|
|
Post by chron on Oct 23, 2019 19:12:26 GMT
Okay, edmfio76 would like me to put this up, and I think it's worth keeping somewhere online - it's certainly one of the best polls I've been involved in. Not sure how I'm going to do this yet; first thought is to do the results in small batches of five, or so. My memories of the way this was done have become foggy, but as far as I remember we awarded marks of between 1 and 10 to every song on every ABBA studio album and non-album single. We could award a single 'zero' mark to the track we rated the worst, and were allowed a single mark of 11 to be awarded to the track we thought the best (if this is wrong, I'd be happy for others to bob-in and clarify). Our lists of marks were then submitted to Ginger Spice, who totted up and did the number-crunching. I'll include comments in this, but will leave out the throwaway ones ("Nice picture", etc). I'm also going to leave out things like the dates and times of the postings, with the exception of noting them for the first and last posts. So here we go, a facsimile (more-or-less) edition of the abbaforum 2016 Megarate poll! Unless noted, all posts are Ginger Spice's (hats off to him again for doing all the donkey-work on this). Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 12:31 am: Here it is folks! The moment you've all been waiting for...the first official ABBA Megarate (on this forum, at least)! 
    Your votes have been tallied, your voices have been heard! But will your favorite song make it to the top? Keep checking back in to find out! Remember this is all in good fun, so while you are free to voice disagreement with the results of this show, please refrain from insults or personal attacks as our resident security (err, moderator) is standing by. Who's ready to get started??!!!
101. "I Saw It In The Mirror" from Ring Ring
"'Cause something sure is wrong when this boy cries."  average: 2.142 points (highest score: 6 = Alan, lowest score: 1 = Cerulean, Gary, Noctum, Johnny, Smugasacat, Foreverfan) The Day Before You Came said, "Girl's harmonies are nice, but song itself ain't." 'I Saw It In The Mirror' is indeed ABBA at their worst! Bottom of the pile but didn't get a zero from anyone. Some consolation there.  Damn, so my six points still made no difference! Guessing even if I'd given it 11 it would have still been bottom!
100. "Åh vilka tider""du får kalla det fantasier, men nog är det en dröm man minns"  average: 2.571 points (highest score: 5 = Chelseacharger, lowest score: 1 = Hometime, Johnny, Smugasacat, Foreverfan) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "It's pretty nice sounding, but too meh for me."
99. "King Kong Song" from Waterloo"I was looking at a movie on the TV last night..."  average: 2.857 points (highest score: 8 = Shoshin, lowest score: 1 = Hometime, Noctum, Smugasacat, Foreverfan, Flitwick) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Stupid subject matter, nice music."
98. "Santa Rosa"
"How I wish this road would take me home where I belong."  average: 3 points (highest score: 6 = No.95, lowest score: 1 = Smugasacat) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Nice, but could be better. The idea of a bunch of Swedes yearning for California makes me chuckle a bit though."
97. "Merry-Go-Round"
"Who wants to kiss me, and hug me, and miss me?"  average: 3.0714 points (highest score: 5 = Chelseacharger, No.95, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Alan, lowest score: 1 = Ginger Spice, Smugasacat) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Weird intro." Nice to see that my one pointers are crashing out right in the beginning!
Tie:
=95. "Sitting in a Palmtree" from Waterloo
"But I will stay here, among my coconuts."  average: 3.357 points (highest score: 6 = Alan, lowest score: 1 = Johnny) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Is this something that Swedes do?" =95. "I Am Just a Girl" from Ring Ring
"Darling I can see, I was meant to be your girl."  average: 3.357 points (highest score: 7 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 0 = Hometime, Gary) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Pretty laid back." Finally! My zero-pointer has been shown the door at last. (And thumbs up to Gary for his excellent judgement!). 'Sitting In the Palmtree' isn't as bad as the others, it's a cute little song. 'I Am Just A Girl' was a strong contender for my zero-pointer, but it lost to 'Man In The Middle'. |
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 24, 2019 0:23:31 GMT
Tie:
=93. "Crazy World"
"There's a couple of men in my life, and one of them is my brother Joe."  average: 3.5 points (highest score: 7 = No.95, lowest score: 0 = Ginger Spice)
=93. "Man in the Middle" from ABBA
"He will drink champagne in his limousine, while the rest of us drink a beer."  average: 3.5 points (highest score: 6 = No.95, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Alan, lowest score: 0 = Smugasacat) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "The same old 'it's musically nice, it's lyrically eh' routine." 92. "Intermezzo No. 1" from ABBA average: 3.643 points (highest score: 8 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 0 = Cerulean) 'Intermezzo No. 1' deserves to be higher, it's a great instrumental and I prefer it to 'Arrival'. I see heated debates ahead! Great stuff
91. "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother" from Ring Ring
"We found a place in the sun, having our fun."  average: 3.714 points (highest score: 7 = Ginger Spice, Flitwick, lowest score: 2 = Hometime, Smugasacat, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Noctum, Foreverfan) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Frida sounds nice here." Weird to be seen to be the one waving a flag for some of these early songs (especially as I don't own copies of the Ring Ring or Waterloo albums - Santa Rosa and Åh Vilka Tider were two tracks I had to quickly listen to on YT in order to be in some sort of position to award scores at all!). As I said in an earlier post, I suspect that I haven't been ruthless enough with the early material. That said, I'm happy to give Crazy World a decent rating. I've always liked the little tempo-shift piano motifs done at the start and following the choruses of this very much, and it deserves a sprinkle of points for those bits, if nothing else. I'm glad to see some comments. Heartbroken that none of them are incendiary sideswipes at low-ranking songs, thus triggering hair-pulling and ABBAgeddon in the ensuing comments. Just kidding. I wouldn't want to make Alan cry. His job is hard enough. I'm kinda regretting confining my comments to the songs I ranked 11 - 9. On the other hand, you can all rejoice that you will be spared my "thoughtful prose" until a bit later. Yes, this thread just isn't nasty enough. And it's only going to get nicer. Damn. Should get quite nasty soon. When somebody's favourite gets dumped Intermezzo No.1 an early leader in the Marmite Stakes, with a whopping 8 points spread between a Yay and a Nay, followed jointly by King Kong Song, I Am Just A Girl and Crazy World on 7. I plough a lonely furrow regarding King Kong Song, but 99th place was nevertheless a disappointment. Maybe you had to have been twelve or thirteen when Tiger Feet was Number One to thoroughly appreciate its merits. "Give me that kick, now."  average: 3.75 points (highest score: 7 = Ginger Spice, Flitwick, lowest score: 1 = Johnny, Noctum)
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 24, 2019 12:27:10 GMT
89. "Rock'n'Roll Band" from Ring Ring
"Come on baby, let's dance to the rock 'n' roll band."  average: 3.7857 points (highest score: 8 = Gary, lowest score: 1 = Hometime) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Nice ending to the album." 88. "She's My Kind of Girl"
"Who could ever believe that she would be mine?"  average: 3.8571 points (highest score: 8 = Johnny, lowest score: 2 = Noctum, Foreverfan) 87. "Watch Out" from Waterloo
"And I'm gonna tame you, wild thing."  average: 4 points (highest score: 8 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 0 = Noctum)
TIE:
=85. "What About Livingstone?" from Waterloo
"Wasn't it worth the while, travelling up the Nile?"  average: 4.1429 points (highest score: 7 = Gary, lowest score: 1 = Noctum) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Worst song in the album. Maybe one of the worst ABBA songs ever."
