|
Post by foreverfan on Jul 13, 2019 11:53:51 GMT
Your thoughts , was 1982 a year of desperation ..
I was thinking, I can understand the release of Head Over Heels, a typical ABBA sound, although I'd preferred The Visitors or When All Is Said And Done, that aside, and its relative failure here in the UK only number 25, and many other counties I believe.. and must have been a huge shock to Epic at the time, and no more track release from the album..
We're the follow up singles regardless of the cult status of one of them now, sheer desperation to get a single out there ?
The Day Before You Came, now possibly a classic, was so far away from the ABBA sound and music of the time it was already doomed before it was released ..why.. surely the record companies must have known the popular mood of the time...
Under Attack, arguably the weakest release , even though made 26 here, in all honesty still not a classic.
Bsides..Cassandra, great little track , but in reality only an album track, I remember the radio stations trying to flip it to the A side when it was obvious TDBYC was going to be a flop... it didn't help... You Owe Me One, ok catchy, but ABBA of old pre 75, felt as though written in 10 minutes..
1983 in UK, Thankyou For The Music.. enough said, released far to late , Just capitalising on the Christmas market..
So were they all release mistakes , desperation to try and keep the momentum going.. or genuine hopes of success...
|
|
|
Post by josef on Jul 13, 2019 12:10:41 GMT
The writing was already on the wall but I think by this time all the members of ABBA were already thinking of new horizons. It would be interesting to hear the true feelings of the group when TDBYC flopped here (it's no mystery that they considered the UK an important market for success).
Interestingly, although ABBA were already being considered old hat and criminally uncool, they were still ahead of the game in many ways, musical trend-wise. Songs like The Visitors and I Am The City utilised the latest sounds. Head Over Heels and Under Attack, whilst not exactly groundbreaking, were still pretty decent pop songs. They just were rather safe. Any other time, they might have been bigger hits. As Micke Tretow stated, "Time was up for ABBA". It's funny how that was true back then but how apt that all these years later they have recorded two new songs and it doesn't matter anymore about shelf-life. In my head, ABBA are 'back'.
|
|
|
Post by foreverfan on Jul 13, 2019 12:20:21 GMT
It's interesting to note, when said Writing on the wall...
The Visitors , Album , number One for 3 weeks, At Christmas...
One Of Us , arguably a massive hit, number 3 over Christmas 1981, 500,000 sold approx, literally 2 months later major disaster in HOH. What really happened in those 2 months to make ABBA flop...( obviously we are only speculating)
Wrong release or something else.....
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Jul 13, 2019 19:11:15 GMT
The album campaign for The Visitors was very odd. Apart from a single press conference in Stockholm, ABBA engaged in no personal publicity. No TV show appearances apart from that brief Razamatazz clip, no thoughtful interviews about the genesis of the album, no TV specials. Was it complacency? Was it too close to Christmas? Were Benny and Frida too wary of facing the inevitable questions about their divorce? I really think that lip-synched performances on a BBC TV show would have helped. A quick interview on the likes of Parkinson or Swap Shop. Interviews with the glossy magazines and/or the music weeklies. But no. Virtual silence. Most odd. The Dick Cavett thingy could easily have been re-cut and reissued to include the videos for One Of Us and Head Over Heels. It could even have functioned as an opportunity to shoot a clip for The Visitors. That would have given six of the album's tracks some all-important TV exposure in a show that could have been internationally syndicated.
I think this inertia contributed to a large-ish degree to the chart failure of Head Over Heels. It was either Record Mirror or Smash Hits that predicted it'd be number one for weeks.
The diversity of approach between Europe and the US should have helped things along. The singles chosen were completely different and, I'm inclined to think that if they had managed the promotion a little better (especially on the personal appearance front), they could eventually have issued all four A-sides across the board.
I still firmly believe that issuing The Visitors as a single would have better prepared the public for the off-piste beauty of The Day Before You Came. Remixes for 7" and 12" could have made the release more attractive to fans who had the album, and non-album B-sides likewise. The live recordings from the Dick Cavett show could have given them all they needed in this respect.
I still don't think that the 1982 recordings would have led to another album. The energy had gone out of the group and the itch to branch out had to be scratched. Hearing the Gemini album from 1985 makes me glad that ABBA remained on ice. That plodding pace, that leaden sound would have been the wrong comeback.
|
|
|
Post by josef on Jul 13, 2019 22:49:50 GMT
I'm still fumin' we haven't got a video for The Visitors but there is one for Head Over Heels. 😠
I really, really WANT one. I've even got an idea for it. Quite simple. Frida, headphones on in soundbooth, all in black. Serious face on. Rest of ABBA are not visible 'til chorus. Maybe filmed in b/w.
