Eternal Rhythm: Doris - Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby
Originally released in 1970 on EMI Sweden, Did You Give the World Some Love Today, Baby was Doris Svensson’s only solo album - a curious, quietly radiant blend of funk, jazz, soul, and pop that didn’t make much noise at the time. It might’ve stayed in the margins if it weren’t for a second life sparked by crate diggers and a 1996 Mr Bongo reissue. Since then, it’s become a cult favourite, passed between DJs, collectors, and hip-hop producers who found gold in its deep grooves.
Doris was best known in Sweden for her earlier pop singles, but this record is something else entirely - loose, playful, and strange in places, with a homespun charm that doesn’t try to impress. Her voice has an easy charisma, warm and unpolished, but never uncertain. She leans into each track with a kind of casual conviction - whether she’s asking the big questions on the title cut or letting loose on the swinging, almost funky “Beatmaker.”
Backed by her husband Lukas Lindholm on bass and a small circle of musicians who are completely locked in, Doris moves between moods and styles without ever feeling showy. “Don’t” is snappy and rhythmic; “What a Lovely Way” feels tender and folky; and “You Never Come Closer” - the record’s standout oddity - layers smoky organ over a sparse groove, a track so hypnotic it caught Madlib’s ear for his Quasimoto project.
It’s easy to hear the appeal now: the grooves are tight, the playing unfussy, and the production has that warm, slightly hazy quality that makes it feel like you’ve uncovered something private. The album doesn’t hammer its message home, it just asks you to slow down, pay attention, and maybe be a little kinder today than you were yesterday.
A singular record from an unlikely source, Did You Give the World Some Love Today, Baby is more than a lost classic — it’s a reminder of how much depth and soul can live in something that almost slipped through the cracks.