=85. Medley: "Pick a Bale of Cotton"/"On Top of Old Smokey"/"Midnight Special"
"If you say a thing about it, you're in trouble with the man."  average: 4.1429 points (highest score: 8 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 1 = Shoshin) Ginger Spice said, "I love how much fun this is. I wish they had opened up to doing more covers." TIE:=83. "Suzy-Hang-Around" from Waterloo
"Nobody wants you around here and that's for sure."  average: 4.2143 points (highest score: 7 = Gary, No.95, lowest score: 1 = Smugasacat)
=83. "He Is Your Brother" from Ring Ring
"We all need words of comfort and compassion."  average: 4.2143 points (highest score: 7 = Hometime, Shoshin, lowest score: 0 = Johnny)
82. "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" from Ring Ring
"Give me some more time and you'll see our love will grow.  average: 4.3571 points (highest score: 7 = Flitwick, lowest score: 2 = Cerulean)
81. "People Need Love" from Ring Ring
"We gotta have hope to carry on living."  average: 4.5714 points (highest score: 7 = Flitwick, Chelseacharger, lowest score: 2 = Johnny) Running to form at the moment, no big surprises, which is quite interesting in its own way. On the old forum I believe there were in the region of a 100 such polls, and apart from the odd member, one having Me and Bobby at number 1, it evened its self out to the usual suspects, so it remains to be seen one year plus on if that proves true. Oh dear, now everyone knows I am the world's biggest fan of Rock 'n' Roll Band, What About Livingstone and Suzy-Hang-Around! The dodgy lyrics aside, I think Suzy-Hang-Around is a lovely piece and the sunny vocal arrangement on What About Livingstone always cheers me up. I'm also pleased to see Watch Out getting some love from TheDayBeforeYouCame. I think it's another underrated track. I feel a session with the Waterloo album looming! She's My Kind of Girl' and 'Love Isn't Easy' aren't that bad, the rest however is. Can't believe that 'Rock Me' was so successful in Australia, I don't like it at all. Who the hell had the idea that Benny should take his shirt off on that picture posted for 'She's My Kind of Girl'? It looks so much better when he's fully dressed. I've been amused to see the variations in scoring. I don't usually waste much time on hating things but Watch Out presses all the wrong buttons for me so I'm interested to see that TheDayBeforeYouCame really likes it. Seems like most of my very low scoring songs are out of the way now. I'm not a fan of most of the songs on the first two albums. It's a shame that more people didn't join in but I am expecting the countdown to be fairly conventional. Thanks for all your effort on this Daniel! I'm not amused to see He Is Your Brother out-ranked by Love Isn't Easy and People Need Love. Steward's enquiry! Watch Out has joined Intermezzo No.1 with the biggest points variation so far of 8. It's noticeable how even from the early stuff, each and every song has at least one person who 'quite likes'. Even the worst highest mark has been 5. And clearly there are those who do like many of the Waterloo/Ring Ring tracks judging by the smattering of 8's and 7's even in this early stage of Megarate.
|
|
|
|
Post by foreverfan on Oct 24, 2019 18:04:46 GMT
3 years ago and I’m still posting..lol
so this time down the line, can’t really disagree with what we agreed then...so far...
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 25, 2019 0:47:03 GMT
80. "Tropical Loveland" from ABBA"I wanna share it with you."  average: 4.643 points (highest score: 8 = Alan, lowest score: 1 = Johnny)
79. "You Owe Me One""I need a rest from our petty little dramas."  average: 4.7143 points (highest score: 8 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 2 = Johnny)
Tie:
=77. "Two For the Price of One" from The Visitors"The purest streak of gold he'd struck."  average: 4.78571 points (highest score: 8 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 1 = Gary, Johnny) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Get rid of the last part and it's an 9/10 in my book."
=77. "Happy Hawaii""Swimming and surfing, enjoying the sun."  average: 4.78571 points (highest score: 7 = Gary, Chelseacharger, Flitwick, Alan, lowest score: 2 = Ginger Spice, Johnny, Noctum)
76. "Dream World""I'm not so charming and you're not so groovy."  average: 5.1071 points (highest score: 8 = No.95, lowest score: 1 = Cerulean) Tropical Loveland' and 'You Owe Me One' are both okay, I rarely listen to them. 'Two For the Price of One' is the only song I always skip on 'The Visitors'. I prefer the alternate version with the 'darker' lyrics to the original one. 'Happy Hawaii' is nice, it has the same holiday vibe as 'Tropical Loveland' but is a bit better. 'Dream World' has a fantastic chorus but weak verses. I think the opposite! Dream World's rowdy chorus isn't any great shakes, but its verses have decent, hard-edged lyrics and Agnetha's vocal has an intriguingly sardonic, flinty edge to it, making a nice and interesting change from her oft-used coy/beseeching/put-upon modes. Despite being a bit of a mish-mash, I think it's better than a number of tracks on the as-originally-released Voulez-Vous. Not much doubt that Two For The Price Of One is the worst song on the last five albums. "Like an old fashioned hero, you stand before me."  average: 5.1429 points (highest score: 8 = Alan, lowest score: 1 = Johnny)
74. "I Have a Dream" from Voulez-Vous"Pushing through the darkness, still another mile."  average: 5.2143 points (highest score: 8 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 2 = Johnny) Ginger Spice said, "Cheesy, yes, but I turn to this one when I'm down. It makes me feel better."
73. "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" from Ring Ring"This is the part that she likes to play."  average: 5.2857 points (highest score: 8 = Johnny, lowest score: 3 = Gary, TheDayBeforeYouCame) 72. "My Mama Said" from Waterloo"Try to sneak out without saying, with my loudest record playing."  average: 5.4286 points (highest score: 9 = Johnny, lowest score: 3 = Gary, Foreverfan, Shoshin)
71. "Disillusion" from Ring Ring"They say my wound will heal and only leave a scar, but then they never shared our love."  average score: 5.5 (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 1 = foreverfan) I kinda thought that Disillusion and even I Have A Dream might be higher... The high/low revelations are pretty interesting. I'm personally sad to see "Disillusion" go. "I Have a Dream" was our first Gold hit to go. Only major disappointment so far... Dream World. For some reason I really like it...Otherwise all ok.. 'I Have a Dream' so low! I agree that it's the weakest song on 'Gold', but it's still better than 'Nina', 'My Mama Said' and 'Disillusion', IMO. I guess that 'Does Your Mother Know' will be the next 'Gold' song to crash out? I loved 'Put On Your White Sombrero' when I first listened to it, but lost interest in it very quickly, which is very unusual for an ABBA song. Yeah, Disillusion, I Have A Dream and I somehow imagined that 'He's Your Brother' too would all be at least a bit higher. #74 does seem a tad harsh on one of their number one singles. The kids choir rankles with some but the lyrics and sentiment of the song are really good. Only kept off the UK top spot by another hit featuring a children's choir and later a No.1 for uurrrrgghhhhhhh...Westlife. I'm not the biggest fan of I Have A Dream but even I thought it would be a little higher. I find My Mama Said better to listen to though. As for Dreamworld, I agree with the comments about Agnetha's voice but that intro...talk about making my ears bleed! Maybe I just have a bad copy or something.
