GEMINI - GEMINISM (1987, POLAR RECORDS)
Karin Glenmark - vocals
Anders Glenmark - vocals
Benny Andersson - keyboards
Per Lindvall - drums
Lasse Wellander - guitars
Peter Ljung - keyboards

Background
Ok, time for me to come out of the musical closet. I am an ABBA fan! Yes, that sugar coated Swedish foursome that like the Bee Gees, you either love or hate. I don't know what it is? Agnetha and Frida who were quite easy on the eyes, not to mention their incredible vocal, um... assets, or the production and classically influenced song writing duo of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. Whatever the magic formula, ABBA were a force to be reckoned with and created some of the best pop music of their time. Of course all good things must come to an end and ABBA split in the early 80's followed by numerous solo albums and stage productions. In between it all are two albums by the group Gemini, a duo comprised of brother and sister Anders and Karin Glenmark. Anders had already worked with ABBA years earlier and both appeared on the soundtrack to the musical 'Chess' written by Andersson and Ulvaeus featuring the hit single 'One Night In Bangkok'. Karin had released a solo album in the early 80's and both were ready for stardom. With half of one of the biggest selling bands in history at the helm, all things were possible.

The Songs
'Geminism' is the stronger of the two albums and a little more rock based than the first. Its obvious Andersson and Ulvaeus were hoping to capitalize on the success of their previous band, since much of this material is similar to ABBA's later work. The production is typical 80's with plenty of synthesizer and quirky rhythms on the up-tempo material like 'Ghost Town' which bares a striking resemblance to the aforementioned 'One Night In Bangkok' and dramatic ballads such as 'Mio My Mio' which was a big hit in Sweden. If there is any problem with the CD, it's the material itself which really doesn't grab hold. I can forgive the dated production, but knowing the previous history of Andersson and Ulvaeus and their song writing abilities; this at times lackluster work is a bit dissapointing and uneven. Not a terrible release, it just could have been better.

In Summary
Despite my feelings, fans of One 2 One, Device, Boy Meets Girl and Berlin will find this CD enjoyable, although it is becoming scarce these days while the first album on disc is almost impossible to find. Better off getting the LP version if you must, it's up to you. Since the release of this album, the Glenmark's have been involved in a variety of projects as well as releasing a couple of solo albums. Gemini never captured the hearts and minds of Scandinavia the way ABBA did, but for fans of obscure 80's pop music from the land of Northern lights, they are worth looking out for.

URL: www.chestud.chalmers.se/~k94077/gemini.html

Track Listing:
01 T.L.C.
02 Beat The Beat
03 Mio My Mio
04 Ghost Town
05 I Am The Universe
06 Sniffin' Out The Snakes
07 I'm A Bitch When I See Red
08 There's No Way To Fool A Heart
09 Wild About That Girl
10 Nearly There

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