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Post by Michal on Sept 13, 2017 18:24:59 GMT
According to ABBA Omnibus Agnetha's fourth album will be released on vinyl again on 24th November.
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Post by Michal on Sept 13, 2017 18:11:45 GMT
It looks good and actually I'll buy some of them, if not all, as ABBA The Album is my most favourite of ABBA's LPs. However, the 1977 live album was what I was hoping for most of all... I thought it would be released alongside the 40th anniversary edition of ABBA The Movie. Apparently it won't happen this year... By the way, the singles box could have been better... it looks a bit cheap.
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Post by Michal on Sept 13, 2017 18:05:47 GMT
I'm sorry, I haven't noticed it was already discussed... Of course there is a live recording of the Australian concerts. Actually, all of the concerts Australian concerts were recorded, so there must be loads of material available. Even Ludvig Andersson confirmed it in an interview he did when putting together the ABBA Live at Wembley album. I'm afraid that if they don't release it this year, we will have to wait for a very long time before it finds its way out of the vaults (how about the 50th anniversary?).
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Post by Michal on Sept 12, 2017 17:11:05 GMT
Sounds promising. I wonder how much the tickets will cost...
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Post by Michal on Sept 12, 2017 17:09:46 GMT
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Post by Michal on Aug 18, 2017 11:15:52 GMT
Precisely on 29th of September. It's already available for preorder. Here is the tracklist: 1. I Let The Music Speak 2. You And I 3. Aldrig 4. Thank You For The Music 5. Stockholm By Night 6. Chess 7. The Day Before You Came 8. Someone Else’s Story 9. Midnattsdans 10. Målarskolan 11. I Wonder (Departure) 12. Embassy Lament 13. Anthem 14. My Love, My Life 15. Mountain Duet 16. Flickornas rum 17. Efter regnet 18. Tröstevisa 19. En skrift i snön 20. Happy New Year 21. I gott bevar
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Post by Michal on Aug 4, 2017 19:48:03 GMT
Rock Me
I've got a difficult one (at least unable to make a choice myself):
I've Been Waiting For You or So Long?
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Post by Michal on Aug 4, 2017 16:21:52 GMT
Helen is really great. I've attended the concert version of the English version of Kristina in London in 2010 and she performed it brilliantly and with such a passion that when she finished You Have To Be There, one half of the audience was fighting tears and the other half cried quite openly... A magic moment indeed and the best concert in my whole life!
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Post by Michal on Aug 4, 2017 16:16:57 GMT
...however it is covered in a cellophane covering, by removing that would it potentially devalue the album... Well... "still sealed" always looks a bit better than "mint" or "like new" on eBay in my opinion... Nevertheless by unwrapping it the price won't go much lower I think ;-)
By the way, my copies of Ensam and Lycka arrived already too and they look stunning.
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Post by Michal on Jul 26, 2017 7:09:43 GMT
Maybe Frida forgot the right lyrics?
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Post by Michal on Jul 26, 2017 7:06:48 GMT
Great news, I hope we will get the release date soon. I just don't understand why it's not released by Mono Music...
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Post by Michal on Jul 26, 2017 7:06:08 GMT
This version of Du Måste Finnas is one of the best. The Minnesota concerts must have been great and it's a pity they were not filmed in their entirety. I like especially the reaction of the lady from the choir, who stands behind Helen. It looks like she can't believe how good Helen actually is.
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Post by Michal on Jun 30, 2017 19:10:44 GMT
I wonder why they never recorded a studio version of The Way Old Friends Do. Normally, I much prefer studio versions to live versions, but I prefer the live Wembley version of TWOFD to the version on the Super Trouper album. Björn said that they felt something would be missing if they recorded it in the studio. I don't understand why they polished it so much later though... it's only a half-live recording. However, I like both versions.
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Post by Michal on Jun 30, 2017 19:06:52 GMT
Summer Night City as performed at Wembley has more energy that the studio recording and it's visually very attractive too - I love the way Agnetha and Frida change their places at microphones. And that dramatic intro.. ooh - can't compare to the full-length studio version either in my opinion.
