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Post by gary on Apr 26, 2023 9:08:58 GMT
Thanks. That looks like a lot of fun. Hard to believe Cheryl was a ‘cow’. She always seems so nice!
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Post by gary on Apr 25, 2023 21:57:17 GMT
Hometime, I’d like to see that documentary you mention (the one produced by Cheryl Baker). I looked on YouTube, and although I found a couple of Bucks Fizz documentaries, plus some Cheryl Baker interviews, I couldn’t find one that sounded like the one you mention. Do you have a link?
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Post by gary on Apr 25, 2023 18:16:32 GMT
Is there really an expletive on Summer Night City then? I thought that was a myth.
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Post by gary on Apr 24, 2023 10:44:06 GMT
Count me in for geeky chart stuff! I miss Colin’s posts.
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Post by gary on Apr 22, 2023 9:59:25 GMT
When did the Chiquitita injection-moulded version come out? I have certainly never seen it.
Yes, the first use of ‘ABBA’ is quite significant.
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Post by gary on Apr 22, 2023 9:53:48 GMT
Yes, the choice of B sides for SOS and Mamma Mia was a bit dodgy. The SOS single was my first ever ABBA purchase, and the start of my lifelong love of ABBA, but even at the time I thought Man In The Middle was pretty poor.
The ABBA album is their most mixed bag. It ranges from four of my favourite ABBA songs (SOS, Mamma Mia, Bang-A-Boomerang and I’ve Been Waiting For You) to some of their worst songs. It would hardly be any better than the previous two albums but for those incredible highlights.
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Post by gary on Apr 22, 2023 9:40:02 GMT
Fascinating stuff. I love the font nuances! I have always resisted getting into serious ABBA vinyl collecting, as I know I can get quite obsessive and completist. I assumed from your avatar that you had the original Ring Ring. What is that selling for now?
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Post by gary on Apr 12, 2023 20:20:00 GMT
I really like those two piano solos of Little Things and Bumblebee, whereas I am not at all keen on those songs on Voyage. I wonder why that is. In the case of Little Things, I can’t abide the lyrics, but the same is not true of Bumblebee.
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Post by gary on Apr 10, 2023 12:19:32 GMT
Sadly, I also think those two reviews that Johnny has posted the links for are spot on.
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Post by gary on Apr 9, 2023 17:35:03 GMT
People who have read earlier posts of mine might remember that I have never been a great fan of the Voyage album. And despite my hopes of it growing on me, it never has. It’s interesting to see some relatively negative comments from other people creeping into this thread. It seems Voyage may not have the staying power of the heyday albums. (Though I realise that the majority of fans still love it.)
There are weaker songs from the previous five studio albums, although I stick with my opinion that there are no bad tracks on any of those albums (except TFTPOO). It’s a remarkable run of near-perfection, matched by few other artists.
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Post by gary on Apr 8, 2023 7:26:43 GMT
^
Can’t agree about True Blue being her last good album. Like A Prayer is her best album IMO, and that’s later than True Blue. Indeed, I think it’s her only album that’s good the whole way through.
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Post by gary on Apr 7, 2023 12:26:56 GMT
^
Ed, Jay Aston can definitely sing. Try ‘Easy Love’ and ‘When We Were Young’.
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Post by gary on Mar 31, 2023 18:31:46 GMT
Those four Dollar singles produced by Trevor Horn are sublime!
I’ve just watched Get Back, an eight-hour documentary about the Beatles trying to write a new album in 1969, just after the White Album. It’s absolutely riveting viewing. It’s all footage of the band in the studio. Seeing Paul McCartney just sitting there creating Let It Be and Get Back is watching genius at work. They all come across well, and mostly friendly with each other despite what was assumed at the time. If there was something similar for ABBA, we would be in ecstasy, believe me!
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Post by gary on Mar 25, 2023 12:50:59 GMT
Thanks Adam. I certainly understand the appeal of the early songs. I like most of them, and a few I love, such as Ring Ring and Another Town, Another Train. But my favourite albums are the more predictable Arrival and The Album, which are probably my favourite pop (as opposed to rock) albums of all time. I think the Waterloo album is an improvement on Ring Ring, as it contains about five or six songs I love.
