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Post by HOMETIME on May 19, 2024 10:40:02 GMT
We have to see the poll as representative of the preferences of fairly hardcore fans who have a "relationship" with lesser-known material. That's the reason. I have a "relationship" with every song they ever released and still don't feel I should neglect the most famous material just because it's on Gold. But it seems I'm in minority. I totally understand that everybody has his or her preferences and I respect that, it is the "of course" thing, that ingrigues me. I will leave it at that, it would maybe deserve a thread of its own. Like you, I have a "relationship" with all of the material. The fact that Dancing Queen is their biggest and most famous hit is not in any way undermined by my preference for the excitement I felt by seeing an outlier like The Visitors being performed. I really enjoyed all of the performances - even of TYFTM, a song I care little for. If this was a ranking, instead of a poll, DQ would probably be up there in the top 10 for me. If this forum was populated with an equal, active amount of casual fans, I imagine this poll would look very different, with the last two songs of the setlist tussling for supremacy right at the top. For what it's worth, Mamma Mia made my top 6 here. A giant, iconic hit.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 18, 2024 17:41:57 GMT
The Album was the second ABBA album I bought. I loved the hits but (being 13) found some of the more adult-oriented material harder to gel with at the time. I was captivated by Move On when I heard it on radio. That chorus is enormous. I'm A Marionette is a song that properly grew on me in recent years, to the point it has really shot up the rankings for me.
I think that it might be the best recordings that ABBA released. The arrangements could be cluttered in lesser hands but everything has so much space around it, everything is crisp. (You really notice the difference if you go from this record to Voyage). My rankings shift all the time, but my No.1 and my No.9 are almost set in stone. Having said that, TYFTM has grown on me. It's very pretty, beautifully sung, and the production is pristine but the song is freighted with a bit too much tinsel. That, and it's a bit overplayed.
1. The Name Of The Game 2. One Man, One Woman 3. I'm A Marionette 4. Take A Chance On Me 5. Eagle 6. I Wonder (Departure) 7. Move On 8. Hole In Your Soul 9. Thank You For The Music
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Post by HOMETIME on May 18, 2024 17:26:38 GMT
The reason is that people will vote for their favourites. And, for me, part of that reason was the joy of seeing songs I never thought I'd see performed get a proper moment on stage. I loved all of the performances (apart from the animation sections). I also voted for the songs I'd love to have on CD/vinyl. As Johnny suggests, casual fans would probably opt for the biggest hits from Gold. We have to see the poll as representative of the preferences of fairly hardcore fans who have a "relationship" with lesser-known material. That's the reason.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 18, 2024 11:29:55 GMT
I suspect that my five faves might change if I were to see the show again. While the majority of the audience seemed to be there for the biggest hits, I really enjoyed seeing the more under-the-radar songs getting a moment to shine. And some of the songs and performances had unexpected impact - emotional impact, even. I wonder how all of this might translate to an audio only release on CD/vinyl?
