I don’t mean in some classic way), with the slight exception of Steve Winwood’s resurgence. But; worse, there’s not an interesting song in the bunch.

And here’s an important tip for foreign musicians attempting to make a splash in the American market: if you can’t write intelligently in English – Don’t! This record is filled with not only too much trite Christian-ese, it compounds the problem with stupid rhyming cliches: “Keep on movin/ Don’t stop before you’ve begun/ Keep on groovin’/ If you wanna have big fun.” Big fun? I don’t think so. Even Tiffany writes more challenging lyrics than this.

So if you’re in the mood to buy something Swedish, go to the grocery store and pix up a box of Swiss Miss. [Michael J. Kauffman, Harvest Rock Syndicate, Issue 3, 1989 (Volume 4)]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/big-talk/1443550842)

LP tracklist (Original Swedish Edition):

Side One
A1. “Going Back” – 3:50
A2. “Missin’ You” – 6:05
A3. “Wider Than The Ocean” – 4:04
A4. “Man Of The Street” – 3:56

Side Two
B1. “Big Talk” – 3:50
B2. “Mystical Moments” – 5:25
B3. “Write It On The Wall” – 3:25
B4. “Utopia” – 3:27
B5. “Lonely Without You” – 4:37

Note: Released in Sweden on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Royal Music. The Swedish label Cantio release the album on LP and CD as well. Released on cassette and CD in the US by Refuge Records.