Now that they've got these digital/hologramy/avatar ABBA heads, there's no reason why videos can't be made for all our favourite songs, right?
|
|
|
Post by foreverfan on Jul 14, 2019 7:40:30 GMT
Ohh that's a good idea ^^^^ no reason at all perhaps a little remix as well
|
|
|
Post by madonnabba on Jul 14, 2019 9:56:20 GMT
Yeah we could get new videos with The Abbatar. That would be interesting. Apart from the Visitors, maybe Angel eyes and LAYLOM. Interesting that one of the record mags predicted HOH would be number one for weeks. Think it was an attempt by Abba to lighten the mood on a darker album. That and TFTPOO. But The Visitors or WAISAD would have been better choices for release.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 8:51:12 GMT
One of the most interesting aspects of ABBA's evolution is the way that, possibly through both luck and judgement, they briefly became what we used to call an 'album band' rather than a 'singles band'. 'The Visitors' is a fantastic album - my favourite of theirs - but it just didn't contain classic (in the conventional sense) single material. I remember being hugely disappointed when 'One of Us' was released - it sounded like ABBA running out of ideas, with the cod-reggae treatment sounding like a lazy way of adding a bit of novelty to a song about an issue they'd already covered in much more compelling fashion previously. (Plus it had unfortunate overtones of the 'Not the Nine O'Clock News' p*ss-take from the year before.) As for 'Head Over Heels' - it's a firm favourite of mine but it's clearly not a classic ABBA single. So while I was surprised it charted as low as it did, I would have been equally surprised if it had gone Top 5, say. But there again, nothing on 'The Visitors' is really ideal singles fodder.
And for me, that's actually a massive plus. I like the fact that ABBA ultimately came up with a less 'commercial' album of this kind and showed us yet another facet of what they could do. As for the fresh material pulled together in 1982, I can live without any of it TBH. To my ears, the well had run dry and full credit to them for bringing the curtain down when they did rather than keep limping along at the risk of tainting the legacy.
|
|
|
Post by Alan on Jul 15, 2019 16:40:09 GMT
^^ Following on from your point about ABBA becoming an albums act at this point, The Visitors does have the distinction of being released just a week after One of Us (in the UK at least - in Sweden the album possibly came first). The album was clearly rushed out in order to get maximum sales before Christmas, but I think it was their first album since Waterloo (I could be wrong there) where the gap between first single and album was so small.
ABBA, Arrival, The Album and Voulez-Vous had all been released months after their first singles, and often in tandem with (or just after) their second singles. In a sense, Head Over Heels was being set up to fail! Had it been released in the same way as Money Money Money, Take A Chance On Me, Does Your Mother or Super Trouper, it may have done better simply by not being already available on the album (don’t get me wrong, Head Over Heels isn’t in anywhere near the same league as the others).
Having said that, if the album had been delayed (or One of Us released earlier, with Head Over Heels coming out just before Christmas), it would have been disastrous for the album had the latter single still not done well. It’s therefore probably for the best that things happened the way they did.
I still have my theory that it was the One Of Us video - and how awful the four of them looked in it - that did it. I still remember being quite shocked by it. I wasn’t over-impressed with their image in The Winner Takes It All, but One of Us took it to new depths. With the New Romantic movement being all about make-up and looking pretty, ABBA’s appearance must have turned a fair chunk of their audience off.
Head Over Heels isn’t great, but I do remember liking it at the time and, to me anyway, seemed the obvious single. The problem I have with it now is the title. ABBA’s meaning isn’t wrong but I wonder if, even in 1981, it was shifting towards meaning “Head over heels in love”. ABBA’s song wasn’t about that but that of Tears For Fears, under four years later, definitely was!
When All Is Said and Done might have worked but it may also have gone another way (“another break-up song? Change the record!”) but with Frida leading a number one hit just a year before, it might have done better. After that One of Us video, ABBA trying to be jolly with Head Over Heels was very unconvincing.
|
|
|
Post by josef on Jul 15, 2019 18:53:22 GMT
Rightly or wrongly, success IS tied up with image so ABBA were on a hiding to nothing by this time. Looks-wise, they all looked absolutely knackered at one point. Benny and Björn attempted to look cool around this time in leather jackets and suits, etc, but no one was really buying it as they still had terrible hair. Poor Agnetha and Frida both had frightful hairstyles. Frida in particular looked tired and forlorn. Fast-forward some time, once they'd gone their separate ways, and the girls regained their sparkle. Frida had the twinkle return to her eyes and Agnetha looked ten years younger and both looked a lot less dowdy.