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Post by HOMETIME on May 16, 2024 10:23:32 GMT
[...] Not a fan of the second half of the 80s though [...] Same. The first half of the 80s saw people being individual. People didn't look like carbon copies of each other. The second half of the 80s saw a lot of the rougher edges, the individualism being ironed out. Those who had shocked - e.g. Boy George, Pete Burns - dialled the freakiness down to a corporate sheen. PWL might have been responsible for a few pop classics but, as their success took hold from 1987 onwards, you sometimes had to wait for the vocal to kick in before you could identify which of their artists was on radio. The production was so similar. Kudos to the stuff they did for Princess, Mel & Kim, Dead Or Alive - they all had some individuality. But Kylie, Bananarama, Sonia, Jason Donovan, Rick Astley all seemed to have exactly the same production style. They all delivered the occasional pop peach, but the sound was very homogenous. And the other dance acts from that era sounded very similar too. And the acts looked a lot alike too. I much preferred the more erratic diversity of the first half of the 80s.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 16, 2024 8:37:45 GMT
Are there many fans expecting new material beyond the two teased off-cuts?? Surely not. But you raise a great point, jj , about new music. The 80s were a massive treasure trove of new music. I discovered so many new artists, new sounds. I know I was already biased towards them, but I regarded the solo releases as separate entities. Agnetha (initially) presented ABBA-adjacent sounds, which was a way of weaning me off the ABBA obsession. Frida's was further away from those roots, darker and a bit edgier, and it helped open my ears to other styles and genres. And while Chess and Kristina didn't make me a musical theatre fan, they helped accelerate my love of choral music in particular. They're sublime projects. For me, that era of music has not been surpassed (#OldCodger). I loved - and still love - so much of the music from then. Human League, Yazoo, Eurythmics, Bucks Fizz, Pat Benatar, Pet Shop Boys, ABC (basically almost anything Trevor Horn has his hands on), Peter Gabriel, Belouis Some, Kiki Dee, George Michael (less keen on Wham), Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, OMD, Fleetwood Mac, Alison Moyet, Prince, Sheena Easton, Communards, Bronski Beat, Pointer Sisters... Some of those have waxed and waned for me over the years but I rediscover them and get obsessed all over again. I found the 90s a lot less interesting but managed to fall in love with the sublime Eddi Reader. Had a short-but-intense affair with Massive Attack. Crowded House. All Saints. The 00s were surprisingly good - I loved Franz Ferdinand, Elbow, Goldfrapp, Scissor Sisters, Robyn, The Killers, a lot of Max Martin-produced output. Now I like The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, some Taylor Swift, Jessie Ware. But these days I'm more likely to champion a song or an album rather than an artist. All that time with other music has recalibrated how I feel about ABBA's music. It's made me more objective, a little more critical maybe. I have new favourites, songs I'm less forgiving of. I find that an ABBA session makes me crave something different afterward. Ella Fitzgerald after Voulez-Vous. The Weeknd after Voyage.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 16, 2024 8:12:13 GMT
I get your point, foreverfan . That said, the sudden ABBA saturation in the media seems tied to Eurovision and the April anniversary. I reckon we'll have uninterrupted silence, unless a new release is considered. I've accepted that new material most likely won't appear, and my response to the 50th anniversary so far has been "is that it?" I notice that even Bobby's Brother on YouTube has taken an unusually negative turn (his latest video about the Eurovision fiasco). I reckon that discussion on this forum will settle back to its quieter old self soon (if not already). We have plenty of ABBA, ABBA-related and other music to enjoy. ABBA know where we are if they want us.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 12, 2024 11:08:15 GMT
For my own part, I certainly don't feel that ABBA owe us anything. As has been said already, the Voyage album and show are lightyears beyond what any of us might have expected or hoped for a decade ago. Their ages aside, what they choose to do is entirely up to them, no matter how much we might love something extra.
As fans, we probably need to dial down our optimism a bit. I think we (I!) might be guilty of wishfully misreading titbits, rumours and speculation, and turning possibilities into probabilities. That said, it doesn't mean that anything that does emerge is beyond critique. Last night's "offering" was down to the producers of the show and, from my perspective, they oversold it. The clip from Voyage was distinctly underwhelming, IMO. On the plus side, the camera angles suggest that filming the show is possible. For whatever that might be worth at some point in the future.
So far, the Anniversary year has given us a set of reissues and a few documentaries - one of them pretty good. Has the fat lady sung? Who knows? There are seven months left but I won't be getting my hopes up. I'll gladly take, on face value, any official announcements of any new... whatevers, if and when they come. I can read the mood in this tiny corner of the greater fandom, but I wonder what's being said elsewhere. Does anyone know?
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Post by HOMETIME on May 11, 2024 23:03:35 GMT
Absolutely. A dire ad for the show.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 11, 2024 23:00:12 GMT
Yeah, it was all new. But so ferociously underwhelming. To borrow from the aforementioned Catherine Tate, "what a fackin' liberty."
