Whigfield

by William CooperDenmark native Sannie Charlotte Carlson (she uses the name Whigfield as a tribute to a former teacher) released her debut album Whigfield in 1995 (the album saw American release a year later), and several of its songs became European dancefloor favorites. "Think of You," "Another Day," and (especially) "Saturday Night" are silly, adequately performed fluff, but irresistibly catchy fluff. While Whigfield's brand of lightweight, bubblegum dance-pop is far from original, her charming, here-goes-nothing delivery blends well with the disco-influenced arrangements, and the result is engaging dancefloor fodder. Whigfield stumbles considerably on a few of the album's tracks. The ballads "Don't Walk Away" and "Close to You" just don't work; she doesn't have the voice to pull them off, and neither fits well among the dance tunes that make up the rest of the album. And the faux-reggae of "Big Time" makes Ace of Base sound like Bob Marley. But Whigfield is primarily a dance-pop album, and within this context, it succeeds. [Import versions of this release are worth searching for, as some include remixes, as well as an 18-minute-long "Whigfield Megamix."]