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Post by Michal on Nov 4, 2018 11:57:15 GMT
wombat, you're right, the song is not especially good and as for the Saturday Night Fever, I've never cared for it much. But since it was so huge, it might have given ABBA that little something that was needed to really break through in the US. And they certainly wished that, even if they had the rest of the world at their feet. But maybe it's good they didn't do it as they would be blamed (again) of calculations and being in it just for the money… gazman, I've tried to find, where I've read the information, but haven't succeeded yet. So maybe you're right. But Björn's memory has often failed him so we can't take his word as a guarantee that it really was that way.
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Post by Michal on Oct 29, 2018 14:39:29 GMT
As far as I know, ABBA were offered the song but declined because they recorded only the material written by the group members (the only exception being the folk medley). The question remains if it was a right decision as the song would probably have helped them in US.
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Post by Michal on Oct 22, 2018 16:31:10 GMT
You surely mean ABBA performance at Nöjesmaskinen:
It is indeed a beatiful rendition. ABBA sang a similar version at The Late Late Breakfast Show:
I'm not aware of any other unplugged performances (except for Tived Hambo from 1986, which is not an ABBA song though). It is a great pity. I've always imagined they would get together for a sort of farewell TV special, where they would sing a few songs in this manner, reminisce about their active career and so on. Unfortunately it seems it is too late for that, it could have happened some 10 years ago.
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Post by Michal on Oct 22, 2018 14:59:30 GMT
^ Do you really think that If It Wasn't For The Nights would have been a good single? I've always seen it as a great album track but I think I wouldn't have worked as a single A-side. Both As Good As New and Kisses Of Fire are stronger IMHO. As for Does Your Mother Know, I would also like to read Shoshin's analysis of the song I think there are far worse songs in ABBA catalogue. I like it, but it would have certainly benefited from a leadvocal by Agnetha or Frida.
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Post by Michal on Oct 20, 2018 9:06:12 GMT
Does Your Mother Know..... should have been flipped to Kisses Of Fire or As Good As New. I finally have some time to read the updated version of The Complete Recording Sessions and yesterday I read a chapter about these songs. There are a few interesting facts... firstly, Björn seems to be quite fond of Does Your Mother Know, even if he admits it should have been sung by one of the girls. Imagine that it was over 6 minutes long originally, featuring two improvized guitar solos by Lasse Wellander. Unfortunately they were edited out of the final version. Benny seems to be quite keen on Kisses Of Fire up to these days but he is quoted saying that As Good As New is "an unnecessary song". IMO it is one of those songs that sound good even today (to get back to the topic
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Post by Michal on Oct 20, 2018 8:27:24 GMT
Benny has just released a digital single of Money, Money, Money / Jag Hör. Both songs will appear on the Deluxe version of his album Piano, out 23.11. In an interview with Ice The Site he also revealed that he plans to record an album of accordion music together with Lars Rudolfsson: www.icethesite.com/2018/09/benny-reveals-new-recording-may-be-on-the-way/ Both great news even if I would prefer if he recorded a full-lenght follow-up to the Piano album instead of just expanding it with two new tracks...
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Post by Michal on Oct 17, 2018 18:08:11 GMT
What about Thriller and Bad? Does anybody care about them? Both are great albums. And The Bridge Over Troubled Water is a classic album, which I listen to now and then. And I have a weak spot for Alanis Morissette. Everybody listened to Jagged Little Pill in the 90s and I still do. A few more of these albums are on my wishlist...
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Post by Michal on Oct 17, 2018 17:58:22 GMT
Well, I can try, if I can find it. I've watched only Muriel's Wedding once and to be honest, it is one of the worst films I've ever seen.
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Post by Michal on Oct 17, 2018 17:55:06 GMT
I still don't see what's wrong if an 80s song sounds like an 80s song Actually, many people are fans of the 60s, 70s or 80s and they probably have their reasons…
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Post by Michal on Oct 16, 2018 18:04:11 GMT
Oh, really? I've never seen it… so who knows …. I would prefer if it was that way, because if it was true, it would be quite disgusting
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Post by Michal on Oct 16, 2018 15:06:02 GMT
Not sure if this has been done before. Which song do you think has aged well and still feels fresh today? There are lots and some that were very much of the time but I would choose The Name of the Game. One that has not , Thankyou for the Music. I've never really thought about the ABBA songs (or indeed any songs) that way… for me it't either like it or not. Probably I don't understand what's trendy, as I've never quite taken in comments such as I Won't Let You Go sounding dated even at the time of its release...