I. Am. Furious.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 11, 2024 16:39:38 GMT
I don't think participation by ABBA could in any way be seen as them owing something to Eurovision. If they engage at all, it would be on their own terms and for their own ends. Promo for Voyage, a sales push for Gold, possibly even a mahoosive launch for a new single (pleasepleasepleaseplease). In a way, it might be a matter of the history book on the shelf repeating itself: if they have something new to promote, they would be using Eurovision to that end. It would also be a gift to fans, to Eurovision AND a massive PR moment. Eurovision regularly gets a bashing for being insubstantial fluff, lacking depth, taste, class or whatever the prevailing peeve might be. Much like the old days, there are Eurovision-by-numbers songs every year. It used to be flimsy attempts to copy ABBA; these days, it seems to be wacky bonkers-o-clock numbers. Alongside these items, there are usually great songs. A prime example from this year would be the French entry, Mon Amour. IMO, anyway. There's been a lot of great songs over the years - including recent years. True, few of them seem to become international hits, but so what? We spend enough time lamenting that certain ABBA songs weren't global smashes. *shrug* And freaks? It's only fabric and cosmetics in a pop show when you think about it. Who is it hurting? On the matter of politics, the competitors can't win. If they participate and say nothing about prevailing crises, they're dismissed as shallow ninnies concerned with nothing but sequins and sparkles, condemned for participating in the "artwashing" of, say, genocide. If they do comment, they're scolded for not staying in their lane, for daring to have an opinion when they really should keep their damn mouths shut. EDIT: A handful of the songs I loved from the contest. www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUAvb9sge7MJCTWyz8QEYcUvtiYJl6eKQ
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Post by HOMETIME on May 10, 2024 16:14:08 GMT
Well.... While everything announced so far seems underwhelming, I can't help thinking that Saturday has to be bigger than three former winners performing a medley. The intervals on the two semi-finals have been big and fun - last night's show especially. Petra mentioned "surprise guests" for Saturday. And then there's the "never seen on TV before" promise. Who knows - maybe ABBA's lurking-in-the-plant TikTok might mean something. Not forgetting Catherine Tate's loose-lipped and quickly scrubbed comment about new material.
I'm surprised at myself: I'm usually a bit more pragmatically pessimistic than this.
I guess we'll know what's what in 30-odd hours....?
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Post by HOMETIME on May 9, 2024 16:04:05 GMT
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Post by HOMETIME on May 9, 2024 12:26:43 GMT
It worked!
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Post by HOMETIME on May 9, 2024 12:18:04 GMT
I stayed up to watch it, too. It was a really elegant production, serious without being up itself. I love that they swerved the kitsch. Limiting the timeline made things slightly lobsided in that the Agnetha/Bjorn divorce was addressed head-on, while the Frida/Benny divorce felt like an also-ran in the story (probably because it happened at the tail end of the presented timeline?).
The ending was a bit abrupt, but the whew-they-survived-the-flak story had been told. I like that they highlighted the hypocrisy of the sneery/dismissive journalists when they were clamouring for concert tickets.
Overall, the production and approach was very well done. I'd love if additional "chapters" could be created to address the albums and even the personal biographies. There's so much of the story still to tell in a dignified way.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 8, 2024 10:24:58 GMT
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Post by HOMETIME on May 8, 2024 9:14:01 GMT
Not a fan of this album, which is really odd as it seems to be a fan favourite [...] For quite a long time, this album actually took a fair amount of flak on the various forums. It seems to have managed to redeem itself in more recent years.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 8, 2024 9:11:35 GMT
Voulez-Vous was a special album to me from the beginning. It was the first ABBA album that I was properly able to anticipate. I'd fallen in love with Arrival and its hits in 1977, and The Album followed soon after. I used my savings to buy both albums on the same day. I discovered the ABBA Magazine by chance in a local newsagents. Charlie Wossname's articles about his visit to Stockholm were fascinating, and the titles mentioned just lodged in my brain. The King Has Lost His Crown. Lovelight. Just A Notion. And... Love Is Live A Little Longer, as Charlie reported it. Summer Night City was the first single I ever bought without first having heard it. Its slightly harder edge even had a few of the boys in school muttering positively. The Mike Yarwood performances. The UNICEF performance. Chiquitita and its brilliant B-side. ABBA In Switzerland. The surprise of DYMK being so different to the track I had learned from the TV special. It was a brilliant build up. The only blip on my 15 year-old radar was the divorce: I didn't dwell too much on what it might mean for the future of ABBA.