Hindsight's a funny thing. I think it all went the way it was meant to. I recall Björn saying that if The Day Before You Came had been more successful they might have carried on a bit longer but let's face it, their heart's weren't in it anymore (and neither was the record buying public's). I remember I still bought their music and liked it but even I sensed the game was up.
I really think Head Over Heels is quite a belter of a song. I love the waltzy/tango? feel and the way it speeds up towards the chorus in that quasi-operatic sense. I also found the video captivating. However, I did feel they were trying to appear jolly and fun but it wasn't truly believable.
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Jul 15, 2019 19:19:36 GMT
^^ Following on from your point about ABBA becoming an albums act at this point, The Visitors does have the distinction of being released just a week after One of Us (in the UK at least - in Sweden the album possibly came first). The album was clearly rushed out in order to get maximum sales before Christmas, but I think it was their first album since Waterloo (I could be wrong there) where the gap between first single and album was so small. ABBA, Arrival, The Album and Voulez-Vous had all been released months after their first singles, and often in tandem with (or just after) their second singles. In a sense, Head Over Heels was being set up to fail! Had it been released in the same way as Money Money Money, Take A Chance On Me, Does Your Mother or Super Trouper, it may have done better simply by not being already available on the album (don’t get me wrong, Head Over Heels isn’t in anywhere near the same league as the others). I think this is important. Maybe the smart move would have been to release When All Is Said And Done around September. Stylistically and thematically, it would have been a nice contrast to Lay All Your Love On Me. Then the poppy One Of Us would have been a nice refresher to herald the album later in the year. Of course, as you say, that horror show of a video would still have raised all the wrong eyebrows. I firmly believe that Halstrom was past his sell-by date on the pop videos front. The lighting and photography were very poor (in my uneducated opinion). Nobody came out of the One Of Us video very well. The clip for Head Over Heels was only marginally better, by virtue of it showcasing some humour. I wonder if this is what led to the changing of the guard for the gorgeous video for The Day Before You Came? As for the girls' style at this point, it feels like they were caught unawares for the One Of Us video. Did Agnetha forget to ring around and check what everyone else was wearing? That dress!! Generally speaking, I liked Frida's new look at this point but it was not captured well in the video. Bjorn was reasonably OK on the style front, even if that beard added ten years to him. Benny suffered most by not having Frida on hand to control his wardrobe choices. The ties, the suit-jacket-over-sweaters combos looked like someone's drab uncle. While I'm glad that they ditched the costumes at this point, I really think they needed a stylist to coordinate their look for videos and photoshoots. The new individuality was splintering the image a bit, I think.
|
|
|
Post by Alan on Jul 15, 2019 21:36:39 GMT
Indeed. You have to wonder what Lasse Hallström was thinking of in parts of this video. If you have the misfortune of ABBA turning up looking the worst they’ve ever looked, the last thing you do is create multiple versions of them. On the subject of Agnetha’s dress, is she wearing the same thing in both When All Is Said And Done and One of Us? Until now, I just assumed they were two costumes in a similar style, but looking at the single sleeves of the international Head Over Heels and the Australian When All Is Said And Done, it would appear they are exactly the same?
|
|
|
Post by josef on Jul 15, 2019 21:44:57 GMT
Wearing the same outfit multiple times?! Shocking. Naughty Agnetha. No wonder Stig said she was lazy.
Regarding the multiple pictures in the One of Us video, the one posted reminds me of the dreadful single roses those people try to flog in nightclubs.
|
|
|
Post by Alan on Jul 15, 2019 22:07:55 GMT
Wearing the same outfit multiple times?! Shocking. Naughty Agnetha. No wonder Stig said she was lazy It is a bit, though! It’s not as if it’s the most flattering dress in the world. I can’t believe I’ve only just realised. I honestly thought they were two dresses made to a similar style. I don’t think I’d even realised they were both brown!
|
|
|
Post by josef on Jul 15, 2019 22:24:56 GMT
Poor ABBA. They really did look frightful a lot of the time. Not ALL the time, though. There are lots and lots of pictures of them where I think (of course it's only my opinion) that they look great- stylish and cool. But one of Agnetha's horrors has to be that Super Trouper dress! Why did no one tell her how frumpy she looked?
