Säffle-Tidningen 2023-04-06
By: CLAES ÖSTERMAN
If one were to list Sweden’s greatest female artists of all time, Helen Sjöholm would end up among the top names. On Tuesday, she stood on the Citizen’s House stage and offered a concert that the audience will never forget.
If an artist runs like a common thread through Kristina from Duvemåla, Chess, As it is in heaven and Benny Andersson Band – then that artist belongs to the greatest. But Helen Sjöholm is so much more than a singer with gold in her throat and above all you are touched by her warmth, humor and humility. She simply goes straight into our hearts.
Tuesday’s concert in Medis was a moment of celebration and during certain pieces it felt like a privilege to hear her sing for us. Gabriella’s song is one of our second national anthems and she barely had time to take the last note before the audience (packed to the last seat) stood up and gave a standing ovation the likes of which you rarely see..
And what do you say about You have to be there (…), which is also one of the most beautiful things written in Swedish in the last half century.
They were songs to carry with you into the chilly spring evening, an evening that began with Helen Sjöholm reminding us that spring is indeed coming and that we should take advantage of the moments. After Vårvindar friska and a fantastic version of Hårgalåten, she sang some of her newest songs, including the wonderful love song I morse när du gick that Andreas Mattsson has written for her.
Naughtiest song
It was a rough throw but dealing with rough throws is typical of the greatest and broadest performers. After beautiful songs about love and passion, Helen threw herself into melancholy and longing – or more precisely the folk story of Kåta Maja (Horny Maja), a song so brash it would have made Johnny Bode blush. And the throw is just as sharp when Helen Sjöholm leads us onto the dance floor with Benny Andersson Band’s modern classics Vår sista dans (Our last dance) and Du är min man (You are my man) which was 278 weeks on the Svedish charts.
In this context, one must highlight her accompanist Rikard Nilsson (…)
We were treated to a few surprises. Helen’s personal version of Jakob Hellman’s classic Hon har ett sätt (She has a way) is called Han har ett sätt (He has a way) and is a nice declaration of love, and we were certainly impressed by her interpretation of Loreen’s Euforia, which became one of the evening’s encores in a 100-minute long concert – which we will not forget.
(The entire review is not reproduced for copyright reasons)