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Post by Michal on Jun 30, 2017 19:01:00 GMT
Oh, it made my day! Have I won something?
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Post by Michal on Jun 28, 2017 6:50:37 GMT
I've always wondered the same. There is conflicting information on the matter - according to Björn and Benny they often urged Agnetha to write something for the group and according to Agnetha she thought her material wasn't good enough. On the other hand she said she was happy they wanted Disillusion and disappointed when I'm Still Alive didn't make it to the Super Trouper album (who made the decision then?). I kind of feel she was a bit protective of her own material and somehow preferred to keep it for her solo records too (even Disillusion was later transformed into Mina Ögon). And why she stopped completely is another thing I don't understand but all the aspects you mentioned are probably right - i.e. she was tired of it (mentioning in an interview that she struggled with I Won't Let You Go whole summer) and probably with passing years she faced the same problem as Björn and Benny - i.e. her demands on herself were growing and unlike B&B she wasn't able (or willing) to continue with songwriting that would be satisfactory for her... I guess I could understand that, but a talent like that, basically just giving it all up? Great pity indeed. Her self-composed albums (När En Vacker... and Elva Kvinnor) are the best ones she ever recorded.
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Post by Michal on Jun 28, 2017 6:46:34 GMT
On the other hand she said she was […] disappointed when I'm Still Alive didn't make it to the Super Trouper album (who made the decision then?). Where did she say that? I never read that anywhere. I'm sorry, I don't remember. But it definitely was a reliable source and as the information was suprising for me too, it got stuck in my mind...
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Post by Michal on Jun 28, 2017 6:41:01 GMT
'I'm still alive' did make it onto the Super Trouper album.. Call yerselves ABBA fans? Then tell me why this statement is correct. Come on! I'll make a guess... Are you referring to the ABBA Live at Wembley Arena album? At Wembley there were definitely some super troupers in the lighting system
Or more likely to the line in the Super Trouper lyrics?
So I’ll be there when you arrive the sight of you will prove to me I'M STILL ALIVE and when you take me in your arms and hold me tight I know it’s gonna mean so much tonight
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Post by Michal on Jun 26, 2017 18:39:37 GMT
The curious part is what follows. She stops writing songs, or, at least does not offer a song to the group, for years. (Unless she did and they turned it down and nobody ever breathed a word of it after). Plenty of musicians with families continue to write songs. I do not know her or her family or anyone connected, so I am just speculating about people I dont know - but this has always seemed strange to me. Why stop? Was she tired of the whole thing? Did she not have confidence in her own material? The melodies on 11 Women are every bit as good as most of the stuff on the Abba albums. I've always wondered the same. There is conflicting information on the matter - according to Björn and Benny they often urged Agnetha to write something for the group and according to Agnetha she thought her material wasn't good enough. On the other hand she said she was happy they wanted Disillusion and disappointed when I'm Still Alive didn't make it to the Super Trouper album (who made the decision then?). I kind of feel she was a bit protective of her own material and somehow preferred to keep it for her solo records too (even Disillusion was later transformed into Mina Ögon). And why she stopped completely is another thing I don't understand but all the aspects you mentioned are probably right - i.e. she was tired of it (mentioning in an interview that she struggled with I Won't Let You Go whole summer) and probably with passing years she faced the same problem as Björn and Benny - i.e. her demands on herself were growing and unlike B&B she wasn't able (or willing) to continue with songwriting that would be satisfactory for her...
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Post by Michal on Jun 26, 2017 18:24:10 GMT
Frida's vocals on Rock 'N' Roll Band are amazing but the sound quality of the 1975 fan-made recordings is terrible and I guess it's the problem of the source material in the first place rather than being 40 years old. I hardly ever listen to these concerts and it's a great pity no official recording exists.
