Playing My Game - Lene Marlin

...then followed by the guitar playing a simple riff. Lene then joins in with her soft toned voice. A rather breathless effect she uses to portray the mood of the song. “I cry my tears but they’re not for you. Playing my game I know you’ve done too, I shouldn’t have waited but still its all the same cos you know, I’m just playing my game” this a an amazing song and when I first heard it, I couldn’t believe what ...
...track begins with the piano playing a simple slow tune in harmony with the other part along with a wind type sound creating a calm yet eerie mood. It then gets a bit louder and the drums enter along with a synthesised string section. Lene then enters with a really haunting vocal part. Her voice has an echo added to it which makes it that even more relaxing and reflective. The instrumental accompaniments that play along with the voice are great in ... more

Lene Marlin’s million selling album is a must have for any collection! You need to read this op to fully understand why this album should be bought. This album will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions maybe with some bumps along the way but most of it is plain sailing!

Lene, the Norwegian singer/songwriter’s first single release and the first track on this album is “Sitting Down Here”. This was a top 5 smash hit for her and the single stayed in the charts for a massive 49 weeks! Her silky smooth voice and acoustic guitar has proved that this album is classic. I’m sure you have all heard this song otherwise where have you been?

The track begins with vocals and then goes onto the guitar intro. The first verse is a great start for the album, the track is very catchy and words such as “Your words cut rather deeply they’re just some other lies.” This song can do no wrong. A good happy and uplifting song if ever I heard one. A nice drumbeat keeping the pace along with the great guitar accompaniments are great. 8.5/10

The next track “Playing My Game” is the album’s namesake, a rather moody intro with the sound of a beat that is unrecognisable on an instrument begins then followed by the guitar playing a simple riff. Lene then joins in with her soft toned voice. A rather breathless effect she uses to portray the mood of the song. “I cry my tears but they’re not for you. Playing my game I know you’ve done too, I shouldn’t have waited but still its all the same cos you know, I’m just playing my game” this a an amazing song and when I first heard it, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This song is truly haunting and very special the voice of Lene and the Spanish sounding guitar make this track what it is, that being truly inspirational. 8.5/10

The next track, my favourite upbeat song is “Unforgivable Sinner” This track was the album’s second release, it didn’t do as well as the first only entering at about number 10 but this track is much better than the first, the words mean more and its just brilliant. Starting off with two guitars, this song is just perfect reflecting summer time and love. This song especially the chorus will have you singing along to it for a long time. It is again a very catchy track which is also easy to harmonise. The backing vocals also add to the happy yet emotional heartbreak mood of the song. The middle eight of this track is also good which then leads into the chorus once more. 10/10

“Flown Away” is again another reflective song. This is an amazing intro, which sets clear it’s mood. The track begins with the piano playing a simple slow tune in harmony with the other part along with a wind type sound creating a calm yet eerie mood. It then gets a bit louder and the drums enter along with a synthesised string section. Lene then enters with a really haunting vocal part. Her voice has an echo added to it which makes it that even more relaxing and reflective. The instrumental accompaniments that play along with the voice are great in this track as they compliment the vocal and track simultaneously. This track seems to be particularly inspired by angels, lines such as “Fly me away” and “Flown to high on borrowed wings” makes this evident. A great song which is really good to relax to. 9.5/10

The next track “The Way We Are” is not such a strong song in comparison to the previous track although it still is worth listening to. Guitar parts along with other instruments are also evident. Lene’s voice is the best factor in this track, she uses the dynamic in the song very well. This song again is another slower track although it picks up a bit when in chorus. This had a nice riff to it on times in the guitar part. Not one of the best songs on here. A bit of a low.6/10

The next track picks up from Unforgivable Sinner it begins rather uptempo with strong beat and string section. “So I See” is an uplifting song with a very catchy chorus. I particularly like the verses, the are performed well and the words have meaning like the rest of the album. A great electric guitar accompaniment along with the strings makes this track sound as if it is being performed as a happy up-in-the-skies track. The track is well polished again with Lene showing emotion and dynamics in her voice. A piano accompanies near the end where the rest of the instruments including the voice have a break. 8/10

