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Post by madonnabba on Feb 21, 2020 7:49:28 GMT
Looking back to 1979 I remember listening to Voulez Vous for the first time. At that time I liked IHAD but never considered it as a potential single . How wrong was I ? Reaching number 2 and then number one for Westlife in the Uk. Could it have reached number one for Abba had it been left off Voulez Vous in favour of the more disco flavoured SNC and then released as a stand alone single for the Christmas period in 1979 or would Floyd still have held on at number one? Can’t believe it was 20 years ago it was number one for Westlife. Proud of the fact that Abba had a hand in the song that was the first number one single to end a millennium and begin another. Can’t be done for another 980 years! So although I am not that keen on it now I have to acknowledge it’s success.
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Post by richard on Feb 21, 2020 10:07:51 GMT
To me, IHAD is a puzzle: not well-liked by a number of ABBA fans, apparently, and yet a big hit twice over, as madonnabba points out. So it must it must have, or had, something. But what?
Is it the lyrics? Do people like them because they find them positive and comforting? However, the lyrics strike me as being rather wishy-washy to be genuinely encouraging or inspiring. But perhaps lots of others don't agree. As for the melody, I regard it as 'nice' and 'serviceable', but nothing special.
But no denying the commercial success of I Have A Dream. Just that it isn't for me.
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Post by gazman on Feb 21, 2020 12:34:12 GMT
I've always liked 'I Have A Dream'. Although many seem to think that both this track and 'Chiquitita' don't fit the 'Voulez-Vous' album, I disagree. ABBA never intended to make a 'full-out disco album' and I think both songs break up the album nicely. Very often, you can appreciate an uptempo number more after you listen to a slower one, and that's why I like to listen to songs on an album in the order they were placed.
I remember being surprised when it was released as a single, but felt it was good of ABBA to give us a 'live' track on the B-side, and the song certainly had hit potential as it proved.
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Post by josef on Feb 21, 2020 13:57:56 GMT
Erm...hello? Two words : SCHOOL CHOIR.
An abomination whichever way you look at it.
The song itself is cringe. I can't stand that intro-it makes my ears hurt. I DO NOT see "something good in everything I see". Björn obviously had a day off. Frida sings it well, of course- when doesn't she? It's a song of 'hope' but it falls short. I can cope with it now, just about, but I can absolutely get why someone would dislike it. St Winifrid's Choir might have cornered the market in grim school choirs but this isn't far behind.
I went to a spiritualist church one time (for a laugh) and this was one of the songs the elderly congregation sang along to. I think I was supposed to perceive this as a "sign" from beyond. 😆
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Post by Michal on Feb 21, 2020 19:39:30 GMT
Frida sings it well, of course- when doesn't she? Actually the singing is the only thing that saves this song for me. And the live performance when they're gathered around the piano is nice to watch. Otherwise I've never liked it and I still don't get how it could become one of ABBA's most successful singles. It should definitely not have been a No.1 No.1s. If there is a song that should have reached the top spot and haven't, than it's Money Money Money in my opinion. |
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Post by HOMETIME on Feb 21, 2020 21:29:44 GMT
I Have A Dream seems to me like the kind of Andersson/Ulvaeus composition Frida would have recorded in the early 70s. Her velvety lower timbre and warmth are what gets it over the finish line. I don't have a problem with the lyrics: they're positive and self-comforting, and they're not preaching at anyone else to follow suit, which is unusual for this kind of song. I don't like the fake bouzouki thing and I would much rather the third verse had new lyrics and a full-throated ABBA vocal harmony, without the kids.
For all that it's dismissed by so many fans, it definitely struck a chord with the public at the time. The Irish media reviews all singled it out for praise, and Terry Wogan was playing it throughout the year - not just when it was issued as a single. When I was in America in 1982, the people I stayed with had single of a country cover version of it. Apparently it had been a hit - although I'm not sure when. Oddly, I like Nana Mouskouri's French language cover, Chanter La Vie. It suits her.
For me, the biggest difficulty is that it is so much at odds with its parent album. I know it wasn't recorded at the time but had it been the Unicef single instead of Chiquitita, I sometimes think it might have been a number one. It did four weeks at No. 2 when it eventually emerged as a single, after the album had sold so well. Chiquitita enjoyed two weeks there, despite being a more sophisticated track. If I had been ABBA's A&R, the single would have been a live EP, with I Have A Dream as the lead track.
Bottom line? I like the song more now than I did then.
