"Spending My Time" is a song by Swedish duo
Roxette
Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second a ...
, released as the fourth single from their third studio album, ''
Joyride'' (1991). It was written by
Per Gessle
Per Håkan Gessle (; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the Swedish pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was d ...
and Mats Persson, and produced by
Clarence Öfwerman
Clarence Öfwerman (born 22 November 1957) is a Swedish record producer, best known as the longtime producer of Roxette, having been with the band from their debut album ''Pearls of Passion'' in 1986 through to 2016's ''Good Karma'', Roxette's l ...
. The single attained moderate success, reaching the top ten in Germany and Italy, and the top twenty in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, while peaking at number twenty-two on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and thirty-two on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States.
A remix was created by M.C. King Carli and Dr. Renault (pseudonyms used by Öfwerman & Anders) at
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
Studios in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden, in July 1991, and was included on the single. A
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
version of the song, titled "Un Día Sin Ti" ("A Day Without You"), was released in 1996 as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from the duo's Spanish-language compilation album ''
Baladas en Español''.
Composition and style
The verse is written in the key of A (F#min - D - E ... B - Bmin), whereas the chorus is in the key of E (E - B - C#min - A - F#min - B...).
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
editor Bryan Buss noted "the quiet desperation" of the song in his review of ''
Joyride''.
Larry Flick
Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...
from ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' described the song as an "acoustic-anchored pop/rock ballad" and noted further that the "memorable melody and throaty vocals by Marie Fredriksson are
hetrack's true highlights." Swedish newspaper ''
Expressen
''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue".
...
'' called it a "high-pitched melancholy ballad". Dave Sholin from the ''
Gavin Report
The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...
'' wrote, "In a Top 40 world starved for pop music, Per and Marie can be considered a delicacy. No matter what the tempo, all their songs contain melodies that win listeners over immediately. Hearing this latest release makes it easy to understand why they've established such a large and loyal international following."
A reviewer from ''
Göteborgsposten'' complimented the song for its "strong" chorus. Kim Såtvedt from Norwegian newspaper ''
Laagendalsposten'' also complimented Roxette for their "beautiful ballads" like "Spending My Time", noting it as "enthralling". Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media
''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...
'' described it as a "melancholic ballad". Brendon Veevers from ''
Renowned for Sound
''Renowned for Sound'' is an Australian online magazine
An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a pri ...
'' called it "the greatest musical creation of all time", adding the song as "such an emotional charged and exquisitely delivered song". ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''s
J.D. Considine
J. D. Considine (born 1957) is a music critic who has been writing about music professionally since 1977.
Background
J. D. Considine's work has been published in numerous newspapers and music magazines, and he has contributed to several books. ...
noted Fredriksson's "vocal fire-work" on the song. Miranda Sawyer from ''
Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...
'' commented, "Yes, it's a hankies-up ballad with a thumping Swedish beat."
Commercial performance
The song was not as commercially successful as the duo's preceding singles. It peaked at number thirty-two on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, ending a run of five consecutive top two singles on the chart.
In the liner notes of their 1995
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
compilation ''
Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!
''Don't Bore Us - Get to the Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits'' is the first greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 30 October 1995 by EMI. The record contains the duo's four number ones from the US ''Billboard'' ...
'',
Per Gessle
Per Håkan Gessle (; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the Swedish pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was d ...
said he believed that "Spending My Time" was "going to be our biggest hit ever, which might have happened if not our American record company had fired a lot of... ah, never mind." At the end of 1991,
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
merged with other record companies to form EMI Records Group North America. The merger resulted in the new company firing over a hundred members of staff, and saw Roxette receiving little support from the new label. The song also peaked at number nine in Canada.
Music video
The accompanying
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Spending My Time" was directed by American director
Wayne Isham
Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists.