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Post by Michal on Oct 16, 2018 14:54:10 GMT
Personally I can't think of anything unusual in my collection but this topic brought a bizarre story to my mind, which I've almost forgotten already... One ABBA fan I know told me about his friend who once rushed to a toilet, which Agnetha had just left, and picked a piece of her feces, stored it in a little flask in formaldehyde and wore it on a strip around his neck… I guess nobody will have anything more "unusual" than this It's just unbelievable how far some people can go...
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Post by Michal on Oct 12, 2018 10:39:04 GMT
And imagine I've read a review recently titled "Cher must know by now it was a mistake to do the album of ABBA covers" To be honest, there were some fair points, the author evidently was an ABBA fan and he pointed out that there are two ways to do a cover - either a faithful copy that serves as a tribute to the original or a completely new version that has its own identity - and Cher is somewhere in between… I must admit I don't like cover versions generally, but Cher's album is a good promotion for ABBA and as it is such a stunning success, I guess that Cher not only does not think it was a mistake but she's already thinking about releasing a follow-up
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Post by Michal on Oct 12, 2018 10:22:46 GMT
I do the opposite - to try to stimulate Posts here, I try to think of Posts - even if I don't really have anything new to say. It is not that I think that my every Post is 'important'. I just try to get other Members to join in - by replying to my Posts. That's very much appreciated, I guess. At least I enjoy reading your posts (even if I have a feeling sometimes, that you tend to repeat the same thoughts - now I understand why ;-)) Personally I would like to post more but I'm permanently short of time so I think twice before writing something if I have nothing new to say...
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Post by Michal on Oct 3, 2018 10:01:57 GMT
...it would be a great way to say goodbye once and for all.. and I think we'd be happy... Are you sure? As I see it, there will always be moaners… If we really get the final album, there is always a space for asking for more... one more album, one more single, rarities collection, Just Like That released, live recordings released… ABBA will never have peace, there's too much of a demand for anything connected to them. I don't say it's a bad thing, just the idea that everybody will be happy and utterly content once they release their 10th studio album should not be taken for granted
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Post by Michal on Oct 1, 2018 7:56:43 GMT
It always amuses me that all of a sudden the rumours take on a new tangent, ( yes we all love to surmise, me included) , then somewhere further down the line/thread it's becomes a fact, and before we know it , That 'new album ' is true , it's going to be number one for 20 weeks and sell millions, where all in reality, we might not even get the two new songs... Its fun thinking of what might be, but unless I'm wrong there has been ' no ' talk from anyone apart from fans of a new album.. Like always let's wait and see... next we will be having re worked tracks , like Another You Another Me, ( which ironically i do like) any Agnetha written tracks , Slowly, by Frida all making " Opus 10 " because of course that's the new name of the new album... And all of this with the full support from the media :-D
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Post by Michal on Oct 1, 2018 7:47:45 GMT
^ I can't imagine a reason not to release it worldwide (i.e. if it is released).
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Post by Michal on Sept 19, 2018 15:40:47 GMT
Fresh news from the Official ABBA Fan Club: "The release of the new ABBA songs is delayed until the spring because the songs are not ready… the songs will not be presented in a television special in December as planned… no news on the hologram tour either…"
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Post by Michal on Sept 18, 2018 14:18:05 GMT
I just hope that if the ABBAtar tour is cancelled (as it may be if the ABBAtars don't turn out the way the ABBA members expect), they won't let the two new songs rot in the archives forever...
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Post by Michal on Sept 17, 2018 19:35:17 GMT
There were many theories, who the "You" was. But I guess she's talking about a man, who turned her dull life upside down, made her realize how trivial it had been… It's not on a happy note she reflects on it as he's gone again and she's facing the fact that she will lead the same kind of life as before she met him and she's now well aware that it wasn't any good. As for the second question… I think that "opening her front door at 8 o'clock" doesn't mean she arrived home so late. She just went out to buy some "Chinese food to go" just to get back in time to watch Dallas ;-)
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Post by Michal on Sept 16, 2018 16:17:20 GMT
As far as I can remember, I used it only once and I suppose it won't happen again during the next ten years. Hence my vote :-) My ways of listening to music are terribly old-fashioned...
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Post by Michal on Sept 8, 2018 14:11:36 GMT
Better the new The Way Old Friends Do and Dream World than nothing :-) But I guess it won't be the case... especially as Dream World remained unreleased for so long. I can't imagine ABBA recording (and praising) a song similar to something they didn't even considered good enough for release in 1979.