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 25, 2019 15:38:40 GMT
TIE:
=69. "Does Your Mother Know" from Voulez-Vous
"But I can't take a chance on a chick like you."  average: 5.5714 points (highest score: 8 = Hometime, TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 0 = Shoshin) =69. "Dum Dum Diddle" from Arrival
"To be so near you and not just hear you."  average: 5.5714 points (highest score: 8 = No.95, lowest score: 2 = Johnny)
68. "Arrival" from Arrival average: 5.6428 points (highest score: 8 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 3 = smugasacat)
3-way Tie:
=65. "Andante, Andante" from Super Trouper"Please don't talk. Go on, play."  average: 5.85714 points (highest score: 10 = Chelseacharger, lowest score: 2 = Shoshin, smugasacat) Ginger Spice said, "I love the alternate mix with the accordion. Now the album version seems like it's missing something."
=65. "Why Did It Have to Be Me?" from Arrival"It's better to forget me."  average: 5.85714 points (highest score: 9 = Gary, lowest score: 3 = Ginger Spice) =65. "Me and I" from Super Trouper"Think about yourself for a minute, then you'll find the answer in it: everyone's a freak"  average: 5.85714 points (highest score: 9 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 2 = Shoshin)
3-Way Tie:
=62. "Under Attack""About to crack, defences breaking."  average: 5.9286 points (highest score: 9 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 4 = Gary) =62. "Hey, Hey Helen" from ABBA""But you're right, you had to take a second chance."  average: 5.9286 points (highest score: 9 = Hometime, lowest score: 2 = Johnny) Hometime said, "I don’t understand why this gets so few positive comments. When I first got this album, it was the track that really jumped out at me and has remained a favourite ever since. The chorus is very strong, with mild hints of gospel in the vocal arrangement. The breakdown in the middle is great too. It’s one of those songs where the unison singing is so tight, that I thought it had a lead vocal. Those women were AMAZING in the studio." TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "I don't get why it's disliked by fans." =62. "Another Town, Another Train" from Ring Ring"Guess I will spend my life in railway stations."  average: 5.9286 points (highest score: 8 = Gary, lowest score: 3 = TheDayBeforeYouCame) TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Too twee, too saccharine. I hate those flutes." Hmm. Me And I and Hey, Hey, Helen have been shown the door far too soon. Have a word with yourselves, you lot! All of my favorites are going already  Only real disappointment, Hey, Hey Helen - great rockier sound, deserves a lot more than it gets. Dum Dum Diddle's placing is a bit disappointing. Such a lovely, lively tune (love the transition section of the verses - "But it's bad/You're so sad..."- where the tune and the chiming, marimba-ish treatment are doing something that isn't a million miles away from an inverted version of the Mamma-Mia intro riff), and for such a supposedly throwaway track, the band's performance is a fully engaged, enthusiastic one. I'll always contend that this is a bit of a hidden gem. 'Does Your Mother Know' is good but one of their weakest singles. 'Dum Dum Diddle' is very catchy, if only it had better lyrics. 'Arrival' is okay but a bit boring. 'Andante Andante' and 'Me And I' are the only weak songs on 'Super Trouper'; I never listen to them. 'Why Did It Have to Be Me?' and 'I Am the City' are both okay. 'Another Town, Another Train' is beautiful, it's my favourite song from their early years. I liked 'Hey, Hey Helen' more in the past than I do now. 'Under Attack' isn't bad but shouldn't have been a single. "Without a song or a dance, what are we?"  average: 5.9643 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, smugasacat, lowest score: 3 = Hometime, Gary) The Album is the album with the highest placed lowest place, if that makes sense. I think Thank You For The Music deserves its relatively low placing. It's the only song on The Album I'm not so keen on. Not quite sure why. The tune is nice but I will never love the lyrics. Similarly, the lyrics of Dum Dum Diddle are the only slight blemish on Arrival. Nonetheless, both albums would be in an all-time Top 10 favourite albums of mine. Yeah, I'm not at all unhappy to see Thank You For The Music cropping up relatively early, either! One of the problems with it is that it's smug and self-congratulatory at heart ("I have a talent, a wonderful thing"). Someone patting themselves on the back will always stick in the craw, even if what they're claiming about themselves is true. Also: melody too saccharine. 'Thank You for the Music' only at number 61!? The chorus is heaven, one of ABBA's best. I think Thank You For The Music is unfairly maligned, although I'm not its biggest fan. It's actually one of Agnetha's best vocal performances. Lyrically, yes it's cheesy, but I think taken too literally. It's not just about someone bigging themselves up saying they have an amazing talent, it's the protagonist expressing gratitude, too. Anyway, it was part of the mini musical so context is lost. It would help if it was more tongue-in-cheek. Actually, I think that was Bjorn's intention? Who knows? Still, I'm not the biggest fan by any stretch and it annoys me how it's trotted out all the time when there are so many others.
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 25, 2019 17:28:28 GMT
4-Way Tie:
=57. "On and On and On" from Super Trouper
"Keep on rocking, baby, 'til the night is gone."  average: 6 points (highest score: 8 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Foreverfan, lowest score: 2 = Shoshin) =57. "Hasta Mañana" from Waterloo
"Darling, our love was much too strong to die."  average: 6 points (highest score: 8 = Ginger Spice, Johnny, lowest score: 2 = Gary) =57. "So Long" from ABBA
"Tracy, Daisy - they may be crazy, but I'll never be your girl.  average: 6 points (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 3 = Gary, smugasacat, Foreverfan) =57. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" from ABBA
"I love you, can't deny it."  average: 6 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 4 = Cerulean)
TIE:
=55. "Honey, Honey" from Waterloo"So stay on the ground girl, you better not get too high."  average: 6.1429 points (highest score: 8 = Gary, lowest score: 3 = Smugasacat) =55. "Lovelight""When you came into my life, it all got so much brighter."  average: 6.1429 points (highest score: 9 = Cerulean, Foreverfan, lowest score: 2 = Shoshin) Not a big fan of neither 'So Long' nor 'Honey Honey'. The latter is one of the very few ABBA songs I would call overrated. All the others are great! I love the lyrics to 'On and On and On'. 'Hasta Mañana' is lovely. I used to dislike 'I Do x5' when I was younger, because of its Schlager sound but I really like it now. 'Lovelight' is one of their best b-sides. "Come make your own contribution to this melting pot."  average: 6.21429 points (highest score: 10 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 4 = smugasacat)
=53."The Way Old Friends Do" from Super Trouper"Times of joy and times of sorrow, we will always see it through."  average: 6.21429 points (highest score: 9 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, Flitwick, lowest score: 2 = Foreverfan)
52. "Gonna Sing You My Lovesong" from Waterloo
"I know she doesn't make it easy, 'cause you don't please her like you please me."  average: 6.2857 points (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, lowest score: 2 = Smugasacat, Shoshin) Hometime said, "It’s crazy that this peach is virtually buried on a very patchy album. It’s soulful and sweet, yet daringly casts Frida as the other woman. A lovely velvety central performance is balanced by that rich chorus. Again, this deserves way more attention than it gets. A real favourite." 51. "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)" from Voulez-Vous
"Making love is a dynamite drug, baby. So why don't we start right away?"  average: 6.35714 points (highest score: 8 = Hometime, Noctum, Shoshin, lowest score: 4 = Flitwick, Smugasacat) Love that Gonna Sing You My Lovesong has done so well, compared to better known songs. I also love that the relatively high placing of Lovers will grind some gears. It deserves some love. Definitely. As if I needed it, this list is a great reminder of how many fantastic songs they produced in such a short time. And the best half is still to come! Maybe [the relatively high placing of Lovers Live A Little Longer] will grind some gears, but I think it's about where it should be. It's a middling, middle-period ABBA song; not awful, not remarkable. Nice intro, quite nice verses nicely sung by Frida, undermined to a degree by vapid lyrics and a somewhat abrasive chorus. I thought '6,' and it ended up with slightly over that.
|
|
|
|
Post by josef on Oct 25, 2019 17:33:08 GMT
Nice one for doing this, orf.