So when I handed £4.99 to the cashier in Golden Discs and caught the first bus home, I was as giddy as you could possibly get. I spent the bus journey home poring over the cover and inner sleeve. The photo was fabulous. The wrestler belts aside, ABBA looked amazing. (I hated that they printed what should have been a hype sticker directly on the sleeve, mind you).
The album oozes glamour. From the cover photo right through to the last note on the record. The themes are generally more positive than on any other album. The lyrics are decent. The hooks are numerous and immense. I have my favourite tracks - the number one track has held its position since May 1979. Other tracks have shifted position multiple times. While I have a bunch of tracks I can readily rank, the ones after that are genuinely hard for me to rank. I actually like them all. Adding the bonus tracks into the equation makes it harder. While their addition to the CD turns it into a veritable Greatest Hits, I'm reasonably precious about the album itself.
If you hadn't guessed, Voulez-Vous gets five stars from me (ideally peeled from the girls' awful belts on the sleeve).
An attempted ranking:
1. If It Wasn't For The Nights - as it was, it is, and ever shall be. That string arrangement! 2. Angeleyes - this used to be way down the rankings, but John Grant/The Czars revealed the glory of this song for me. Another brilliant string arrangement. 3. Voulez-Vous. It still sounds fresh and vital, 45 years on. > Summer Night City. I wasn't expecting such a ballsy track at the time. It wears its age very well. I love the arabesque synth and the Frida/Bjorn vocal pairing in the pre-chorus. 4. Lovers (Live A Little Longer). This also used to be way down the list, but hearing the arrangement pulled apart on various YouTube videos has exposed its cleverness. It's not a million miles from being a Dua Lipa track. Love the slightly sinister string arrangement and Frida's sultry/playful lead vocal. 5. As Good As New. That intro. That joyful chorus, and Agnetha's zesty lead. That ending. > Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Iconic intro. The guitar figure and that superb synth riff are sublime. Great lead and powerful third-voice chorus. The interlude - which is pretty elegant, actually - should have been cut for 7" release and kept/extended for 12" release, IMO. 6. The King Has Lost His Crown. That dreamy intro and the soft smokiness of the lead vocal are just gorgeous. 7-10. I Have A Dream; Does Your Mother Know; Chiquitita; Kisses Of Fire, Lovelight. This is where I struggle. I like all of these songs but simply can't call a least favourite. In the early days, Kisses Of Fire was right up there, but it started to sound a bit tinny to me in more recent years. Does Your Mother Know has probably always been in the lower echelons for me, but I've grown to love the intro and the verve of the arrangement. The ballads have yo-yo'd for me. I gather I'm supposed to dismiss IHAD, but that's not happening. I was obsessed with Lovelight from the moment I flipped the single, but it probably settles among this final set by virtue of sounding a little out of kilter with the other uptempo tracks.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 6, 2024 9:18:33 GMT
True.
A conscious decision was made to mix beloved classics with deep cuts and new material. It creates an ebb and flow, some variation. A setlist made entirely of Gold + Summer Night City might have been a bit too obvious, and maybe we'd have seen it as a bit too cynical. The deeper cuts were a nod to the diehard fans, I think. The new songs were probably as much about satisfying ABBA as they were intended to reignite interest beyond mere nostalgia. Speaking personally, it was the deep cuts that did it for me on the night. I liked how they were presented, I liked that they were respected by the live band and a sizeable chunk of the audience. Sure, the pink boa'd hen party types might have been impatient for Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia, but I think the setlist recognizes a broader demographic. In a way, the lesser-known stuff might act as some kind of marketing for the studio albums. I can't help wondering how much the show is responsible for elevating the profiles of songs like The Visitors and Eagle. They seem to be getting a bit more attention in documentaries than before.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 5, 2024 16:52:38 GMT
Somebody else here mentioned it a while back and seemed to give an oddly specific date. Something like 26 September or thereabouts. I imagine the announcement had to be processed and managed through Stig's office and that announcements would have been delayed until after the promo. But when you look at the TV promotion they did for the album, Frida is in ebullient form, and really affectionate with Benny on camera, so I imagine these performances must've been pre-bombshell.