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Post by Michal on Sept 8, 2018 14:07:59 GMT
^ I've Been Waiting For You has always been high in my personal "chart" and especially Agnetha's vocals are amazing. But this new stripped-down version is very, very good (even though the vocals are inferior to Agnetha's). However, My Love, My Life was almost almost a skip-track on the Arrival album for me until I heard Monsieur, Monsieur, which took my attention (and I like it better than MLML to this day). So it's definitely the arrangement that I have a problem with...
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Post by Michal on Sept 8, 2018 10:39:07 GMT
...'Mamma Mia! 2' is a far bigger UK success, and that is the 17th All Time UK Film - and rising. So, something is clearly wrong, when the Soundtrack to Film 2 is struggling to get even close to the UK Sales of 'The Greatest Showman' Soundtrack. The 2nd 'Mamma Mia!' Soundtrack should be a much bigger seller than 'The Greatest Showman', but it is failing to get high Sales figures... I listened to the soundtrack for the first time yesterday and I really don't understand why it's not a big seller. For me listening to it was actually a more enjoyable experience than watching the movie itself. It even made me think I should go and give the film a second chance (as I didn't like it the first time). I don't have a problem even with Kisses Of Fire… it's just OK. And there are several real gems - Knowing Me, Knowing You (in spite of Pierce Brosnan having a part); When I Kissed The Teacher (which one can enjoy without having to cringe at the absurdity of the scene); The Day Before You Came, I've Been Waiting For You and most of all My Love, My Life, which, in my opinion, is superior to the ABBA version (regardless of the dramatic changes in the lyrics). I can see why Björn and Benny were so desperate to use especially the latter two in the movie, even though they had to rewrite the lyrics - they were not especially satisfied with the original arrangement and production and they got it right in the movie. I've never been fond of My Love, My Life… until Benny released the Piano album and now… it must be one of my favourites.
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Post by Michal on Aug 10, 2018 12:08:51 GMT
madonnabba, I agree that the ceremony is completely boring. I don't watch it and you don't have to either. However, it would be the same even if it was decided by public, as you suggest. I'm afraid that if it was so, it would no longer be about quality but about popularity, which can go hand in hand but it's not always like that. Can you imagine movies such as Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey receiving an Oscar? We have a vote-based award for the singers in my homeland and it was once won by a guy, who cannot sing at all (even himself he was shocked by the victory). It would be the same with the Oscars if it was decided by public...
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Post by Michal on Aug 10, 2018 5:27:45 GMT
Oh no, that would be ridiculous… I wonder why they do that… it will be regarded as a second rate Oscar anyway.
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Post by Michal on Aug 10, 2018 5:24:28 GMT
It's not bad (and I'm not too fond of cover versions generally). Good promotion for ABBA again.
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Post by Michal on Aug 5, 2018 9:00:15 GMT
@contro, are all these clippings from your personal collection?
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Post by Michal on Aug 5, 2018 8:56:40 GMT
I wasn't moved by MM2 in any way either but maybe it was out of the shock… Maybe I'll have to give it a second chance. And I will anyway, as I certainly will buy the DVD, when it comes out. I haven't bought the soundtrack yet, though.
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Post by Michal on Jul 24, 2018 19:16:40 GMT
I've just returned from the cinema and I have to admit the movie is a real crap, especially the first half. Many of the songs are included with the sole purpose of having them in it and they don't do anything for the plot (which is altogether very, very weak). During some of them I was just wondering why on earth they sing just that right now. There are many awkward moments… one of them is Pierce Brosnan singing SOS again, this time solo, and trying to make it sound and look poignant. But one of the most embarrassing moments IMO is the WIKTT scene, which really makes no sense at all. I also don't understand why they used songs that they had to rework so extensively (e.g. My Love, My Life or I've Been Waiting For You - both great songs but the verses have completely different lyrics to fit the movie and the whole point of making the Mamma Mia musical was to use the EXISTING ABBA songs with minimal altering, wasn't it?).
On the positive note… there are a few really funny moments - not as many as in the first movie, but enough to make you think the whole experience is actually fun. Even the heavily criticized scene with Kisses Of Fire is in fact funny (or at least to me it seemed so and it was definitely meant to be). The question is if such a version deserves to be included on the soundtrack but in the context of the movie it works.
Cher, even though looking as a wax figurine, is great. Of course her version of Fernando can't beat ABBA's original but she is really good.
The songs I especially liked were Knowing Me, Knowing You and Angeleyes. And there are many uncredited ABBA songs playing as a background music (e.g. I Let The Music Speak) - and I enjoyed trying to identify them.
There is a really great mix of instrumental versions of various ABBA songs playing during the credit titles.
Altogether the movie was enjoyable but it is far worse that the first one and I really hope they won't do another sequel...
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