Early life and education
Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the University ...
and depicts singer
Marie Fredriksson
Gun-Marie Fredriksson (; 30 May 1958 – 9 December 2019) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist and painter, who was best known internationally as the lead vocalist of pop rock pop duo, duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. ...
at multiple places in a house, such as sitting by a window, lying in bed, sitting on a couch and at a table. Gessle also appears occasionally playing the guitar.
Track listings
All songs were written by Per Gessle and Mats Persson except "The Sweet Hello, the Sad Goodbye", written by Gessle.
* Cassette and 7-inch single
# "Spending My Time" – 4:39
# "
The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye
"The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye" is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette, written by Per Gessle and recorded in the spring of 1990 for their third studio album ''Joyride (Roxette album), Joyride''. However, the song was excluded from the album, and ...
" – 4:49
*UK 7-inch single
# "Spending My Time" – 4:39
# "
Listen to Your Heart" (Swedish Single Version) – 5:10
*12-inch single
# "Spending My Time" (Electric Dance Remix) – 5:27
# "Spending My Time" – 4:39
# "The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye" – 4:49
*CD single
#"Spending My Time" – 4:39
#"The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye" – 4:49
#"Spending My Time" (Electric Dance Remix) – 5:27
#"Spending My Time" (Electric Dance Remix/Instrumental) – 5:27
*UK CD single
# "Spending My Time" – 4:39
# "The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye" – 4:49
# "Spending My Time" (Electric Dance Remix) – 5:27
# "Listen to Your Heart" (7-inch Edit) – 4:06
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''
The Ballad Hits
''The Ballad Hits'' is the second greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 4 November 2002 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol Records. It was the first of a two-part series of "best of" albums released by the duo in q ...
''.
Studios
* Recorded in July 1990 at EMI Studios (
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden)
*
Mixed at EMI Studios
Musicians
*
Marie Fredriksson
Gun-Marie Fredriksson (; 30 May 1958 – 9 December 2019) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist and painter, who was best known internationally as the lead vocalist of pop rock pop duo, duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. ...
–
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
and
background vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
*
Per Gessle
Per Håkan Gessle (; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the Swedish pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was d ...
– background vocals, mixing
* Anders Herrlin –
programming and
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
* Jonas Isaacson –
acoustic and
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
s
*
Clarence Öfwerman
Clarence Öfwerman (born 22 November 1957) is a Swedish record producer, best known as the longtime producer of Roxette, having been with the band from their debut album ''Pearls of Passion'' in 1986 through to 2016's ''Good Karma'', Roxette's l ...
–
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
, programming and
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
* Alar Suurna – mixing, engineering
* Clarence Öfwerman – mixing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
"Un Día Sin Ti" (1996)
Roxette released a Spanish-language compilation album, ''
Baladas en Español'', in 1996. It consisted of twelve of their down-tempo singles and album tracks, which were translated by Spanish songwriter Luis Gomez-Escolar. This album was only released in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking territories. A translated version of "Spending My Time", titled "Un Día Sin Ti" ("A Day Without You"), was released in November 1996 as the album's
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
.
Music video
A new music video was filmed for this version of the song. It was created by
Jonas Åkerlund
Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, music video director, and drummer. His video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record of fiv ...
, who would go on to direct a total of twelve music videos for the duo. It features close-up shots of Marie singing and Per playing guitar, interspersed with clips of a woman descending into alcoholism, and suggestively
sniffing a table counter.
Track listings
All music was composed by Per Gessle and Mats Persson. Lyrics were written by Gessle. Spanish lyrics were written by Luis G. Escolar.
* CD single
(EU 8652672)
# "Un Día Sin Ti"
("Spending My Time") – 4:39
# "Tímida"
(" Vulnerable") – 4:44
Charts
References
{{Authority control
1990s ballads
1991 singles
1991 songs
EMI Records singles
Music videos directed by Wayne Isham
Pop ballads
Rock ballads
Roxette songs
Songs about heartache
Songs written by Mats Persson (musician)
Songs written by Per Gessle
Torch songs