They really could have done with a stylist. Although perhaps that might take the life and spontaneity out of how they looked. Ok, some of the stage costumes were fun and they've become iconic now but really I might have sacked Owe Sandstrom once the music started speaking for itself and needed no gimmick.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2019 7:06:04 GMT
I still have my theory that it was the One Of Us video - and how awful the four of them looked in it - that did it. I still remember being quite shocked by it. I wasn’t over-impressed with their image in The Winner Takes It All, but One of Us took it to new depths. I agree with all of that. But I'd add that (notwithstanding the fact that some people do genuinely like/love it), 'One of Us' was (to put it politely) less than stellar. At the time, I remember thinking that an awful lot of folk must have been buying it due to a Pavlov's Dog, ABBA-have-a-new-single-out-so-I'm-gonna-buy-it response, rather than due to its intrinsic merits. (Or perhaps as an Xmas stocking filler for someone else.) In my mind's eye, I could see them taking their purchase home, playing it, say, twice, and then leaving it on their 45s pile and sticking 'Don't You Want Me' on multiple times instead. But consistent with the iron law of once bitten, twice shy - and reinforced by the 'One of Us' video, which almost wilfully slaps a 'best-before date' of 1981 on ABBA - they were much less liable to part with their money when 'Head Over Heels' came out. I probably out to point out that I think 'One of Us' sounds OK in the context of the 'The Visitors', although it's comfortably my least favourite track on that album. But as a single, for me it's bang average at best - and, by ABBA's pristine standards, pretty tired.
|
|
|
Post by Alan on Jul 16, 2019 10:09:11 GMT
^^ I think you’re right there. One of Us and The Visitors couldn’t possibly not have been big hits as they were following up huge number one hits the previous year. Both were less convincing hits though. Previous albums from Arrival onwards had a first single make number one (or in one case, number two). A number 3 hit was therefore noticeably not as good. And The Visitors was “only” number one for three weeks.
I think the loyalty factor/ legacy of 1980 ended once people had the first single and album and ABBA’s time was nearly up. Not a big deal really, it happens to all pop acts. Rock acts (for some reason) seem to have more longevity (and I’m not sure why). I know Colin will probably come in with a Queen comparison but I’ve never gone with that. As more of a rock outfit (and one that certainly wasn’t in any way reliant on looks or image), Queen could survive. It was different for pop acts like ABBA. Time was up and it was onto the next.
I’m so grateful that they stopped at the end of 1982, and so didn’t destroy their successful legacy. An album release in say, 1984 and possibly peaking at number 5 (with a single perhaps barely scraping the top 20 at best) really would have been difficult to take.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2019 12:12:47 GMT
From 1980 onwards, ABBA re-invented themselves. They discarded the glamour for a more realistic image of how serious the songs were becoming. I must admit I was a little taken aback when seeing the videos to TWTIA and OOU for the first time. I love watching them now as they depict the angst and rawness to the songs. I still think Agnetha looks beautiful though in a melancholy almost tragic way. The desolation in their songs started to manifest itself as early from SOS to KMKY ( love those videos too ! ). I prefer the sad songs to the more upbeat ones. HOH was indeed a wrong choice as a hit much as I like it. WAISAD would have fared better. ( Again, a great video ! ). ' The Visitors is a dark album, although I am not enamoured with either the first track or LAAPTMR. I find the former song too experimental and very un-ABBA ( sorry Josef ! ) and the latter is far too depressing and technically not an ABBA recording as only Frida and Benny are in the studio. Although I like TDBYC I would have preferred " Cassandra " as an A-side because of its more traditional ABBA vocals and style. Also, it is outrageous that JLT was shelved. If it had been reworked I am confident it could have been a potential hit. Please do not judge me too harshly regarding my comments.
|
|
|
Post by josef on Jul 16, 2019 16:46:57 GMT
^No one's judging you, Edmund. It's your opinion, and your entitled to it, even if myself and others (might) disagree. The Visitors is in my top ten- I LOVE the experimental feel to it and the spooky atmosphere. Frida did a cracking job. And I was thrilled ABBA were actually saying something political for once. A song with meaning and depth beyond the likes of Honey Honey and Ring Ring (both of which I like enormously just as they are). All groups develop and mature and it was right that ABBA did so with songs like Soldiers and The Visitors. As for LAAPTMR it's simply beautiful and a fine ending to their swansong album. It couldn't have been more apt. The fact Agnetha isn't on it doesn't bother me; in the end, the girls more or less had equal sharing of the vocals.