I see you've deleted your post about The Winner Takes It All. Shame, it was funny.
I remember the name ginger spice and some of the comments but this seems like Aaaaaages ago. I find it hard to remember contributing to it although I suppose I must have.
It's refreshed my feelings about some of the lesser known songs such as Hey Hey Helen, so I may give that a listen over the weekend along with a few I haven't heard in a very long time indeed.
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 25, 2019 18:10:33 GMT
I see you've deleted your post about The Winner Takes It All. Shame, it was funny. Yeah, I didn't want to get anyone's back up; and also, this list is unwieldy enough as it is; 'joke' entries might break up what flow there is, to an annoying degree. I'm using the original pics chosen by Ginger Spice where possible, but a few have disappeared off the image hosts they were on, and so I've had to sub in replacement pics in those instances. |
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Oct 25, 2019 18:42:52 GMT
This is a fun piece of nostalgia! Thanks, Orf, for all the work it must involve. Looks like I was pretty gobby about these ratings....
|
|
|
|
Post by shoshin on Oct 25, 2019 19:17:51 GMT
This is a fun piece of nostalgia! Thanks, Orf, for all the work it must involve. Looks like I was pretty gobby about these ratings.... No accounting for ABBA fan tastes. I gave King Kong Song 8 and you gave it 1. I gave Does Your Mother Know 0 and you gave it 8. Yet we both gave Lovers Live A Little Longer 8 :-) |
|
|
|
Post by josef on Oct 25, 2019 20:09:11 GMT
If I was doing this now I'd have 'Lovers (Live A Little Longer)' in my top ten or top twenty at the least.
It's funny how tastes change. Or rather, mature. That's how I see it. I've learnt to appreciate certain songs much more as I've got older.
|
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Oct 25, 2019 20:38:15 GMT
This is a fun piece of nostalgia! Thanks, Orf, for all the work it must involve. Looks like I was pretty gobby about these ratings.... No accounting for ABBA fan tastes. I gave King Kong Song 8 and you gave it 1. I gave Does Your Mother Know 0 and you gave it 8. Yet we both gave Lovers Live A Little Longer 8 :-) I can't quite remember how the voting system worked. Now do I remember thinking "DYMK and Lovers are on a par" but they kind of are... despite the single pickers' decisions. Would you rank KKS and Lovers as equals? |
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 27, 2019 1:58:52 GMT
TIE:
=49. "I Wonder (Departure)" from The Album"Once chance in a lifetime. Yes I will take it; it can't go wrong."  average: 6.4286 points (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, lowest score: 2 = smugasacat) Hometime said, "This needs to be used in a movie for an uplifting coming-out scene. Without changing a word, this song could be about someone making that life-changing emergence from the closet. That aside, the vocal performance is superb - just so powerful and melodic, full of light and shade. It’s a beautiful recording too." =49. "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)" from Waterloo"Was it just a dream, everything we did, everything we had?"  average: 6.4286 points (highest score: 10 = Gary, lowest score: 3 = Shoshin)
48. "Bang-A-Boomerang" from ABBA"Sweet, sweet kisses so tender always will return to sender."  average: 6.5 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 4 = Noctum) Ginger Spice said, "One of my all time favorites. The simple message is so effective, and it's just so catchy. I really wish this one got more recognition. Funny enough, the music video was what really made the song click for me." The vid for Bang-A-Boomerang does maximise its appeal; it's a lot of fun. The way you feel about Bang-A-Boomerang, Ginger Spice, is the way I feel about Dum Dum Diddle; catchy and exuberant and slightly silly (although I think DDD's tune and instrumentation smoke B-A-B's, and I'm distraught that it didn't achieve a higher ranking!). "Why don't you give me a call?"  average = 6.64286 points (highest score: 8 = Ginger Spice, Gary, Chelseacharger, lowest score: 4 = No.95)
TIE:
=45. "Happy New Year" from Super Trouper"May we all have a vision now and then of a world where every neighbour is a friend."  average score: 6.71429 points (highest score: 8 = Ginger Spice, Flitwick, Smugasacat, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Shoshin, lowest score: 4 = Hometime) =45. "Elanie""It's a dead-end street. They tie your hands and tie your feet."  average score: 6.71429 points (highest score: 8 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, Johnny, Smugasacat, TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 3 = Flitwick) 'Elaine' & 'Happy New Year' are my favourites from the last update, both excellent, the former is so underrated! 'Ring Ring', 'Bang-A-Boomerang' & 'Dance' are all good. 'I Wonder' however is so overrrated, can't believe it's on both 'Greatest Hits 2' and 'More Gold', it doesn't belong there at all, IMO. "She's a girl with a taste for the world."  average: 6.75 points (highest score: 8.5 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 3 = Shoshin) Hang on: we were allowed to do ½ marks too?! Gah! I hadn't intended on it, but TDBYC submitted a few and I realized I had never specified if they could or couldn't be used. I didn't actually notice until all the scores until I started putting them in Excel and I thought it might cause too much confusion or over thinking if I told everyone they could change their scores to half marks, since everyone had already submitted at that point, but I didn't wanna change or round her scores because it actually helped break a few ties. "But I won't feel blue, like I always do, 'cause somewhere in the crowd, there's you."  average: 6.85714 points (highest score: 10 = TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 2 = Johnny, Shoshin) Sigh. Sad to see Super Trouper shelved already. Still, my consolation is that it was a number one, so ya-boo-sucks. "All I see is a big balloon, halfway up to the moon."  average: 6.9286 points (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, Gary, lowest score: 3 = Noctum) Hometime said, "While this sometimes this feels a bit like a demo, I love the repetitive guitar riff, the angelic call-and-repeat backing vocals and Frida’s fiercely sarcastic lead. True, the transition between the fantastic verses and the slightly-too-dreamy chorus might need a bit more work to solidify the song, but I can’t resist this. Its imperfections are submerged by the brilliance elsewhere." TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "Should have been included on The Visitors, as the last song on Side A." Love 'Head Over Heels', both the song and the video. I overplayed 'Super Trouper' when I was younger, I don't listen to it that much nowadays. The acapella opening is the best part of the song. 'Should I Love or Cry' is too high. "Nothing promised, no regrets."  average: 7 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 3 = Johnny) Hometime said, "The harder edges appeal to me. The synth riff is as iconic (for me) and essential as the GGG synth figure. The adult theme is nicely handled too and, with the women on vocal duties, they are taking control of such things. Nice." =40. "Waterloo" from Waterloo"I feel like I win when I lose."  average: 7 points (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, Chelseacharger, Shoshin, lowest score: 5 = Cerulean, Foreverfan)
|
|
|
|
Post by foreverfan on Oct 27, 2019 16:41:38 GMT
It always did get harder in the upper reaches of the charts, and possibly more controversial..For me at this moment in time Voulez Vous deserved higher, it always seems to be a love hate track..Lovelight a personal favourite..still, I gave it 9/10. Still would. On and On and On Ring Ring , again higher . Seeing all these tracks in one place does make it hard to separate and you begin to realise the quality, even down to the lower numbers...
