Jenny Berggren – My Story
My Story, released 13th October 2010, is the debut album by Jenny Berggren as a solo artist.
The album is available now both digitally and on CD.
Review
Jenny’s debut solo album is by no means disappointing. The best advice I can give you is to listen to at least 3 times before judging it. This album is deep, sort of like how The Bridge was. There are those tracks that stand out immediately, and others which you really need to hear a few times to be able to appreciate.
What listeners have to keen in mind, though, is that this is not an Ace of Base album. Jonas brought to Ace of Base simple, catchy melodies and hooks that aren’t as apparent in My Story. Some of the songs can at first seem unstructured, messy and sometimes noisy. Ulf’s contributions are also noticeably lacking by way of drums and backbeat. Where the drums in most Ace of Base songs were solid and deep, the backbeat in most of Jenny’s songs seem tinny and I sometimes found myself crying out for a stronger beat with more bass.
However Jenny has managed to invent her own style with the help of Terese Fredenwall, Simon Petrén and the Sthlm Sound Facility, creating a sound that is overall modern and professional. There are elements of electro-pop, rock and classical piano on this album. The standout song is Gotta Go, where Jenny shows us she is a strong, confident woman. Dying to Stay Alive is a great dance track that can be most likened to Ace of Base. Give me the Faith is deep and beautiful, while Natural Superstar is a fun poke at the fickleness of fame.
One thing that let’s the album down is the track order. My Story the album, like her book of the same name is meant to tell the story of Jenny’s life and it appears the tracks have been ordered to fit this storyline. Unfortunately, this results in the stronger songs being near the back of the album. First impressions have not been taken into account. Had I arranged the clips of this album would have placed Here I Am and Gotta Go at the start, and would have finished with Give me the Faith.
Overall, the album is pretty good. I preferred Jenny in Ace of Base, but I’ll take her anyway I can.
Do you agree or disagree with my review? Please leave your comments below.
| Song Title | Rating | Notes |
| Intro | Dramatic, churchy opening. | |
| Free Me | 7.5/10 | It’s a funky track. It seemed disappointing compared to the original rock version, but after a few listens, it’s great how it is. I love the electronic sounds. |
| Living in a Circus | 8.0/10 | Upbeat – I love the chorus to this song. Grew on me, as I thought it might. |
| Spend this Night | 4.5/10 | It’s messy. The chorus is repetitive, but not without merit. Not my kind of song. |
| Dying to Stay Alive | 8.5/10 | Now we’re talking! A heavy dance beat, catchy melody, a modern sound and passionate vocals. The most AOB-like track. I suspect it may wear thin though. |
| Numb | 5.0/10 | Slow, dreary, unhappy song. But the chorus is growing on me. |
| Gotta Go | 9.0/10 | Strongest track on the album. Great beat, fantastic catchy melody and passionate vocals. The backing vocals by Terese add a lot to this song. |
| Here I Am | 7.0/10 | A generally good track. I like the synth sounds. Good beat, but could be faster. |
| Give me the Faith | 7.0/10 | It’s a beautiful song, that had potential to be a lot better. I feel Jenny’s vocal range doesn’t move much – too monotonously high pitch until nearer the end of the song. The vocals with Simon are nice – would have been nice if his vocals were a bit louder. I had hoped a studio version could have packed more punch. |
| Beat of My Heart | 7.0/10 | This song is quite funky and upbeat. |
| Air of Love | 7.5/10 | Another modern song with a good beat. The chorus is gorgeous. |
| Natural Superstar | 7.5/10 | A fun song that pokes fun at the fickleness of fame. I like the whistles. |
| Here I am (remix) | 7.0/10 | A pretty good remix. Love the tune in the chorus. |
| Going Home | 6.0/10 | An average song with a touch of country. A boring way to end the album, I feel. |
about 10 months ago
I agree with almost everything in this review, but I have come to really love the entire recording…and it did take me about 3 listens before I started to like it. I think the content is thoughtful and sophisticated. I am definitely looking for more recordings to come from JB. And soon, I hope!
about 1 year ago
I agree with parts of your review. I disagree with your review because I feel this is a much, much better album than AOB’s Golden Ratio. That album is all over the place and has no feeling to it. It’s like 80′s song rejects. Eight songs are acceptable at best (1-3, 6-10).
However, Jenny’s album is much better. The writing is much more thoughtful. The feel of the album is solid if not always consistent in style. Jenny’s vocal’s are possibly the best I’ve ever heard from her. I do agree the track order could have been re-arranged some, but it’s a minor flaw. I also agree that Give Me The Faith was not quite where it potentially could have ended up as a power song. Stand out songs are Here I Am, Gotta Go, and Dying to Stay Alive. However, all songs are at least a 6 out of 10. Much better than AOB’s Golden Ratio.
What I would like to see is Jenny push more to come back to the US. There are several songs that would be a refreshing change for the radio.
If you have a choice, go for Jenny!
about 1 year ago
For me Numb is the best song of the album! Adore it! The second position is occupied by Living ih the circus. However my opinion might change when I listen to the album more.
about 1 year ago
Great review! I agree with your opinion, it is not a perfect album but I prefer it to the new Ace of Base. Jenny’s voice sounds amazing and adapts perfectly to dance music.
about 1 year ago
Good to listen new songs with her voice again bu she needs better production team
Here I Am is the best track
Dying to Stay Alive in chorus parts tries to be Beautiful Life but it can’t
also Numb is very good track
about 1 year ago
I would give her 4 1/2 stars though!
about 1 year ago
I love this album, Geoff and completely agree with your review! You are an excellent critic.
about 1 year ago
I agree with what said on the review. I still feel a stronger connection to this record more than with the latest AOB cd. I guess I’m older and I feel The Bridge matches my age and personaliyy better now than Golden Ration. Golden Ratio is too “teenish” for my taste. On the other hand Jenny’s personal effort even though it embarks on eletro pop current sounds has the one thing AOB forgot to keep doing in their music: having some deepth in either melody and lyrics. You can be groovy and funky and contemporary but still have something more profound to say instead of lyrics and too much “easy carchy” melodies.
I would say that “Here I Am” is the closest to an AOB track … trully brings me back to the solid happy pop echoes of LIAF in 1998 with a sparkling strong chorus and amazing sound production. I also agree that Gotta Go is the BEST and the STRONGEST song: great melody, honest, deep, true and really good.
What a great story you have shared with us Jenny!
about 1 year ago
One line…Geoff is a good writer…he gets 10 on 10 from me….even tho I like Numb a lot..