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Post by madonnabba on Feb 21, 2020 22:07:07 GMT
Bit of fun...fast forward to the year 3000. Wonder if the DJs in the UK will look back to the first number one of the millennium and the origins of the song . Abba still might be getting a mention. As for the choir bit , I too find it a bit too cheesy, saccharine sweet . Was the release an afterthought? Why was it not included in GH2 instead of TYTM or even more puzzling I wonder? The single was released shortly after GH2. Hated the cover for GH2 ... the colour and the unflattering picture. I think that GH2 should have been after Super Trouper which would have then been an album of hits rather than hits and best of tracks. So outwith Eagle, Rock Me, I Wonder and TYTM and in with IHAD, TWTIA, Voulez Vous, ST and LAYLOM . With the release of The Singles there was a bit of an overkill.
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Post by Alan on Feb 21, 2020 22:19:19 GMT
I think it’s safe to say the release of I Have A Dream was a last-minute cash-in on the tour/Christmas/ending of the Year of the Child. However, there’s no denying that the tactic worked, so I’m glad the decision was taken.
Personally, I Have A Dream is the only one of the 15 to be much improved by its Spanish version. I don’t speak Spanish and haven’t googled the translation of the Spanish lyrics (it’s probably no better than the English ones) but I can enjoy the Spanish version without having to worry what it’s about*. Separated from those dire English lines, the song is OK. The Spanish sounds quite good. And that video of them just sitting in the Polar Music Studios is quite nice.
(Gracias Por La Musica itself would come second in that respect. Again, a song separated from a dreadful sentiment improves on it immensely, though not as much as Estoy Sonando).
* Though the line “Creo en angelitos” - one that I love the sound of - strongly suggests it’s on very similar lines to the English one. I will pretend it isn’t...
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Post by chron on Feb 21, 2020 22:43:13 GMT
I've never been able to warm to it, and rarely make it through from beginning to end. That's mainly because of its cloying, drippy sentiments; it's not too far away from being a sort of "Hello clouds! Hello trees!" retread of Thank You For The Music. But as others have said, Frida does a crackerjack job on it, and one other thing I like is that it features the electric sitar (as also used by Denny Dias for the solo in Steely Dan's Do It Again), which Jan Schaffer manages to make sound almost bouzouki-like. It also had one of the great ABBA working titles (this one apparently thought up by Tretow): Take Me In Your Armpit!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2020 18:23:15 GMT
Personally, I don't find either IHAD or " Chiquitita " out of place within the VV album. An album featuring a couple of ballads as well as up tempo disco numbers is a fine contrast. On the ST album every song is different and I can remember ABBA themselves commenting that every track on ST fits into place. VV is, overall a great disco album whereas, ST is an accomplished collection of very diverse and outstanding songs. ABBA again, progressed further up the musical ladder with TV. Again, an album of great songs exploring darker territories within the human mind.
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Post by Zeebee on Feb 22, 2020 20:32:50 GMT
Personally, I Have A Dream is the only one of the 15 to be much improved by its Spanish version. I don’t speak Spanish and haven’t googled the translation of the Spanish lyrics (it’s probably no better than the English ones) but I can enjoy the Spanish version without having to worry what it’s about*. Separated from those dire English lines, the song is OK. The Spanish sounds quite good. And that video of them just sitting in the Polar Music Studios is quite nice. * Though the line “Creo en angelitos” - one that I love the sound of - strongly suggests it’s on very similar lines to the English one. I will pretend it isn’t... If you don't like the English lyrics, you probably wouldn't like the Spanish lyrics. As for the line "Creo en angelitos", it translates to "I believe in little angels".
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Post by Alan on Feb 23, 2020 0:15:41 GMT
Thanks, I think I’ll try and forget that! That’s even worse than the English line. Definitely something to be said for hearing songs in different languages when you can’t speak them. My enjoyment of solo albums (Frida’s Ensam especially) has perhaps been enhanced by not understanding a word of it. I can appreciate the sounds of the lyrics and try to sing along to them, convincing myself I can speak some words in Swedish or Spanish.
Frida’s Som En Sparv (Like A Sparrow) is a case in point. It sounds like a sad song and any such story can be made up from it. But the (albeit very awkward) direct translation is a real disappointment:
Like a sparrow in my hands.
Som en sparv i mina händer.
A bird that has no nest.
En fågel som inte har nåt bo.
Were you scared and stayed here with me.
Var du rädd och stannade kvar här hos mej.
I warmed you to my life when you froze.
Jag värmde dig met mitt liv när du frös.
Like a sparrow in my hands.
Som en sparv i mina händer.
A bird that built itself a nest.
En fågel som byggde sig ett bo.
Did you stay safe and stayed here with me.
Blev du trygg och stannade kvar här hos mej.
And warmed me with your life as I froze.
Och värmde mig med ditt liv när jag frös.
That winter I was big and strong.
Den vintern var jag stor och stark.
