Description
Into My Soul is the sixth album by Swedish pop-rock band Edin-Ådahl, originally released on the Swedish gospel label Cantio Records in 1990. Released in the US the same year on Alarma World Music, a division of Frontline Music Group, distributed by The Benson Company. The album was recorded and mixed at Edin Music Studio in Gävle, Sweden; and was produced and arranged by Kjetil Bjerkestrand and the band.
When this Swedish quartet made up of two sets of siblings broke out in America on its 1983 Refuge Int’l record, ‘Alibi‘, Edin Adahl singlehandedly raised the standard for production values that we would expect from Christian artists. While their English translations and foreign accents limited commercial appeal, this record and its follow-up, ‘X-Factor‘, impressed critics and fans alike with the band’s high gloss sound, strong songwriting and top notch performances. There followed a series of solo outings from the group that was probably too talented for its own good – too many writers, too many lead vocalists to have a focused presence – before distribution died and the band disappeared for all practical intents and purposes.
Last year, Solid Rock Imports sought to reintroduce the band’s more focused Steve Winwwod influenced R&B rooted pop with ‘Miracle‘, but distribution problems and the growth of native product in the area of production values left American audiences largely unaware of the return of Edin Adahl. ‘Into My Soul’, debuting the band on Frontline’s Alarma World label, continues in the direction of ‘Miracle’.
Blue-eyed soul, complete with a sweeping Hammon B-3 presence and full horn charts, marks the edition of fine sounds and intelligently written music. Lyrically, Frank and Simon Adahl write of disillusionment with romantic hard-heartedness («Cold as Ice» and «Don’t Say You’re Sorry») and music business («T.M.B.») while focusing on the underlying presence and mecy of God. «Heaven (Into My Soul)», «Black Coffee», «One Big Family» and «Like a Wind» come farthest toward a specific spiritual expression; but on the whole, those into direct Christian lyrics will find little to meet their expectations. However, those willing to dig a bit below the surface, will find strong pop, with insight into the human predicament. [Brian Q. Newcomb, CCM, December 1990]
White soul – don’t ya just love it when it’s done well! From Hall & Oates in one kingdom to Russ Taff in another it’s all rifle shot snares, Hammond B3s, funky guitars and backing vocals steeped in attitude. Edin-Adahl, despite being Swedish, have continued in this vein and ‘Into My Soul’ is full of just that funky feelin’. As you might expect, it’s all very “Taffy”, but occasionally the ghost of Steely Dan comes wafting out of the speakers with echoes of those classic albums ‘Pretzel Logic’ and ‘The Royal Scam’. Stand out tracks? Well, «T.M.B.», «One Big Family» and «Fire» are all groove filled room rattlers whilst «Falling» comes on all Al Green-like and will no doubt be sung in the shower all over Christendom. The only duff offering is «Like A Wind», which, I kid you not, is the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The whole album, whilst being quite safe, has “class” stamped all over it – a real “Danish Bacon” style stamp, sizzling and tasty! [Paul Kinvig, Cross Rhythms, February 1992]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/into-my-soul/972454057)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Heaven (Into My Soul)” – 3:25
A2. “Falling” – 3:52
A3. “I’ll Be Around” – 4:03
A4. “Cold As Ice” – 3:36
A5. “Black Coffee” – 4:14
A6. “Time Of Peace” – 3:42
Side Two
B1. “Perfect Combination” – 3:47
B2. “Don’t Say That You’re Sorry” – 4:39
B3. “The Fire” – 3:13
B4. “One Big Family” – 4:11
B5. “T.M.B. (The Music Business)” – 4:00
B6. “Like A Wind” – 2:59
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Cantio Records.
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