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 Hot 100 chart: "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride", and a further two which reached number two on the chart: "Dangerous" and "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)". It also includes four newly recorded tracks, three of which were released as singles: "You Don't Understand Me", "June Afternoon" and "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore". The album's title is based on a quote from Motown-founder Berry Gordy. It was co-written by Per Gessle with American composer Desmond Child, and was originally intended for submission to other recording artists. However, Gessle was so pleased with the song that he asked Marie Fredriksson to record the vocals. In the album's liner notes, Gessle described it as the first Roxette song to be written by an "outsider".

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Bryan Buss of AllMusic said that the album "exhibits what pop masters Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson are, ... [they have] crafted some of the best tunes of the '80s and '90s." He described every song as a gem, and said: "Even with the pop renaissance of the late '90s, no one picked up where Roxette left off. This is a comprehensive collection of great contemporary music from overlooked and underrated pros." Ronny Olovsson from Swedish publication Aftonbladet also complimented the new songs, calling them "just as strong [melodically]" as their biggest hit singles, but claimed that the production on their earlier material had aged badly.

Commercial performance

The album was an immediate commercial success throughout Europe, debuting at number three on Billboards European Albums Chart.

The record was also successful in Oceania, peaking in the top ten in both Japan and New Zealand. The record would go on to peak in the top ten, as well as two singles from their then-most recent album, Have a Nice Day (1999): "Stars" and "Wish I Could Fly".

As of 2005, the album had sold over 78,000 copies in the US,

  • Roxette are Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson
  • Recorded at Tits & Ass Studio in Halmstad, Sweden; EMI Studios, Audio Sweden, Polar Studios and Studio Stacken in Stockholm, Sweden; Mayfair Studios in London, England and Capri Digital Studios in Capri, Italy between 1987 and August 1995.
  • All songs produced by Clarence Öfwerman, except "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" by Per Gessle and Michael Ilbert
  • All songs published by Jimmy Fun Music, except "You Don't Understand Me" by Jimmy Fun Music/EMI Songs
  • Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound Studios, New York City

Musicians

  • Marie Fredriksson – lead and background vocals, piano, keyboards and liner notes
  • Per Gessle – lead and background vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, Benny-piano, kazoo, whistling, tambourine, mixing and liner notes
  • Per "Pelle" Alsing – drums and percussion
  • Micke "Syd" Andersson – drums and tambourine
  • Vicki Benckert – background vocals
  • Anders Herrlin – background vocals, bass guitar, synthesizer, engineering and programming
  • Mats Holmquist – string arrangements and conducting
  • Jonas Isacsson – acoustic and electric guitars and harmonica
  • Henrik Janson – talkbox
  • Christer Jansson – hi-hat and percussion
  • Jarl "Jalle" Lorensson – harmonica
  • Clarence Öfwerman – backing vocals, keyboards, Synclavier, string and horn arrangements, programming and mixing
  • Staffan Öfwerman – background vocals
  • Jan "Janne" Oldaeus – electric guitar
  • Mats "MP" Persson – acoustic and electric guitars, engineering and mixing
  • Per "Pelle" Sirén – electric guitar
  • Stockholms Nya Kammarorkester – strings
  • Alar Suurna – tambourine, engineering and mixing
  • Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester – woodwind quartet

Technical

  • Kjell Andersson – sleeve design
  • Humberto Gatica – mixing
  • Michael Ilbert – engineering and mixing
  • Sven Lindström – liner notes
  • Jonas Linell – photography
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
  • Björn Norén – engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

!scope="col"|Chart (1995–2026)

!scope="col"|

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (RPM)

| align="center"|40

|-

! scope="row"| Croatian International Albums (HDU)

| align="center"| 6

|-

! scope="row"|Danish Albums (Hitlisten)

| align="center"|3

|-

|-

! scope="row"|European Albums (Billboard)

| 20

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Italian Albums (FIMI)

| align="center"|7

|-

! scope="row"|Irish Albums (IRMA)

| align="center"|5

|-

! scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| align="center"|19

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"|Portuguese Albums (AFP)

| align="center"|5

|-

!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (Promúsicae)

| align="center"|7

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

!scope="col"|Chart (1995)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)

|26

|-

!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)

|64

|-

!scope="row"|German Albums (GfK)

|98

|-

!scope="row"|Italian Albums (FIMI)

|37

|-

!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)

|50

|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

!scope="col"|Chart (1996)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)

|35

|}

Certifications and sales

References