I was your meadow, I was your land.
Jag var din äng, jag var din mark.
I carried you high and you were happy and you grew.
Jag bar dig högt och du var glad och du växte.
And became free.
Och blev fri.
Like a sparrow in my hands.
Som en sparv i mina händer.
Which was a cage instead of a nest.
Som var en bur i stället för ett bo.
Were you free?
Blev du fri?
It wasn't me.
Det blev inte jag.
From the memory of a beautiful day.
Från minnet av en vacker dag.
When you flew, what I cried.
När du flög, vad jag grät.
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Post by Michal on Feb 23, 2020 7:49:14 GMT
Alan, but Som En Sparv really IS a sad song. The point is somehow lost in that Google translation - she was taking care of him (a man, a child?) and in the end he leaves her. Here is the translation I did: lyricstranslate.com/en/som-en-sparv-sparrow.html I don't know if it's absolutely correct but it seems the meaning is more obvious. By the way, I agree with your point of listening to songs in different language, however it works in the opposite way too. There are certain songs which I started to appreciate more after I could finally understand their lyrics (for example the musical Kristina Från Duvemåla)
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Post by Alan on Feb 23, 2020 8:47:18 GMT
Thanks Michal, that’s a much better translation. I get that it’s all a metaphor, there’s no real sparrow. I suppose after 40 years of hearing it in Swedish, an English translation seems less dark than I thought it would be. However, it’s something of a relief that the bird (person she’s in a relationship with) flew away - the way the song ends suggests death to me. I did try to google a translation of Estoy Sonando but nothing came up - however the “I believe in little angels” line would suggest it’s very closely aligned with the English lyrics so perhaps I shouldn’t ask... Going back to I Have A Dream... I do remember coming home from junior school and my mum had bought the single for my brother and me as a surprise early Christmas present. The somewhat lavish gatefold sleeve and the text from ABBA on the back about their experience on the UK leg of the tour was really nice. The live footage from the tour was used to promote the single on TV, so I do remember being slightly disappointed that it was just the studio version on the record. I was also not that keen on the live Take A Chance on Me. Nothing like the studio version. Still, the sleeve artwork was nice as we didn’t see them live. |
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Post by Michal on Feb 23, 2020 10:25:22 GMT
You're right, Som En Sparv is not about a bird  As for Estoy Sonando, a bit clumsy translation can be found here: lyricstranslate.com/cs/estoy-soñando-im-dreaming.html I also have it translated by somebody else somewhere. If you're interested, I can look for it. I was not even born when I Have A Dream was released. I sometimes imagine how it must have felt to wait for a new release, to actually get it and listen to it for the first time. I've never experienced it. But still it was an immense thrill for me to hear the ABBA songs for the very first time, even if it was 20 years after they were actually released. |
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Post by josef on Feb 23, 2020 11:12:09 GMT
I'm probably in the minority here but I wasn't keen on the cover for I Have A Dream. I found it unflattering. I liked the live version of Take A Chance On Me. I found it fascinating because up to that point I'd never truly heard ABBA live. Obviously it wasn't like the studio version and this was in the days before backing tracks being used in concerts and other "help". Considering the time it was recorded in, I don't think they sounded bad at all. In fact, I liked the raw feel of it, the less-than-perfect, unadulterated blood, sweat and tears-ness of it.
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Post by Alan on Feb 23, 2020 11:50:02 GMT
That’s true, Josef. In ABBA’s day it would have been unthinkable for anything on stage not to be live. It would be considered cheating. The opposite seems to be the case now. There might be a few live vocals and instruments added, but much of what we hear - for any act - is from the recording. ABBA would probably love this as it would mean they could get away with not being truly live and therefore sounding as they want to sound.
Unfortunately though ABBA were from a more genuine era, meaning that the live recordings that exist (aside from the heavily overdubbed versions in The Movie) don’t sound that great. Overdubs are also cheating though, so full praise to ABBA for releasing live recordings mostly as they truly were.
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Post by gazman on Feb 23, 2020 16:21:47 GMT
...I sometimes imagine how it must have felt to wait for a new release, to actually get it and listen to it for the first time. I've never experienced it... This is why ABBA went back into the studio for you to record 'I Still Have Faith In You' and 'Don't Shut Me Down'!  |
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Post by Michal on Feb 23, 2020 16:38:14 GMT
...I sometimes imagine how it must have felt to wait for a new release, to actually get it and listen to it for the first time. I've never experienced it... This is why ABBA went back into the studio for you to record 'I Still Have Faith In You' and 'Don't Shut Me Down'! Yeah, and all the delays are happening just to let me fully appreciate the feeling and indulge in it. How generous! |
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