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Look Sharp! XL

A lot of my work has already been done for this since Look Sharp! got a thirtieth-anniversary edition on CD, LP+CD and a monstrous digital release that was amended quite a few times. The big oversight was not including any remixes, and the demo running order could use some tweaking.

Look Sharp!: XL Edition

The artwork luckily doesn’t need much adjusting. I’ve chosen the CD artwork as a starting point since it was already designed for a smaller medium, unlike the LP artwork where the details get fuzzy when reduced. Some changes I would make are to fix the release date, add the “XL Edition” wording, adjust the number of tracks, and increase the size of the text at the bottom of the photo.

Album

For the album tracks, I’m sticking to the CD tracklist since excluding “(I Could Never) Give You Up” is a criminal offence in my book.

  1. The Look (3:57)
  2. Dressed for Success (4:09)
  3. Sleeping Single (4:37)
  4. Paint (3:30)
  5. Dance Away (3:25)
  6. Cry (5:18)
  7. Chances (4:57)
  8. Dangerous (3:48)
  9. Half a Woman, Half a Shadow (3:35)
  10. View from a Hill (3:39)
  11. (I Could Never) Give You Up (3:58)
  12. Shadow of a Doubt (4:14)
  13. Listen to Your Heart (5:29)

Demos

The digital release included almost all known demos, but there are a few more to add still. In addition, I would adjust the running order to be chronological so we can hear the development as the recording sessions progressed.

  1. Önskar (demo, 8 July 1986: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:35)
    The original Swedish version of “Sleeping Single”
  2. A Little Bit Dangerous (demo, 11 February 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:22)
  3. Dangerous (demo - acoustic, 25 February 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:05)
  4. The Voice (demo, 24 March 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:44)
  5. Rocket (demo, 9 April 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:08)
  6. Night Wire (demo, 9 April 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (2:48)
  7. Dressed for Success (demo, 20 May 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:20)
  8. Silver Blue (demo, 21 May 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:58)
  9. Sleeping Single (demo, 22 May 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:52)
  10. Pocketful of Rain (demo, 12 June 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (4:01)
  11. Dressed for Success (demo - acoustic, 12 June 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle
  12. One Is Such a Lonely Number (demo, 26 August 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:21)
  13. The Thrill of It All (demo, 26 August 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (2:42)
  14. Love Spins (demo, 15 September 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:05)
  15. Boom Boom (And Boom Boom Again) (demo, 15 September 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (2:56)
  16. In My Own Way (demo, 15 September 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:15)
  17. Sleeping Single (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm) (3:45)
  18. Silver Blue (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm) (4:15)
  19. Dangerous (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm) (3:27)
  20. Dressed for Success (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm) (3:51)
  21. Never Is a Long Time (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm) (3:50)
  22. The Voice (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm)
  23. From Head to Toe (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm) (3:17)
  24. One Is Such a Lonely Number (demo, 26–30 September 1987: EMI Studios, Stockholm) (3:31)
  25. Never Is a Long Time (demo, 29 September 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle
  26. Never Is a Long Time (demo, 11 November 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:48)
  27. View From a Hill (demo, 17 November 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:14)
  28. Love Spins (demo, 18 November 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:22)
  29. Chances (demo, 24 November 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (4:16)
  30. Satellite (demo, 1 December 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle
  31. Boom Boom (demo, 9 December 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle
  32. (I Could Never) Give You Up (demo, 18 December 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:42)
  33. Don’t Believe in Accidents (demo, 18 December 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle
  34. From Head to Toe (demo, 18 December 1987: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle
  35. Shadow of a Doubt (demo, 9 February 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:10)
  36. Dance Away (demo, 9 February 1988: Tits & Ass) (3:34)
  37. Cry (demo, 9 February 1988: Tits & Ass) (5:07)
  38. Start! (demo, 19 February 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:04)
  39. Don’t Believe in Accidents (demo, spring 1988) (3:41)
  40. Don’t Believe in Accidents (demo - instrumental, spring 1988) (3:26)
  41. The Look (demo, 30 March 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:27)
  42. Here Comes the Weekend (demo, 30 March 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (4:12)
  43. Drowning In You (demo, 17 April 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:50)
  44. Physical Fascination (demo, 17 April 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:37)
  45. Paint (demo, 22 April 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:34)
  46. Listen to Your Heart (demo, 9 May 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (4:23)
  47. Let’s Party! (demo, 14 July 1988: Tits & Ass) — Per Gessle (3:59)

Outtakes, B-sides and non-album tracks

The singles also included some great live tracks as B-sides, of which most have never been released elsewhere.