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 27, 2019 18:58:43 GMT
39. "The King Has Lost His Crown" from Voulez-Vous"Suddenly, he's clumsy like a clown.  average: 7.03571 points (highest score: 10 = Hometime, lowest score: 4 = Johnny) Hometime said, "A lot of this album sees the guys pushing the girls to give really high-pitched vocals (the Bee Gees influence, no doubt). That colours the chorus of this song but the sultry contrast of the lead vocal is gorgeously soulful. I love the schadenfreude of the lyrics. A slight forerunner to SILOC, in some ways."
TIE:
=37. "That's Me" from Arrival"It's lonely to be free, but I'm not a man's toy. I'll never be.  average: 7.07142 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, lowest score: 2 = Smugasacat) Ginger Spice said, "One of my all time favorites. I'm glad it got a music video and is featured on some compilations."
=37. "Tiger" from Arrival"Yellow eyes are glowing like the neon lights."  average: 7.07142 points (highest score: 10 = Gary, lowest score: 5 = Johnny, Foreverfan) Ginger Spice said, "This one struck me in my early days of being an ABBA fan. I had only heard Gold and I was watching ABBA documentaries on YouTube at night and when I heard a clip of this, it really excited me for some reason. Once I got the albums, it was an early favorite of mine." 'Voulez-Vous', 'The King Has Lost His Crown' and 'Tiger' are all fantastic. I've never been a big fan of 'That's Me', it's by far the weakest track on 'Arrival'.
3-WAY TIE:
=34. "I Let the Music Speak" from The Visitors"I'm seeing songs no poet has ever painted."  average: 7.14286 points (highest score: 9 = Hometime, Gary, lowest score: 5 = Shoshin) Hometime said, "I shouldn’t like this, but I do. The bombast is offset by an innate charm. The mellifluous lead vocal is beautifully compliment by those little quasi-operatic staccato BVs and the shifts in the time signature."
=34. "Cassandra""Now the last day is dawning."  average: 7.14286 points (highest score: 9 = Smugasacat, lowest score: 5 = Noctum) =34. "The Piper" from Super Trouper"And we dance beneath the moon."  average: 7.14286 points (highest score: 9 = Smugasacat, lowest score: 4 = Noctum) 33. "Angeleyes" from Voulez-Vous
"He'll take your heart and you must pay the price."  average: 7.21429 points (highest score: 9 = Hometime, Cerulean, Gary, Chelseacharger, lowest score: 3 = Johnny) Hometime said, "OK, so the arrangement is a bit cluttered but this is a gorgeous song. Check out John Grant’s (The Czars) heartbreaking acoustic version (he also does a lovely version of MLML). I might not have chosen it as a single at the time, but this is a treat." 'Cassandra' is beautiful. It took me some time to appreciate 'The Piper' but I love it now, especially the 'came to hear him play, play their minds away' part right before the chorus. 'Angeleyes' has a fantastic chorus, which compensate for the not so great 'a-ha-ha's in the beginning. "The songs you sing are too romantic."  average: 7.25 points (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, Gary, No.95, lowest score: 5 = Johnny, Smugasacat) Ginger Spice said, "Noteworthy and essential if only for the bridge, as well as Agnetha's high note."
31. "Our Last Summer" from Super Trouper"In the tourist jam, 'round the Notre Dame."  average: 7.32142 points (highest score: 10 = Gary, lowest score: 5 = No.95, Alan, Shoshin) Hometime said, "This sounds as much like a song from a rock opera as Pity The Child. The nostalgia is nicely handled and the sweet pay-off of “but you’re the hero of my dreams” would not have worked half as convincingly with any other act. What a huge chorus too." [This countdown] is pushing me into my iTunes to click on songs I haven't played in a while. Glad I didn't do comments for everything: starting to get slightly sick of seeing my guff under these entries. Hole In Your Soul is their finest high-octane power-popper, and it ought to have made the lower reaches of the top ten. They sound as uninhibited and pumped full of wanton joie de vivre on it as ABBA ever get. The end section is beautifully exhilarating, Benny's synth lines shooting out like Aurora flares, and some lovely guitar lickage, and I wish they could've delayed the fade on it for a minute or two more. It's also positioned perfectly on The Album (the way I programme it), hurtling into view as Move On skips into the distance, and then ascending into the stratosphere to make way for I Wonder's stately, park-bench reflection (I've been omitting Thank You For The Music from playbacks of The Album for so long, I barely associate it with that release anymore). I always think I Wonder is autobiographical regarding Frida's own life. It's elegiac. I'm surprised it hasn't been covered by someone mega famous or used in a proper musical (NOT Mamma Mia!). Of those songs from the mini-musical, I'm A Marionette is by far my favourite. I Wonder is accidentally autobiographical, I'd guess. But I can imagine it working quite a representative number for her if included on a Best-Of-Frida type compilation that used ABBA tracks like Agnetha did on That's Me. Representative in that autobiographical way that you mention and also as a vocal showcase. Glad to see that one of my favourites that's not universally liked, those of old will know which one, has made the top 30.. Very interesting so far
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 28, 2019 3:28:39 GMT
TIE:
=29. "I'm a Marionette" from The Album
"You're so free, that's what everybody's telling me."  average: 7.35714 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Cerulean, Johnny, lowest score: 4 = Flitwick, Forever) Hometime said, "It took a while, but this song eventually burrowed its way under my skin. The moody bass intro and the dramatic strings are things of beauty. I even love the guitar solo (not a fan of such things in general). I much prefer the sleekly blackness of the album version to the clunkier Movie version." Ginger Spice said, "I remember being shocked when I first heard this at how un-ABBA (at least my perception of them at the time) it sounded. It was so intriguing to me. I loved seeing that they could be dark, I kind of wish they had 'gone there' more often." =29. "Move On" from The Album
"It seems we're on a journey, a trip through space and time." average: 7.35714 points (highest score: 10 = Gary, lowest score: 4 = Ginger Spice)
28. "Slipping Through My Fingers" from The Visitors"I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter, that funny little girl."  average: 7.64286 points (highest score: 11 = Shoshin, lowest score: 5 = Johnny) Hometime said, "Such an honest song. I’m not a fan of the babyish vocal mannerisms but the sensitivity of Agnetha's performance rescues that. Also, the swooping harmonies are just lovely." Seeing songs tied in these positions makes me start rooting for my preferred one. I realise I bloody love I'm A Marionette and just quite like Move On.