“Maybe I’ll Go” is a slow song which contrast with the last track. Beginning with a strong bass beat and then the piano intro, you just know that this song is going to take you on a journey! Lene enters with her gentle voice along with its reverb (echo) added. This echo adds to the relaxing and heavenly feel. The guitar riff and piano accompaniment compliment Lene’s voice really well. Lyrics such as “When and if you hit the ground, Then it’s falling kinda hard, cos all you do is being yourself, trying everything to succeed somehow but that’s not the way things are right now feeling kinda lost” portray the emotion that has gone into the song as well as being performed. The end gives you a silence for a while to reflect which is good. A really inspirational as well as relaxing track. 9.5/10

The third track to have been released off this album was “Where I’m Headed”. This track also didn’t live up to the first release but is still a good track, not as good as some of the others in my view but still good. The beginning of this track is good in the way that it gradually gets louder creating dynamics in the song. Lene’s voice is much stronger in this track also sung using an echo. The guitar and percussion parts are good in this track. This track will have you singing along to it. “I pass by, don’t dare to stop. There’s no-one I see, there’s no-one here but me” Another happier track as well as uplifting. 8/10

“One Year Ago” is a reflective song. This longer echo on the voice as well as the strumming on the guitar, add to the slow mood. The verses are slow and eerie in sound where as the chorus provide more of a contrast where they get louder and more indie in style then relating back to the contrasting verses. The chorus also seems to get more contrasting as it comes back each time with electric guitars being added and so on. I like this song because of the vocal part and the contrasting sections involved in the track. 8.5/10

The final and most relaxing and reflective song on the album is “A Place Nearby” this track is truly amazing and is probably my favourite slow track on the album. The culmination of the drum beats and piano sets the song off perfectly. Lene’s voice is truly magnificent in this track she demonstrates her voice very well here. This track has an amazing vocal part as well as instrumental parts but it’s the lyrics that are the tip of the iceberg on this track. This song is filled with emotion and its clear now that Lene’s inspiration in this track as well as others has to do with heaven and dying. I suspect that she had lost someone close and this song as well as others are dedicated to that special someone. This track if not the others will definitely bring you to tears or at least stir some emotions in you. I think the lyrics describe best what this track truly means and so I will write them out for you at the end of the op. Take your time to read them, it wont be a waste of time! 10/10

This album is chocablock full of emotional hits which will make you feel sad, make you feel happy and also give you relaxation. This album is definitely worth getting. Although there are quite a lot of slow songs, these songs are what makes this album, they are reflective and create a relaxing mood of which I haven’t heard from any other album before! You really need to get this album I can’t tell you how much you will like it. For some reason, everyone can relate to this album. Lene is an amazing singer/songwriter and she deserves the praise she’s getting. This album can be bought now for about £6.99! I saw it in the HMV summer sale so if I have persuaded you to get it (which I hope I have) go and get it asap!

Here are the lyrics to the last track

“A Place Nearby”

I entered the room
sat by a bed all through the night
I watched your daily fight
I hardly knew
The pain was almost more than I could bear
and still I hear your last words to me

Chorus:-
Heaven is a place nearby
so I wont be so far away
And if you try and look for me
maybe you’ll find me someday
Heaven is place nearby
so there’s no need to say goodbye
I wanna ask you not to cry
I’ll always be by your side

You just faded away
you spread your wings you had flown
away to something unknown
wish I could bring you back
You’re always on my mind
about to tear myself apart
You have your special place in my heart always..

Chorus:-
Heaven is a place nearby
so I wont be so far away
and if you try and look for me
maybe you’ll find me someday
Heaven is a place nearby
so there’s no need to say goodbye
I wanna ask you not to cry
I´ll always be by your side

And even when I go to sleep
I still can hear your voice
and those words
I never will forget

Heaven is a place nearby
so I wont be so far away
and if you try and look for me
maybe you’ll find me someday
Heaven is a place nearby
so there’s no need to say goodbye
I wanna ask you not to cry
I´ll always be by your side
 

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