Shine (Frida album)

Shine
Shine
Studio album by Frida
Released	17 September 1984
Recorded	1 February – 31 March 1984
Studio	Studios de la Grande Armée, Paris
Genre	Pop, Soft Rock, New wave
Length	44:05
Label	Polar (Scandinavia); Epic (UK) ; WEA (Canada); Universal (2005 re-release)
Producer	Steve Lillywhite
Frida chronology
Singles from Shine
	"Shine"; Released: August 1984; "Come To Me (I Am Woman)"; Released: October 1984 (EU); "Heart Of The Country"; Released: November 1984 (UK); "Twist in The Dark"; Released: November 1984 (France);

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

Shine is the fourth studio album by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and her second international solo album as Frida. Released in September 1984, it marks her last studio album in the English language to date. Although it was never officially released in the United States, the album was made available in Canada by WEA.

The album has been re-released several times over the years, most notably in a digitally remastered version in 2005, which included bonus tracks. Shine, along with its accompanying promotional videos and clips, is also featured in the collection Frida – 4xCD 1xDVD.

In terms of commercial success, Shine sold a total of 225,000 copies worldwide, with 65,000 of those sales occurring in Sweden.^[3] Despite its limited release, the album remains a significant part of Frida's solo discography.

Recording history

After the success of Something's Going On, Phil Collins was to produce again for Frida's next album, but as Genesis formed part of his other commitments, producer Steve Lillywhite took over his role.

Recording began on 1 February 1984, at the Studios de la Grande Armée, Paris, France. The producer was Steve Lillywhite, and at only 29 years of age, he was already known for his work with Peter Gabriel, the Rolling Stones and U2 amongst others. Lillywhite's then-wife Kirsty MacColl co-wrote three songs that made the album, as well as a fourth recorded at the sessions and used as a B-side.

At the time of recording, both Something's Going On and Shine, Lyngstad wanted to distance herself from the "typical ABBA pop-sound" and try new directions. Lillywhite managed to give Lyngstad an even more modern and complex soundscape than Phil Collins had done on her previous album. In Frida – The DVD, when speaking about Shine and its failure to recreate the success of its predecessor, Lyngstad herself said "that maybe this album became a bit too modern for its time".^[4]

Reception

The Kingston Whig-Standard reviewed the album in January 1985: “What emerges is a wintery album: beautiful but not warm.”^[5] “The wistful songs of ABBA are missed.”^[5] “It’s not surprising that the best song is the sad ballad "Slowly", written by the ABBA men. Frida can also rock, as two songs, "One Little Lie" and "The Face", prove. This is, however, a transition album; it doesn’t indicate which way Frida is heading.”^[5]

Music

Shine features songwriting contributions from musicians such as Stuart Adamson, Kirsty MacColl, Simon Climie (of Climie Fisher fame), and Pete Glenister, a frequent co-writer and producer of Alison Moyet's music. The Shine album is also unique as it saw the debut of Lyngstad as a songwriter in both "Don't Do It" and "That's Tough", the latter also features her son Hans Fredriksson as co-writer. (Frida also wrote "I Don't Wanna Be Alone" during this period). The track "Slowly" was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA.

The lead single from the album was the title track, "Shine". In some countries "Twist in the Dark", "Come to Me (I Am Woman)" and "Heart of the Country" were released as singles. Shine reached the Top 10 on the album charts in Sweden and Norway, and the Top 30 in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Shine"	Kevin Jarvis Guy Fletcher Jeremy Bird	4:39
2.	"One Little Lie"	Simon Climie Kirsty MacColl	3:44
3.	"The Face"	Daniel Balavoine MacColl	3:40
4.	"Twist in the Dark"	Andy Leek	3:43
5.	"Slowly"	Björn Ulvaeus Benny Andersson	4:34

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heart of the Country"	Stuart Adamson	4:38
2.	"Come To Me (I Am Woman)"	Eddie Howell David Dundas	5:04
3.	"Chemistry Tonight"	Pete Glenister Climie MacColl	4:56
4.	"Don't Do It"	Anni-Frid Lyngstad	4:37
5.	"Comfort Me"	Glenister	4:28
Total length:			44:05

2005 remaster bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"That's Tough" (B-side of "Shine")	Lyngstad Hans Fredriksson MacColl	5:03
2.	"Shine" (Maxi Version)	Jarvis Fletcher Bird	6:31

Personnel

Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals, backing vocals
Simon Climie – keyboards, synthesizers, harpsichord, backing vocals
Pete Glenister – electric guitars, acoustic guitars
Rutger Gunnarsson – bass (1, 8)
Tony Levin – bass (2-7, 9, 10)
Mark Brzezicki – drums
Marc Chantereau – percussion
Kirsty MacColl – backing vocals

Production

Stikkan Andersson – executive producer
Steve Lillywhite – producer
Howard Gray – sound engineer
Frédéric Defaye – assistant engineer
David Edwards – studio coordinator
Thomas Johansson – album coordinator
Görel Hanser – album coordinator
Heinz Angermayr – cover photos
Cay Bond – styling
Digitally recorded and mixed at Studios de la Grande Armée, Paris France
Remastered in 2005 by Henrik Jonsson of Masters of Audio, Stockholm

Charts

Chart performance for *Shine*
Chart (1984)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[6]	21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[7]	49
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[8]	10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[9]	6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[10]	29
UK Albums (OCC)^[11]	67

References

^ "Shine LP".
^ Allmusic review
^ Antall, Lasse (August 12, 1985). "Agnetha och Frida lägger av". Aftonbladet. p. 34.
^ Frida – The DVD
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Kingston Whig-Standard 19 Jan 1985, page 58". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frida – Shine" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frida – Shine" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

[1] "Shine LP".

[2] Allmusic review

[3] Antall, Lasse (August 12, 1985). "Agnetha och Frida lägger av". Aftonbladet. p. 34.

[4] Frida – The DVD

[:0-5] "The Kingston Whig-Standard 19 Jan 1985, page 58". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-02-19.

[ac_Netherlands_Frida-6] "Dutchcharts.nl – Frida – Shine" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

[ac_Germany4_Frida-7] "Offiziellecharts.de – Frida – Shine" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

[ac_Norway_Frida-8] "Norwegiancharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

[ac_Sweden_Frida-9] "Swedishcharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

[ac_Switzerland_Frida-10] "Swisscharts.com – Frida – Shine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

[ac_UK2_-11] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

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v t e Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Studio albums	Frida Frida ensam Something's Going On Shine Djupa andetag
Compilation albums	Anni-Frid Lyngstad Frida 1967–1972 Agnetha & Frida: The Voice of ABBA Frida: The DVD
Remix albums	Frida – The Mixes
Swedish singles	"En ledig dag" "Din"/"Du Är Så Underbart Rar" "Mycket Kär" "Så Synd Du Måste Gå" "Man Vill Ju Leva Lite Dessemellan" "Fernando" "Så länge vi har varann" "Änglamark" "Även en blomma" "Ögonen"
English singles	"I Know There's Something Going On" "To Turn the Stone" "I See Red" "Here We'll Stay" "Belle" "Time" "Shine" "Come To Me (I Am Woman)" "Saltwater"
Related articles	Discography Benny Andersson (second husband) Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss of Plauen (third husband) ABBA