TIE:
=26. "Kisses of Fire" from Voulez-Vous"I'm at the point of no returning."  average: 7.71429 points (highest score: 10 = Gary, Flitwick, Foreverfan, lowest score: 4 = No.95) =26. "The Day Before You Came" "At the time, I never even noticed I was blue."  average: 7.71429 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, Cerulean, Smugasacat, TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 3 = Johnny) Hometime said, "Another contender for top billing. If you take a pedantic and forensic approach to the lyrics, it doesn’t add up. How did she kill three hours between clocking off and getting home? Surely the queue in the Chinese takeaway can’t have been that long! But it is a sublime mood piece. Agnetha’s pared back performance is nicely judged and it’s good to hear her deliver emotion without the usual plaintiveness. The song showcases all four members quite unexpectedly well, I think. A gorgeous swansong." Ginger Spice said, "I'll never forget the first time I heard this song. I was just listening to random ABBA songs and this came on and I was floored. It haunted me. I couldn't escape it. I played in on repeat about 20 times. I had no idea of its reputation among fans or anything of the sort. Another moment that really stuck out to me was when I had been out and I ended up having to walk home very late and absolutely no one was out. I was listening to music and this song came on. I was already on edge because I was doing something stupid and walking alone after midnight (as A&F have advised against), and this song chilled my bones, but I couldn't change the song because at the same time it seemed so perfect for the moment. The mood they captured with this is something that is really hard to capture in song." 'I'm a Marionette' has always been a favourite of mine, it's so dark and dramatic. 'Move On' is a powerful song, I adore the 'la la la la-la's in the chorus. It's the only ABBA song where I like the Spanish version ('Al Andar') as much as the English one, due to the fact that Björn doesn't sing the first verse in the former. 'Slipping Through My Fingers' is beautiful, I can so much relate to the lyrics. 'Kisses of Fire' is great, especially the way it starts slowly and then suddenly changes into an uptempo song. 'The Day Before You Came' only at number 26, what a shock! I had expected top 10 at least. It's such a masterpiece. Cannot believe The Day Before You Came is this low. I need another glass of wine now. You lot need to go to your rooms and think about what you have done. Mommy is not angry; Mommy is just very disappointed. Kisses Of Fire at #26 is an absolute outrage! It's okay for about half a minute (nice-ish build-up, if you grit your teeth through Frida's quavering solicitations) before descending into rote, cliched rubbish about 'burnin' kisses' and 'the point of no return(in')'. ABBA phone this one in to such an extent it almost comes out like a Brotherhood Of Man ABBA disco-era wannabe/piss take. Agnetha's quavering solicitations, surely? You see how seldom I listen to it?! Great to see some love for I'm A Marionette. I've always adored it. I'm definitely in the The Day Before You Came camp- it matters not whether the lyrics make sense or not...it's the sum total, the general feel. I wish I'd submitted comments to ginger spice now. This is fun. The position of The Day Before You Came is the first genuine shock of this countdown.
=22. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)""How I hate to spend the evening on my own."  average: 7.85714 points (highest score: 10 = Smugasacat, lowest score: 5 = Gary) =22. "As Good As New" from Voulez-Vous"My life is here, gotta have you near."  average: 7.85714 points (highest score: 10 = Foreverfan, lowest score: 6 = No.95, Chleseacharger) =22. "My Love, My Life" from Arrival"Was it a dream? A lie?"  average: 7.85714 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Showshin, lowest score: 5 = Smugasacat, TheDayBeforeYouCame) Hometime said, "Lush and pretty, this is a really great break-up ballad. Agnetha is in her plaintive element. I’m amazed this song doesn’t get more attention. Perhaps another hit that got away." =22. "I've Been Waiting For You" from ABBA"You'll never want to leave me."  average: 7.85714 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Gary, Chelseacharger, lowest score: 5 = No.95, Smugasacat)
21. "Chiquitita" from Voulez-Vous"Try once more, like you did before."  average: 7.92857 points (highest score: 10 = Cerulean, Gary, Flitwick, Shoshin, lowest score: 6 = Johnny, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Foreverfan) Oh.My.God. Chiquitita so low? I'm gonna have a meltdown. Heads will roll. Blimey. It's hotting up with some big favourites not making the top 20. 'As Good As New' can break free from that four way tie. Definitely awarded that a 6, not a 5. Thanks again for your efforts, GS. The average was actually correct, I just accidently typed "5" instead of "6" on that post, but 6 was the score that counted for you and No.95 when I averaged them together. 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' is way too low, the intro alone is one of the best pieces of music ABBA recorded. Nice to see 'As Good as New' so high, it's one of the highlights from VV and should've been a single. Kisses Of Fire..gone, but pleased it made the top 30, top 10 would have been better but hey. No 95, I think we will have to agree to disagree about KOF, [we have] complete opposite thoughts. Some big ones gone there in that last batch: AGAN, another huge favourite of mine, should've been a single, IBWFY, should have made the top 20, but all very interesting. Big shock to see TDBYC so low, personally I'm ok with that, but going by past polls, a huge surprise. I still feel a bit sheepish about remembering the solo vocalist wrongly on the opening bit [of Kisses Of Fire]! As I say, I don't play it these days, and in the playback in my head it comes out sounding like Frida (perhaps because it's done in a style that you associate more with Frida - a breathy, semi-spoken, mid-register thing), but no, by Christ, it's Fältskog! I'd be genuinely interested to know, foreverfan, if you're able to say what it is about KOF that makes you engage with it more than you do with Hole In Your Soul, say, or The King Has Lost His Crown (or alternatively, what it is about those latter two majestic tracks that leaves you less engaged). To me it's got album filler/get-shut-of-it-on-a-B-side written all over it. Come off it. The ''Losing you!'' part is enough to warrant love for Kisses Of Fire. Not to mention the long notes and passionate, breathy delivery. Also the line, ''I'm at the point of no-returning''. It hurtles along a bit like Elaine - another song I like that may be 'just' a B side but since when has that ever been a bad thing where ABBA were concerned? I sometimes prefer them to the A. If I have one criticism of Kisses Of Fire, it's that it frightens the BeJesus out of me when it kicks in. ABBA did that a lot, the rascals. Fair enough. That bubbling sequencer part is something else I'd forgotten from it; that's nice. But in no way, shape or form should it be receiving a higher ranking than Move On or Hole In Your Soul! Still, this is what we want as a by-product of this run-down: a bit of tasty debate! ok, I know now we will never agree, and that's good, and healthy as we shouldn't all like the same. As for trying to explain, and I'm not that good at it..it's basically a feeling and in this case a good one. I can truly remember getting the VV album back in 79, and falling for the track there and then, the opening whispers opening up into something totally unexpected, a thumping, melodic, yes I will say it disco orientated belter (I was 17, and in my prime.) and holding the note at the end is amazing (we all try and fail miserably when we sing along). For me it's just a perfect little pop song, and should've been an A track, so much better than DYMK, which has grown on me over the years, but still inferior. So it's a feeling, an emotion, something that touches you more than something else. The same goes for DQ, after the millionth time of listening it still gets me (Guess where my 11 points went ). Part of me thinks that they rushed Kisses Of Fire though the recording process (and, of course, CMP's book may prove me very wrong). Here's my take on it, for what it's worth: The dynamic between Agnetha's breathy intro and the loud chorus is odd. If you isolate a voice like that, you really need to boost its presence, give it a bit more volume. There is also something missing in the transition between the verses - the first verse in particular - and the choruses. It feels too rushed. For instance, I can imagine a scenario where the crazy 'bout you line is extended over maybe four bars of dubby echo (you-you-you-ou-ou) under which the beat builds towards - BAM! - the chorus. Also, the overall mix is a bit tinny. It's a dance track and the bass end should be more powerfully felt. On the plus side, the song really takes off after the first chorus and really seems to find itself. That breathy unison singing dives things along really well and the losing yoy moment is a great punch. I also love it when the guys' backing vocals start to make their presence felt. The sustained notes are great and so much more could have been made of them had they spent a bit more time on the ending. Overall, I feel it's a decent song. But the production is probably the weakest on the album. I think ultimately [this] comes down to what songs you enjoy listening to more. There are times when I will happily play Happy Hawaii (for instance) and yet skip a stonking track like Tiger or summat. I think we're just spoilt really. With me, I can hear the flaws in songs such as Kisses Of Fire...but I forgive them anyway! Same with Lovelight. I know it isn't perfect and is demo-like and yet I love it far more than even some of the big hits.
