Aqua - Aquarium
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CD Details
Artist: AquaEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1997-09-09
Music Label: Mca
Product features:
- AQUA AQUARIUM
- Happy Boys & Girls
- My Oh My
- Barbie Girl
- Good Morning Sunshine
- Doctor Jones
- Heat Of The Night
- Be A Man
- Lollipop (Candyman)
- Roses Are Red
- Turn Back Time
- Calling You
Music reviews of Aquarium
Music Review: Probably Could Have Been Great...But Far Too Flawed
Rating: 1 Stars
Danish pop group Aqua debuted in 1997 with the major hit "Barbie Girl". Ironically enough, the makers of the actual Barbie doll later sued them for that song because they believed it promoted a negative image of Barbie. The group consists of Claus and Soren, who both play keyboards and the drum machine, rapper/vocalist Rene, and lead singer Lene. "Barbie Girl" was actually the third single from the group's debut however it is the one most people think of when they hear about the group. The album does not have much substance per se but is filled with upbeat pop songs with a couple of ballads.
The album starts off with the overly bubbly and cheerful "Happy Boys &Girls". It kind of appears to be an attempt at a dance song with an almost subliminal inspirational message (of not being concerned with every little thing but being happy instead). However, the song falls flat with its poorly written and repetitive lyrics ("Happy boys and happy girls we'll be, we are the happy boys and girls. Happy boys and happy girls will be, so happy yeah! So, so happy yeah!"). After this is my personal favourite, "My Oh My", which has a somewhat medieval vibe to it (lyrically). This song isn't too bad lyrically ("Mystery deep in the royal heart, crying at night I wanna be a part. Prince oh prince are you really sincere, that you one day are gonna disappear?"). Vocally, while I find the lead singers voice quite irritating most of the time, is pretty decent.
Third up is the infamous "Barbie Girl" which was meant as a social commentary however much of the message is lost (even seven years later, I'm not quite sure what message they were going for) and it merely seems like a commentary on the product. The major redeeming quality of this song, like many of Aqua's songs, is that it is incredibly catchy. Otherwise, it is not too great. Next up is "Good Morning Sunshine" which is weighed down with metaphors, but it works. Vocally it is one of the better tracks on the album and the Latin-tinged music adds a lot to the quality. The song seems to be comparing a lover to the sun and for the most part, the metaphors work well. After this is "Doctor Jones" which, like Barbie Girl, has nothing really to say but is good simply because it is so catchy. Of the two, "Doctor Jones" is probably a little easier to sit through.
Next is "Heat Of The Night" which is somewhat reminiscent of the first track, "Happy Boys & Girls". Lene's vocals are quite irritating in this song, and do not really suit the chipper style of either this song, or "Happy Boys & Girls". It is an average dance song but instantly forgotten once the album is over. After that comes "Be A Man" which is a much slower song that has much better vocals. Lyrically, it is decent enough but could probably stand some minor rewrites. It seems to be about trying to get your boyfriend to tell you when its over instead of keeping it going when he's not interested any more. It is a situation I'm sure many people can relate to as people sometimes do not want to end a relationship because they don't want to hurt the other person.
"Lollipop" comes next and sometimes seems to have kind of sexual undertones ("I wish that I were a bubble gum, chewing on me baby all day long. I will be begging for sweet delight, until you say that I'm yours tonight"). There is something kind of catchy about the song but there is nothing particularly great about it that makes it stand out. Up next is "Roses Are Red" which has incredibly clichéd lyrics ("roses are red and violets are blue, honey is sweet but not as sweet as you"). The song is a fairly sweet love song but far too repetitive for my liking. As well, by this point in the album, Lene and Rene's vocals are somewhat irritating especially considering a majority of songs are sung in the same manner. With the exception of the singles ("My Oh My", "Barbie Girl" and "Doctor Jones"), nothing really is distinguishable since they are so similar. "Turn Back Time" is up next and is one of the slower songs. It is vocally a little better and I do not believe Rene is in this song at all. However, it is not really any different from any of the other slower songs on the album ("Be A Man", "Good Morning Sunshine"). Lastly, there is the extremely irritating "Calling You" in which Lene is repeatedly spelling out "c-a-l-l-i-n-g" which makes the song that much more annoying. The song leads absolutely nowhere and has the same upbeat but somewhat grating quality to it that "Happy Boys & Girls" and "Heat Of The Night" had.
Overall Mark: 1/5
At the time the album was released, it probably wasn't too bad however as I listen to it now, it is seriously flawed. Lene and Rene have decent voices but sing just about every song in the exact same way, which makes them all kind of blend together. As for the songs themselves, only the singles really stand out and only "My Oh My" is actually any good. The ballads are nice, but really all three of them sound the same. Lyrically, the entire album (with a couple of exceptions) leave a lot to be desired. In many cases (especially "Doctor Jones") Lene resorts to nonsensical words (check the song lyrics to see what I mean). Aqua could have probably made a fantastic pop album with lots of catchy songs, on a touching album full of ballads however the mix is too inconsistent. After this album, Aqua had one more hit in America ("Cartoon Heroes") and then vanished. Though with the quality of this album and that single, it is easy to see why.
Description of Aquarium
AQUA AQUARIUMDance & DJ CDs
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