I remember that interview clip with Benny. Cold as a penguin's arse. Hard to be sympathetic about him being bothered by the themes of Something's Going On.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 5, 2024 16:47:44 GMT
[...] * DSMD and ISHFIY didn't think were as well received with audience as before. [...] A big part of the problem may be that the bulk of the songs have been radio staples for 40-odd years. The two newies don't have the advantage of having seeped into the collective consciousness. Neither one seems to appear on radio that often, sadly.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 5, 2024 10:18:09 GMT
Knowing nothing about the technology, I wonder if having a second act makes things a little easier going forward? For instance, if there has to be a purpose-built venue somewhere, will the technology allow (reasonably easy) rotation of acts? Say, ABBA for two months, Kiss for two months... and so on, as other artists decide to join the new movement? I have no idea how big Kiss might be in America: maybe they can fill an arena for years on end like ABBA can in London. But in further flung places like Melbourne - and even smaller cities in other countries around the globe - a range of avatar-ed artists could make it viable.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 3, 2024 17:38:22 GMT
No surprise with your No.1, Eddie!
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Post by HOMETIME on May 3, 2024 17:34:40 GMT
For the avoidance of any confusion, my opinions about the roles Agnetha and Frida occupied as singers have nothing at all to do with their private lives. The characters (or, in some cases, caricatures) built by the media were probably coloured by the kinds of songs they were given and maybe even more by their performances on video and TV. You're right, johnny, they have both defied the lazy pen pictures drawn of them by tabloid hacks and lazy writers. Their private lives are infinitely more multidimensional and human. I'm glad they guard their privacy.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 3, 2024 9:24:58 GMT
Given how often ABBA have appeared on the other yearbooks, I wonder if ABBA/Universal are behind their absence this time? It's very odd, though. I can't imagine that they'd dodge an opportunity to rake in some royalties.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 3, 2024 9:23:11 GMT
Well guessed! Sorry, I really should dial down the use of acronyms.
I'm A Marionette is already just a remix away from a glorious orchestral version. That intro could be played/plucked on double bass, or by/with a combo of cello and violas. The guitar solo could be a transferred to piano - can you imagine how brilliant it could be as a rapid piano piece? The orchestral track as it is is just glorious. Plus, this would give a little necessary bite to an otherwise fairly pretty set. Actually, now that I think of it, the approach could also work for The Visitors. Those synth interludes as dramatic orchestral pieces could be amazing.
I wonder if choirs could be used for acapella bass moments?
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Post by HOMETIME on May 2, 2024 20:49:34 GMT
Hometime, I know what you mean about some Agnetha lead vocals. From.about 1980 there was a self-pitying tone. LAYLOM.was an acception - and yes, a bit of vim as you put it, in the vocals. I don't want to be unfair to Agnetha, because she was assigned the songs. Whether subconsciously or deliberately, Benny & Bjorn seemed to typecast her as the devastated, heartbroken victim, while Frida seemed to be given the role of the survivor, a more pragmatic pull-up-your-socks and carry on type. As even Agnetha acknowledges, this material is right in her wheelhouse and her acting/storytelling pulls the heartbreak to the fore. The clarity of her tone is sublime on Chiquitita and I like how she seems to wobble on a tightrope in IBWFY. But give me the kind of energy she delivers in AGAN, GGG, LAYLOM. I'm not keen on poor-me lyrics, generally, but if they're delivered in a ballsy way, it can be brilliant. I think this is why WYAAM is my favourite Agnetha album: she completely dodged the whining and sobbing.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 2, 2024 20:41:01 GMT
How would hardcore ABBA fans feel about some tracks or even full albums being given a stripped back, 'Let it Be - Naked' reworking, or an 'ABBA with The Royal Philarmonic Orchestra' treatment so that some of the synth work that maybe does date the production on Super Trouper (even though I personally love a synth or 3) can be replaced to show their work in a different light? I'd prefer these options to a remix album - most ABBA songs are so perfectly put together that official remixes may not necessarily work (the extended version of VV goes on a bit for me). I would love that. And I doubt there's been a better time to convince B&B of the wonder of such a project. They lifted original vocals for brand new band settings for Voyage, so why not take a selection of songs - particularly where they might have had some misgivings about the original mixes/arrangements - and breathe a new life into them? Back in the day, I had a fantasy where ABBA reformed for a carefully managed unplugged gig that would be released on audio and video. The moment for that kind of event has long gone - but an album where ABBA (or Benny, if we're being honest) have total control? Why not?! I don't know if the women would be interested in/willing to return to the studio to re-record old songs in new arrangements. But I think there is definite merit in using the original vocal tracks in some beautiful new orchestral or stripped piano and/or guitar settings. Some songs I'd love to see reworked in this way: TDBYC, WAISAD, LAAPTMR, TWTIA, OLS, AA, HNY, IAM, OMOW, MLML, IBWFY.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 2, 2024 16:52:08 GMT
Benny has the power to deliver this kind of reworking. His Piano album shows how beautiful these songs are, melodically. If he really wanted to, he could take the original vocal tracks and set them in gorgeous piano arrangements.