ABBA might have looked rather fed up with the 'carousel' by 1982 but even so, their final songs are still more than worthy of them. I even made my peace with TFTPOO a while ago and now I quite enjoy it for what it is.
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Jul 16, 2019 17:06:28 GMT
I'm with you, Edmund: I prefer the sadder songs myself. ABBA really excelled at that. I especially love how they sneak bits of sadness into otherwise bright and cheerful sound songs. If It Wasn't For The Nights is a case in point: there you are, dancing away to that jaunty piano, those swelling strings and suddenly those urgent and energetic vocals are telling you how sad the dark nights will be. Masterful!
While The Visitors is my favourite ABBA song and Like An Angel Passing Through My Room is close behind it, I have no problem with you not being so keen. On the other forum, someone had listed I Am Just A Girl as their favourite. Now there is a song that gives me hives. I jump for the skip button every time! But isn't it great that so many different songs mean so many different things to everybody? I love it.
I was listening to Just Like That again for the first time in ages when the video clips were posted the other day. I was expecting to be delighted but I was... kinda let down. That chorus is brilliant - all those 1940s style close harmonies and the tune are perfect. But the verse doesn't fit and the lyrics are not all that. Just my opinion, of course. It's been said before, but I reckon we wouldn't be talking about it half as much if it had been released as it was way back when. But you're right, the bones of a hit were there, though - it just needed to be reworked. The Gemini verse melody and lyrics were miles better and the transition to the chorus was done well. But that extended passage in the middle of the chorus (the line in a way, I was the one to deceive, always accepting the fact he would leave) derails a great chorus. It should have been used as a middle eight. The ABBA tempo and chorus was the way forward.
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Jul 16, 2019 17:16:34 GMT
Wearing the same outfit multiple times?! Shocking. Naughty Agnetha. No wonder Stig said she was lazy It is a bit, though! It’s not as if it’s the most flattering dress in the world. I can’t believe I’ve only just realised. I honestly thought they were two dresses made to a similar style. I don’t think I’d even realised they were both brown! That dress... It's the nipple tassles that get me! Was she planning a "routine" for some of the perkier tunes? In fairness, that green dress that Frida wore in the WAISAD video was awful as well. Seriously OTT and not really the thing for a pop video. An ostentatious cocktail party maybe, but not a pop video.
|
|
|
Post by josef on Jul 16, 2019 17:27:30 GMT
I was probably wearing much worse during the eighties tbf
Every decade seems to be one we look back on in horror. No doubt fashions today will be deplored in future generations, Or maybe adopted?!
I see the 'bum bag' (or fannypack lol!) is back with a vengeance? And also, I kid you not, DUNGAREES. Seriously. Fashion goes in circles.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2019 11:16:34 GMT
I think you can gather from my comments that Agnetha is my favourite. There is something about her voice especially when she conveys pure emotion. Frida is also, an excellent singer and has a unique characteristic in her voice. Without them there would be no ABBA ! They truly are great storytellers. According to Carl Magnus Palm's book " The Recording Sessions ", Frida expressed her desire to cover " The Winner Takes It All " and, likewise, Agnetha would have loved to have tackled " Our Last Summer ". Interesting enough but maybe it is best they didn't. I honestly think it wouldn't have worked. When you think about it many of ABBA's songs had a sombre feel to them. " More dark than light ". Much as I would have liked " Just Like That " to have been recorded and released, I concur it does consist of two separate songs. Never mind, you can't have everything !
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2019 22:56:50 GMT
I plan to Post in this ABBA in 1982 Thread, when I feel that enough viewpoints have been expressed.
Lately, I've been somewhat disillusioned with ABBA, due to the various delays, and hold ups of the New Songs. Also Benny & Bjorn's 'teasing', about how many New Songs we may, or may not get. I think that everything has been handled very poorly. It is due to this, that I've been 'drifting away' from doing ABBA Posts, (here and elsewhere), and I've been pursuing my many other interests, instead. (I often wish that I knew what other, (Non-Musical), interests the Fans here have. So I'm going to ask - in the correct Forum).