  1. The Voice (4:14)
  2. Silver Blue1 (4:12)
  3. Surrender (live, 16 December 1988: Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping, Sweden) (3:10)
  4. Neverending Love (live, 16 December 1988: Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping, Sweden) (3:27)
  5. Joy of a Toy (live, 16 December 1988: Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping, Sweden) (4:10)
  6. Sleeping Single (live, 16 December 1988: Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping, Sweden) (4:15)
  7. Cry (live, 16 December 1988: Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping, Sweden) (5:43)
  8. It Must Have Been Love2 (4:20)

Mixes and edits

Now we need to address the elephant in the room, or should I say the lack of an elephant in the room? Look Sharp! was released when remixes were an essential part of the promotion process, and yet, we got to hear none of them in the thirtieth-anniversary edition. Aside from the remixes included on maxi singles, there were also quite a few remixes that were only available on DJ promos. ROX RMX included seven of these remixes, but there are almost another twenty that could still be added.

  1. Dressed for Success (the Look Sharp mix) (7:50)
    Remixed by Anders Herrlin & Magnus Frykberg
  2. Dressed for Success (instrumental) (4:13)
  3. Listen to Your Heart (Swedish single version) (5:10)
  4. Listen To Your Heart (orchestral version) (3:43)
  5. Chances (7-inch version) (4:07)
  6. Chances (Dancehall version) (8:25)
    Remixed by Adam Moseley
  7. The Look (Head-drum-mix) (7:16)
    Remixed by Emil Hellman
  8. The Look (Visible mix) (6:03)
    Remixed by Rusty Garner
  9. The Look (power radio mix) (4:09)
    Remixed by Rusty Garner
  10. The Look (Big Red mix) (7:33)
    Remixed by Rusty Garner
  11. The Look (Invisible dub) (5:11)
    Remixed by Rusty Garner
  12. The Look (Swemix) (7:06)
    Remixed by Emil Hellman
  13. Dangerous (Swedish single version) (3:46)
  14. Dangerous (Waste of Vinyl 12-inch mix) (6:26)
    Remixed by Alar Suurna
  15. Dressed for Success (Look Sharp! mix) (4:52)
    Remixed by Chris Lord-Alge
  16. Dressed for Success (new radio mix) (3:56)
    Remixed by Daniel Abraham
  17. Dressed for Success (Success mix) (6:43)
    Remixed by Daniel Abraham
  18. Dressed for Success (The remix) (6:30)
    Remixed by Mark McGuire
  19. Listen to Your Heart (edited version) (4:34)
  20. Listen to Your Heart (remix / US adult contemporary version) (4:31)
    Remixed by John Luongo
  21. Listen to Your Heart (remix) (4:53)
    Remixed by John Luongo
  22. Listen to Your Heart (remix - short version) (4:30)
    Remixed by John Luongo
  23. Dangerous (power mix - short version) (3:40)
    Remixed by Daniel Abraham
  24. Dangerous (power mix - long version) (7:08)
    Remixed by Daniel Abraham
  25. Dangerous (US adult contemporary version) (3:51)
    Remixed by Daniel Abraham
  26. Dangerous (dub) (7:15)
    Remixed by Daniel Abraham
  27. It Must Have Been Love (single version) (3:51)

I’m sure there are some tracks we don’t know about that could still be added, but I think Per has almost reached the bottom of the barrel insofar as demos for this album are concerned. There was a remix of “Paint” credited to Chris Lord-Alge that floated around the internet at some point back in the day which would be a nice addition, but I have no idea whether it was indeed remixed by him. Excellent remix, nonetheless. Unless something else pops up somewhere in the future, I think this is as complete as it’s going to get.

  1. While the version of “The Voice” on Dressed for Success was not listed as a demo and the version of “Silver Blue” on The Look was, both were roughly at the same point of production. The final version released on Tourism differs with a slightly different mix and some additional overdubs. At most, this should be considered an unfinished studio version, if that. Consider also that both tracks are on the proposed tracklisting for the album in mid-May 1988. Seems to me they were considered pretty much done and ready for the album. For this reason, I’m adding the version of “Silver Blue” on The Look to this list and not as a demo. In my book either both are demos or neither are. ↩︎

  2. “It Must Have Been Love” is included since it was released in between the singles from the album, if you take the final UK single releases into account. ↩︎