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Post by Michal on Jun 25, 2017 8:17:38 GMT
Liebezeit, Actually I think that MOST of live versions are not superior. However, there are many that are equally good. Funny that you mention I'm A Marionette as I was on the verge of including it in my list of "better-live-than-studio" Finally I decided they are so different it's impossible to compare them and I like them both very much. As for As Good As New, the live version is interesting but I always thought that Agnetha sounds a bit strained and out of breath, especially on the Wembley recording. She sang it better in Milwaukee IMO, nevertheless I consider the studio version superior to any of the live ones. shoshin, Yes, I've Been Waiting For You is a hot contender and it deserves to be released in its entirety. Also Agnetha's vocals on the Sydney version of SOS (as heard in ABBA The Movie) sound remarkably great.
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Post by Michal on Jun 24, 2017 17:15:36 GMT
The ABBA Megarate made me start this thread (although I'm not sure it belongs to this section). Alexbury hasn't included live versions (with a few exceptions) in the Megarate for obvious reasons. However, it made me think if there were actually any live versions that could be rated higher than their studio counterparts? Personally I would give live versions of He Is Your Brother (1977) and Summer Night City (1979) more points than the original studio recordings. What do you think? Any more suggestions?
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Post by Michal on Jun 24, 2017 17:05:37 GMT
...I like a few other artists as much as, if not more than, ABBA, but no-one else would score such a high average... It's the same for me. I like many other groups and singers and I would often rate their stuff as high as ABBA's, however only in ABBA's case I can say that I like basically everything they ever recorded. I guess it would be fun to do a survey which artists are the most popular among ABBA fans...
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Post by Michal on Jun 23, 2017 20:27:52 GMT
I don't think there's a need for any more boxsets unless they include something completely new. Frida's box was nice but not exactly groundbreaking, was it? Jonathan's ideas are good, I especially like the vision of Deluxe Editions including second disc with early versions, alternate takes and mixes and unreleased tracks. But we all know it will hardly happen. As for the Australian concert.. it should be released on its own and I still believe we will get it one day, at least on CD.
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Post by Michal on Jun 23, 2017 20:16:36 GMT
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Post by Michal on Jun 23, 2017 20:13:09 GMT
Yes, it's fun seeing other people's rankings, particularly if they give a song 10 and I give it one (Two For The Price Of One, anyone?). Well, not exactly 10 for me, but I must say I don't understand why so many people here dislike TFTPOO so much. Yes, it seems it doesn't fit in The Visitors album much but for me it is a lighter touch in otherwise very dark record.
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Post by Michal on Jun 23, 2017 20:07:04 GMT
I'm certain you already knew how the reference of the ratings would go, but here's my reference: 1-2-3-4 = Poor 5-6-7 = Don't care 8-9-10 = Like I must say I approached it differently. Even if I rated some of the songs 3 or 4, it doesn't necessarily mean I don't like them. It's just that when I compare, say, Ring Ring to e.g. Dancing Queen or The Winner Takes It All, there is a huge difference in how I feel about the songs and even if I like Ring Ring too, I felt it would be unbalanced to give it more points. Generally I like all ABBA songs (I don't skip even I Saw In In The Mirror, which I rated 1) and it would be immensely difficult to score their songs with regard to other groups or singers. It would take me definitely much longer and I guess I would need a much wider scale.
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Post by Michal on Jun 17, 2017 18:52:44 GMT
Well, even the original video is a bit ridiculous, but this is EXTREMELY funny!
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Post by Michal on Jun 13, 2017 17:15:09 GMT
He is one of my favourite ABBA-related artists. This song is one of those produced by Benny and it strongly reminds me of ABBA's style, especially the backing vocals:
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Post by Michal on Jun 13, 2017 9:02:49 GMT
If I remember it right, Waterloo was meant to be recorded in Spanish during ABBA's promotional visit to Spain in 1974 but the filming of the TV special Señoras y Señores took much longer than expected and ABBA simply didn't have time to go into to the studio to record it.
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