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Post by gary on Mar 24, 2023 21:54:52 GMT
AdamDawson2003, I must admit I am surprised that Ring Ring is your favourite ABBA album. Tell us why you like it more than the others.
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Post by gary on Mar 24, 2023 15:02:37 GMT
Richard, yes, I Am Just A Girl is the worst thing in the ABBA catalogue, though it has some new competition in Little Things!
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Post by gary on Mar 21, 2023 22:27:01 GMT
Apart from ABBA, my favourite artists are (along with a suggestion of a non-hit song I particularly recommend):
Bruce Springsteen (Thunder Road) David Bowie (Station To Station) Bob Dylan (Idiot Wind) Elton John (High Flying Bird) Joni Mitchell (The Same Situation) Paul Simon/Simon and Garfunkel (The Only Living Boy In New York) REM (Chorus And The Ring) Billy Joel (I’ve Loved These Days) Beatles (Rain) Bee Gees (Soldiers)
You can certainly guess my age from those!
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Post by gary on Mar 21, 2023 13:39:55 GMT
Nice selection!
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Post by gary on Mar 18, 2023 18:49:23 GMT
^ Yes, the idea that ABBA were a ‘disco’ group has always annoyed me. Out of their 100-odd pre-Voyage songs, I reckon I can count the ‘disco’ songs on the fingers of one hand. Summer Night City, As Good As New, Voulez-Vous, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Lay All Your Love On Me are it.
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Post by gary on Mar 9, 2023 9:23:47 GMT
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Post by gary on Mar 7, 2023 12:39:25 GMT
That Bobby’s Brother YouTube piece is interesting, and seems well researched. Looking at the chronology of the songs, it seems to me that Benny was having trouble filling an album. Essentially, with the exception of Bumblebee, the songs were getting worse and worse.
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Post by gary on Feb 27, 2023 16:22:29 GMT
How about... Their Timeless magic! The last word in Ode To Freedom is ‘sing’ And obviously first word sung in People Need Love is ‘people’ Doh! Of course! Sorry, my mistake.
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Post by gary on Feb 27, 2023 13:41:11 GMT
I was making a playlist up on Apple Music of 50 ABBA songs celebrating 50 years of Abba, I was wondering what to call it, and I thought I’d take the first word from the first ABBA song, and the last word from the final ABBA song (on Voyage.) and I called it ABBA-People Sing, which I thought was lovely. I must be missing something. Isn’t the last song on Voyage called Ode To Freedom?
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Post by gary on Feb 27, 2023 8:36:07 GMT
^
Have you noticed that the tables and the text contradict each other?
I’m sure you’re right that some sales are missing. It’s unlikely that MMM’s sales are that low, considering it spent four weeks at number three (in three separate runs) over the peak Christmas period.
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Post by gary on Feb 24, 2023 12:32:38 GMT
^
That’s interesting. Can’t say I agree with Benny’s (presumed) opinion though. What makes MMM different from SOS? They have a similar structure: piano intro, relatively slow verse and then a ‘banger’ of a chorus.
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Post by gary on Feb 21, 2023 10:14:37 GMT
Sorry, this may have been discussed before. Do we know why Benny considers Money, Money, Money unsuitable for the Voyage show? I always thought that he had a high opinion of the song.
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Post by gary on Feb 17, 2023 19:06:39 GMT
That’s pretty good. How many have there been now, and how many more are there to come?
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Post by gary on Feb 12, 2023 9:13:07 GMT
There are seats available in January 2024 (and maybe other months) for £21.50. Prices of £100+ are more than I would want to pay but £21.50 is a bargain, surely? As far as I know, all seats have good views.
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Post by gary on Jan 28, 2023 18:14:03 GMT
Much of my favourite music is from the 1970s, with some from the 1960s and 1980s. That’s mainly because of my age, I guess. But all of my favourite songwriters from that time lost their talent a long time ago. David Bowie’s and Elton John’s, for example, fell off a cliff in the early 1980s and mid 1970s respectively. Benny and Bjorn, though they have declined, held my attention for longer.
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Post by gary on Jan 28, 2023 18:00:07 GMT
Tinneke, I completely agree. The production and arrangements on Voyage simply don’t compare with those on, say, The Album, where every aspect is perfect. I did have some initial reservations about the vocals, but I think I was wrong.
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