|
|
|
|
Post by gary on Oct 28, 2019 9:44:28 GMT
Thanks for putting this up. It seems longer ago than 2016.
|
|
|
|
Post by foreverfan on Oct 28, 2019 13:49:23 GMT
If I could remember my top 10 of 3 years ago !! I would still have had 3 tracks that have just been posted.. Kisses Of Fire, As Good As New and I’ve Been Waiting For You.. none a single in the UK and personally all three should have been...
It would be nice to do this again but alas I feel not many would actually contribute....
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 28, 2019 17:02:13 GMT
It would be nice to do this again but alas I feel not many would actually contribute.... I think not that many took part in this Megarate one, just enough to make the exercise a worthwhile and entertaining one, which is probably why it threw up such interesting results. I don't remember looking at any of the ABBA4Ever polls, but imagine that the far bigger numbers of participants for those probably led to more expected and predictable run-downs. It was nice feeling doing this one, knowing that the awarding of very high or very low marks to certain tracks could significantly effect their positioning. |
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 29, 2019 18:42:53 GMT
20. "Soldiers" from The Visitors"What's that sound? What's that dreadful rumble?"  average: 7.9643 points (highest score: 10 = Gary, lowest score: 5 = Shoshin) TIE:=18. "If It Wasn't For the Nights" from Voulez-Vous"How I fear the time when shadows start to fall."  average: 8 (highest score: 10 = Hometime, Gary, Shoshin, lowest score: 4 = Smugasacat) Hometime said, "The hit that got away. A canny pruning of the intro to both verses and the fade-out would have made for a very radio friendly single. I think they were spoilt for choice with potential singles from this album. Just a shame that this one, above all, was denied its chance to eat up the charts." =18. "One Man, One Woman" from The Album"Our love is a precious thing, worth the pain and the suffering."  average: 8 (highest score: 10 = Hometime, lowest score: 5 = Shoshin) Hometime said, "This song has grown steadily on me over the years and now occupies a special place for me. I suspect it might have been written at a moment where Bjorn might have been a bit more optimistic about salvaging his marriage... "
17. "Money, Money, Money" from Arrival"It's a rich man's world."  average: 8.10714 points (highest score: 10 = Hometime, Smugasacat, lowest score: 6 = Shoshin, Flitwick) Hometime said, "A great mix of artiness and knowing camp. The central performance is terrific, as is the overall arrangement. A relatively brave single choice after the euphoric DQ." TIE:=15. "When I Kissed the Teacher" from Arrival"Gonna tell him I dream of him every night."  average: 8.14286 points (highest score: 10 = Hometime, Gary, Cerulean, Smugasacat, lowest score: 3 = Johnny) Hometime said, "This is bottled sunshine. It turned me into a fan when I first heard it at a friend’s birthday party in 1977. It still cheers me." =15. "Mamma Mia" from ABBA"My, my - how can I resist ya?"  average: 8.14286 points (highest score: 9 = Ginger Spice, Chelseacharger, Johnny, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Smugasacat, lowest score: 6 = Shoshin) I'm glad ABBA didn't release 'If It Wasn't for the Nights' as a single, it's too repetitive and not catchy enough IMO. 'One Man, One Woman' is good but too high. The rest is ace, especially 'When I Kissed the Teacher' which is their most underrated song.
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Oct 30, 2019 23:34:27 GMT
14. "When All is Said and Done" from The Visitors"Thanks for all your generous love, and thanks for all the fun."  average: 8.214286 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, Cerulean, Smugasacat, TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 5 = Shoshin) Hometime said, "The lyrics stand alone beautifully as a poem. Add Frida’s dignified-yet-fiery lead vocal and you have a layered goodbye song. Beautiful."
13. "The Visitors" from The Visitors"I hear the doorbell ring, and suddenly, the panic takes me."  average: 8.285714 points (highest score: 11 = Hometime, Cerulean, lowest score: 5 = Johnny) Hometime said, "The dramatic darkness of this overturns so many misconceptions of what ABBA were about. The theme of the Soviet dissident waiting for the secret police to kick down the door gets a chilling update when you think that many Russian LGBT suffer similar fears these days." Ginger Spice said, "Along with I'm a Marionette and Tiger, this was another song I was shocked after hearing in an ABBA documentary on YouTube first, just for how different it sounded, for ABBA especially. It was creepy, it was ominous, I couldn't escape it. This was one of the songs that helped me realize that there is more to ABBA than meets the eye, and it's a shame not everyone will experience that."
12. "Lay All Your Love on Me" from Super Trouper"You've heard me saying that smoking was my only vice."  average: 8.35714 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, Smugasacat, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Foreverfan, lowest score: 3 = Gary) Hometime said, "Great contrast between the textures of the verse and chorus – the zesty lead vocal (my favourite side of Agnetha) and the velvety choral work for the chorus. The bassline is great too. A mismanaged release strategy hampered this track’s deserved campaign for 10th UK#1 status." TheDayBeforeYouCame said, "This was the song that got me into ABBA. You did this to me, Lay All Your Love On Me."
11. "Eagle" from The Album"Am I dreaming, or is it all real?"  average: 8.39286 points (highest score: 10 = Cerulean, Gary, Smugasacat, No.95, Johnny, lowest score: 6 = Flitwick, Shoshin) No.95 said, "It's one of their richest, most satisfying productions, as guitars swoop and washes of synth hit like ocean waves, and Frida and Agnetha sing as though in some remote, blissful state of trance. Often pegged as their ultimate tribute to West Coast AOR, it really doesn't sound much like that in the final analysis, or much like anything else (one of the only tracks I can think of that has something approaching its chilly, dreamy rush is Northern Lights by Renaissance). Beautifully elusive." ^ Oh God, I knew this was coming! That line about 'ocean waves' clashes clumsily with the mountain/flight imagery (I should've said "swirl like mist" or something instead), and, after giving Eagle another listen after submitting that, I think it also gives a false impression of how prominent the synth work is on it, which basically operates more as a supportive underpinning; the guitars do the spade-work. Shame this fell just outside the top ten. The top 10 contain two songs that I would have never expected to be that high (one single and one track from 'The Visitors'). Well, I suppose a number 13 placing for The Visitors is not so bad - even if it wuz robbed!. Looking like the Top 10 will be mostly populated by big, well-known hits. They have earned that status, I suppose, so it's all good. I agree with all the things that cerulean and foreverfan had to say about Kisses Of Fire, and would add that it's just so bloody catchy! Must be one of the best B-sides in pop history! It amuses me slightly to see it tied with the ponderous and tune-free (yet still excellent) The Day Before You Came. [Hometime's] ''Bottled sunshine'' to describe When I Kissed The Teacher. LOVE that, so perfect a description.
|
|
|
|
Post by josef on Oct 30, 2019 23:51:41 GMT
How great would it have been if that ABBA show on TV the other night featured these four songs instead? You know, for a change. Now, THAT would have made for an interesting discussion! It's true that many ABBA songs are trotted out time and time again (great though they undoubtedly are) at the expense of some real corkers in their back catalogue.
