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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2023 9:07:55 GMT
Who let Tony Iommi in the studio? That guitar riff! Is it ABBA's finest nod to 'rock'? Whatever the case, it sets up what, for me, has been a Top Ten ABBA track since the day I first heard it, 45 years ago next month. I love the clever architecture of the whole song, but it's fundamentally all about that riff and the hyper-killer chorus - excellent in and of itself but with an extra dollop of majesty splurged all over it: by the tactical use of B's vocals; and then - the ultimate masterstroke - the riff's insertion into the chorus as the track steams towards its terminus. Oh and not forgetting those wondrous little, below-the-radar synth touches dotted throughout the track.
It's always nice to find an undervalued classic down the back of the musical settee. And so it was with Lovelight - or it was for me, anyway. Slightly disappointed with Chiquitita when it came out (to my ears, it was the sound of ABBA playing it too safe and starting to repeat themselves a tad), my purchase of the single was oh-so-richly rewarded when I girded my teenage loins and gave the B-side a lash.
Any other adherents of the Church of Lovelight out there?
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Post by evilincarnate on Dec 16, 2023 9:40:28 GMT
Count me in as an unabashed fan of "Lovelight" as well.
I realise that most of ABBA's b-sides were likely not originally envisaged as such, but I suspect certain songs took experimental twists and turns that album tracks may not have experienced once it was known they were not going to make the final album cut. I would place both "Lovelight" and "Elaine" in this category as I cannot imagine either being present on any of their album catalogue. These two tracks are spunky, spiky little numbers that take chances and are definitely not typical of the band's 1979/80 predominant sound.
We all know that "You Owe Me One" had been essentially discarded as a contender for any potential 1982 album, so when it was pulled out and dusted off as the b-side of "Under Attack", I don't imagine much, if any, post-production was undertaken. (I'm sure devotees of CMP can elucidate upon the situation.)
Nevertheless, I still admit to enjoying the track as a guilty pleasure.
However, circling back to "Lovelight", I think it's tremendous - both mixes - and deserves to be celebrated, perhaps with a nod in a future incarnation of the 'Voyage' show?
Going slightly off topic again, I always wondered if artists considered how much playing time 'throw-away' b-sides might garner at the time of a single release? I certainly invested as much interest in these mysterious delights as I did the a-sides and notably in Australia, during ABBA's heyday, radio frequently played their b-sides, with tracks such as "Happy Hawaii" getting heavy rotation.
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Post by Alan on Dec 16, 2023 11:09:30 GMT
Yes, I always played B-sides as much as A-sides so were as familiar with them as the main tracks. My cousins once remarked back in the day that they never played the b-sides. I couldn’t understand that at all, you’re paying for two tracks (or more in the 12”/CD single era).
To me the b-side was a selling point. An exclusive b-side would determine whether I bought the single. Two tracks I already had wouldn’t really interest me. My brother bought the ABBA singles of course (from Summer Night City onwards). He tended to buy most of them, though not Lay All Your Love On Me or the posthumous Thank You For The Music. I wasn’t sure why he got Head Over Heels as he already had both tracks. Also Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous, but that might have been for the novelty of a picture sleeve.
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Post by foreverfan on Dec 16, 2023 11:26:09 GMT
Most of it has already been said...
But up there in or close to my top 10....
Could never understand why a B side.....absolutely wonderful.....
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Post by HOMETIME on Dec 16, 2023 11:50:48 GMT
Lovelight was definitely the most played side of the single in my house. That chorus! That riff!
Obviously, it's at odds with the feel of the Voulez-Vous album, but I wonder if it could have been re-tooled to fit? Play that guitar riff on disco strings (like the intro to Lovers, for example), maybe, and it could move in that slicker direction?
But it's a great track in and of itself. Such an earworm - and squandered as a B-side. If ABBA had emerged in this century, I imagine it would have come as a deluxe-edition extra.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2023 15:24:24 GMT
Count me in as an unabashed fan of "Lovelight" as well. I see what you did there, Phil!  Great that Lovelight's getting its moment in the spotlight, so to speak. Talking of ABBA B-sides, I vividly remember Radio 1's Peter Powell giving the Medley a primetime spin immediately after he'd given SNC a first airing. To say he sounded a bit non-plussed at the end of it would be putting it mildly. Was clearly 'being spontaneous' when he stuck it on. Schoolboy error and just goes to prove the truth of the old adage: ALWAYS READ THE LABEL! |
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Post by clumsylikeaclown on Dec 16, 2023 18:35:38 GMT
I love Lovelight as well. In fact, it was a song I introduced my now-husband too early in our dating days, and to this day I have a little card in my wallet where he handwrote a line from the song: "When you came into my life it all got so much brighter". So it has a personal meaning for me as well.
I also love that there are two separate mixes, and that the alternate version uses the riff from 'Then He Kissed Me' just before the pre-chorus.
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Post by Alan on Dec 16, 2023 23:49:46 GMT
I also love that there are two separate mixes, and that the alternate version uses the riff from 'Then He Kissed Me' just before the pre-chorus. What always annoyed me about the alternate mix is that it didn’t include the line “let it glow and let it be bright” which I had remembered from the original but, by the time of More Gold in 1993, I hadn’t heard for years. I thought, “why have they edited that line off?” And the 1994 4-CD set used the alternate mix as well, so it wasn’t until the 2001 remasters that I finally heard the main mix again, complete with that line. |
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Post by HOMETIME on Dec 17, 2023 16:34:01 GMT
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