With Dolby Atmos versions of everything on the way, I reckon there could be more successful versions of these lovely re-imaginings. Whoever produced these, did a great job with limited resources.
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Post by HOMETIME on May 2, 2024 16:48:19 GMT
I was obsessed with this album when it first came out. It basically lived on my turntable for months. Nowadays? Not so much. And I don't know why. By any metric, it's populated with great songs. I think it's the only album where any of the ten tracks could have worked as a single at the time. The standout tracks for me on release day were On And On And On and Andante Andante. I went severely off both songs over the years. Songs that I was less fond of back then - Happy New Year, Our Last Summer, Me And I - have really grown on me. It's a really solid album, though. When I do play it, I always enjoy the experience. But I'm far more likely to play The Visitors, Voulez-Vous and, for now, Voyage.
I loved Elaine from the moment I flipped over The Winner Takes It All. It's got a zesty energy that the album really needs. I wish more of the tracks had this kind of feel. But this sounds like too much of an outlier to work on this album track, IMO.
Having thought about it, my ranking for the album tracks these days would look a lot like this:
1. Lay All Your Love On Me - This is my favourite kind of Agnetha vocal. Bit of vim, no self-pity (despite the theme). 2. Me And I - That chorus is massive! Would have needed a bit of pruning for 7", I think, but would have been a hit from any other album. 3. Our last Summer - I think this song is a bit over-produced. I'd love something a bit stripped back. But the vocal is great - and those harmonies! <3 4. Super Trouper - I wish that glockenspiel figure had been played on electric guitar and that the BPM had been ramped up a smidge. 5. The Winner Takes It All - controversial to some, but it's so overplayed that I even find myself skipping it. Great vocal performance. No problems with the drums myself. For me, they keep the song from veering completely in to whiney, poor-me territory. 6. On And On And On - sometimes I find myself craving the electro-rock edge of this track, and nothing else will do. But I'm sated after one play. 7. The Piper - Knowing what Bjorn was doing with the lyrics, the song seems very pertinent today. 8. The Way Old Friends Do - I'm a sucker for the emotional swell of the second turn of the verse. The lyrics are simple, the performance emotional. I can live knowing that it's overdubbed to within an inch of its life. Kinda foreshadows how Ode To Freedom wraps up proceedings on Voyage. 9. Happy New Year. For a long time, I actually hated this. Having avoided it for a long time, I enjoyed it when I heard it over the most recent Christmas. Real strings and an instrumental third verse might possibly elevate this for me. The ELO harmonies are undeniably lovely. 10. Andante, Andante. Despite its position, I don't dislike this song. I don't like the backing vocals in the chorus, though. Another that might benefit from a simpler arrangement.
If Elaine were on the album, I reckon it'd rank quite high. Maybe even #3? If Put On Your White Sombrero were on it, it'd definitely be way down the list. Somewhere around #2,357. Ugh!
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