I see from orf's latest offering (thanks again for doing this!) that me and Tony have similar taste. Maybe that means I'll finally get those jelly babies and a go on his scooter!
It's interesting seeing this again because I'm reminded of how I didn't 'get' "When All Is Said And Done" for many, many years. I am sure I may even have slagged it off, to my utter shame. How wrong I was! It's a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL song and one which barely gets a look in.
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Nov 2, 2019 12:50:12 GMT
TIE:=9. "The Winner Takes It All" from Super Trouper
"Beside the victory, that's her destiny."  average: 8.571429 points (highest score: 11 = Ginger Spice, Smugasacat, lowest score: 0 = No.95) Ginger Spice said, "The very first ABBA song I ever heard (not counting covers), and I'll never forget how it made me feel. From that day forward it was my favorite ABBA song, and it's remained so ever since." Hometime said, "An iconic heartbreak classic. A beautiful central performance by Agnetha. I love that the tempo is pretty brisk for such a sad song. It stops it being too mushy. " No.95 said, [Edited!] "My least favourite ABBA track. A hymn to self-pity, a neurotic, loser's I Will Survive, and just as odious. The grating trill of the opening piano, Bjorn's manipulative lyrics and Agnetha's just as manipulative vocal treatment - the wobbling lip implicit in her intonation of almost every line - not pleasant." =9. "Summer Night City"
"F**king in the moonlight, love-making in the park."  average: 8.571429 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Gary, TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 6 = Flitwick) Hometime said, "Again, the harder edges work well for me. I love the verses best, were the girls’ voices seem perfectly at ease. The Frida/Bjorn bridge is nice too, underscored by the lovely arabesque synth. For me, this is also their best video. Should have been a bigger hit."
|
|
|
|
Post by Alan on Nov 2, 2019 14:14:33 GMT
Orf, were you No. 95 on that forum, by any chance?😄
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Nov 2, 2019 15:35:46 GMT
Had to smile when I read my old comment likening TWTIA to I Will Survive; I did the same thing only the other day in another thread in this forum! (repetitive but consistent!) Have to give Ginger Spice/Daniel another pat on the back for taking seriously my rather extreme (non)score at the time and faithfully incorporating it into the Megarate calculating process, as well as displaying my submitted comments in full. Given issues raised recently by edmfio/Edmund I posted this latest bit with trepidation, and have cut out a line or two from my comments, which don't really add anything, and which possibly would've caused more upset.
|
|
|
|
Post by chron on Nov 2, 2019 18:09:52 GMT
Sorry but 'TWTIA' sharing the same spot with 'Summer Night City' is ridiculous. I think that 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' will be the number one.
8. "Fernando" from Greatest Hits "We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die."  average: 8.64286 points (highest score: 10 = Cerulean, Gary, Chelseacharger, TheDayBeforeYouCame, lowest score: 7 = No.95, Foreverfan, Shoshin)
7. "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" from The Visitors"Love was one prolonged goodbye."  average: 8.71429 points (highest score: 10 = Ginger Spice, Hometime, Cerulean, TheDayBeforeYouCame, Foreverfan, lowest score: 6 = Flitwick) Hometime said, "This sublime piece very nearly got the 11 points. The weary resignation of the lyrics and the tenderness of the vocal suggests to me that the song speaks far more eloquently of Frida’s divorce experience than WAISAD does. This song gets more beautiful with each passing year. Classic." |
|
|
|
Post by chron on Nov 2, 2019 22:39:47 GMT
6. "One of Us" from The Visitors
"Just like a child, stubborn and misconceiving"  average: 8.75 (highest score: 10 = Gary, Johnny, Foreverfan, lowest score: 7 = No.95, Alan) Hometime said, "It feels like ABBA’s last truly poppy moment. Agnetha is in her element here, crying with her voice from the keening intro onwards. The sub-reggae groove drives things nicely." One Of Us, Fernando and Summer Night City have scored far higher than I expected. Particularly pleased for SNC. I'll admit that I was hoping that Like An Angel Passing Through My Room would be at Number 1.
"Gonna do my very best, and it ain't no lie."  average: 9 (highest score: 11 = Flitwick, lowest score: 7 = No.95, Flitwick) Hometime said, "That opening section!! You know you’ve got a great song when a very long chorus holds your attention. Great piece of bouncy pop."
|
|
|
|
Post by josef on Nov 3, 2019 11:36:14 GMT
I wish you would simply post your thoughts and not edit them. Edmund is taking a break and he does understand we all have our own thoughts and opinions.
I don't recall many of these original comments and certainly not those about The Winner Takes It All. I have thought about this a bit and whilst it's not my favourite ABBA song, it's right up there. I think I take issue with your words on the song because, and I know/trust you won't take this personally, I feel that they come across as a little mean, if that makes any sense? I'm not sure you even truly believe them yourself! I just don't think what you say is true whatsoever. I listen to it after reading your words and it's like you're talking about another song! If you were talking about Without You as warbled by Mariah Carey I could understand it. Is that my bias? I honestly don't think so. However, I understand what it's like to dislike a song everybody else seems to love, often quite irrationally. I think my problem is that usually I 'get' why someone dislikes something and understand and appreciate the reasons why but not in this case. And not just because the maestro himself extols TWTIA. I think ALL of ABBA do. Yes, I just find the reasons you give to not be satisfactory. It's not enough for me for to read that a song is self-pitying when in life, this is just what happens. People ARE devastated when a relationship breaks down. They DO shed tears and fall to pieces. It's called being human. It's not a place to stay, just to visit. It's part of the process of grief. Why shouldn't it be portrayed in a song? Or maybe you think people should be strong and resilient and just get on with it? God knows I'd love to he like that but unfortunately I'm human and am occasionally subject to emotions that get the better of me, damn it! It's strange how When All Is Said And Done is often held up to contrast against TWTIA as somehow more worthy, and I adore the song, but in many ways I can picture Frida identifying with The Winner Takes It All. She did take the break up with Benny very badly, as many testify. Yes, I can easily imagine Frida feeling this way for a while, before healing and gaining the strength evident in WAISAD.
Anyway, they're both just songs depicting the reality of a break up, BOTH sides of the coin. I see nothing wrong with interpreting an aspect of human relationships with beautiful music, and incredible vocals infused with real emotion. That's art.
|
|
|
|
Post by HOMETIME on Nov 3, 2019 13:26:30 GMT
I have no recollection of the upper end of this chart at all. Delighted with the placing for Like An Angel... I imagine the joint placing for SNC and TWTIA mayhave ruffled some feathers at the time? It's odd, but seeing this chart has me reaching for Summer Night City rather than The Big Ballad. It even has the better video (IMO).
I like that the voting was done in secret, so that the "strategising" was limited a bit. I'm guessing that The BIG Hit From 1976 will appear on top of the pile...
|
|