However, I also have several ideas as to what I want to say about ABBA in 1982, and I do plan to Post them here.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2019 11:24:53 GMT
I can't help but feel the same, will we ever get the opportunity to hear these new songs. I don't agree with this project ABBA have collaborated with Simon Fuller. I am convinced that this won't work. I would have preferred a special one off programme celebrating the career of ABBA and the enduring appeal of their music, filmed in Sweden with interviews from all four members and an exclusive feature introducing the new songs. As for " Mamma Mia - The Party, The Restaurant etc this is going way over the top ! I don't see the point of this venture at all ! To be honest I don't think we will ever get to hear the new songs. Subconciously, I think my interest in the band is waning too. Disappointment after disappointment is all I can say ! I feel I have been contributing to the forum a little too much recently. Because of my anxiety and very sensitive nature I do not want to upset any other fans or become stressed after reading personal views and opinions from people. I appreciate that every ABBA fan takes a pride in loving and admiring their own personal favourites just as I do and I do not want to tarnish that of anybody.
|
|
|
Post by richard on Jul 18, 2019 12:25:07 GMT
I agree with much of what the last two posts say.
Regarding ABBA's last few songs, I don't consider that they represent a decline in overall quality, though YOMO does sound the weakest to me. When a group starts losing popularity, no song of theirs is going to to be a big hit.
|
|
|
Post by angela on Jul 18, 2019 13:06:58 GMT
For me I think by the 80's the new generation of teenagers were going for the new groups like Duran Duran and Culture club, us ABBA fans were either working or doing other things, ABBA themselves wanted to do other things, It's funny but when I watch ABBA The Movie i keep thinking I wonder what the people that were screaming their name are doing now.
|
|
|
Post by AdamDawson2003 on Jul 18, 2019 18:12:20 GMT
I love the songs from the 1982 recording sessions, they all have their own unique charm. As we all know ABBA planned to release a 9th album recording sessions began in May 1982 the album was then shelved and further work on it was going to continue in 1983 as well as releasing it that same year so it was decided that a new compilation album called 'The Singles: The First Ten Years' would be released and it would contain two new singles. So the fact that ABBA planned a new album meant that they still wanted to continue working together, I disagree with other fans who often say that the energy is gone from the songs I don't think it is at all. 'Under Attack', 'Cassandra', 'I Am The City', 'You Owe Me One', 'Just Like That' and 'The Day Before You Came' are all excellent songs and all 6 songs would have been released on the 9th album in 1983. I often regard 'Every Good Man' as an ABBA song, yes it features Agnetha on vocals its also a beautiful song which eventually became 'Heaven Help My Heart' in Chess, I also wondered as to why ABBA never recorded Spanish versions of 'Under Attack' and 'The Day Before You Came'.
A possible tracklist for the 9th album
1. Under Attack 2. Cassandra 3. I Am The City 4. You Owe Me One 5. Just Like That (Saxophone Version) 6. Every Good Man 7. Slowly 8. Man 9. Don't Do It 10. When The Waves Roll Out To Sea (Instrumental) 11. The Queen Of Hearts 12. The Day Before You Came
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Jul 18, 2019 18:36:50 GMT
Reading Adam's post, it would be nice to think that the girls would have written/co-written material for an album if ABBA had come back around the mid-80s.
ABBA's fixation on the charts was a bit self-defeating, in a way. Their artistic evolution saw them create beautiful but less commercial material. Those artistic choices often result in some slowing of chart momentum. By then they were filthy rich, so surely they should have been more sanguine about the commercial side of things if they were more creatively satisfied? Acts like Queen had a dip in chart fortunes around that time and persisted, eventually having some bigger hits again.
Ultimately, I'm glad that they pulled the plug when they did. They all kept the flags flying, showing us more of what they were capable of. I wouldn't be without Chess for the world. We got to see some of Frida's sharper edges and - finally! - a small selection of her own writing. Agnetha remained true to her pop roots and returned to her abilities as a writer. That the albums by Gemini and Josefin Nilsson are not quite ABBA-standard is moot: we continued to get new material. Alongside that, the world fell in love with ABBA all over again.
|
|
|
Post by Zeebee on Jul 18, 2019 20:50:02 GMT
A possible tracklist for the 9th album 1. Under Attack 2. Cassandra 3. I Am The City 4. You Owe Me One 5. Just Like That (Saxophone Version) 6. Every Good Man 7. Slowly 8. Man 9. Don't Do It 10. When The Waves Roll Out To Sea (Instrumental) 11. The Queen Of Hearts 12. The Day Before You Came I don't recognize the titles Don't Do It and The Queen Of Hearts. And do you really think When The Waves Roll Out To Sea should've been on the album, considering that the melody is the same as the verses of Just Like That?
|
|