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Post by gamleman on Jun 4, 2020 9:51:30 GMT
Aside from their success with ABBA, I think it is admirable that ABBA members worked with other artists, usually little-known Scandinavian artists. Often this was a case of Benny and Bjorn nurturing new and local talent, but I was particularly impressed that Agnetha and Frida would lend their services as backing vocalists, despite their worldwide fame. I wonder how many famous artists would do this now.
Over the years, I have come across many tracks by other artists with contributions from ABBA members, although there may be quite a few that I'm unaware of. So I pose the question... which are your favourite tracks of this kind? I think we should exclude their own solo work for the purpose of this exercise.
My five favourites are probably as follows (in no particular order):
HARPO - Moviestar
Frida in backing choir. Even before I learnt of Frida's involvement, I thought the backing vocals sounded ABBA-like.
MICHAEL B. TRETOW - Doc McGurgle's Babylonian Lizard Tooth Oil
Agnetha and Frida in backing choir. Has strikingly beautiful ABBA-esque backing vocals in the chorus.
FINN KALVIK - Here In My Heart / Aldri i livet
Produced by Benny. Agnetha and Frida in backing choir. Benny on piano. Very distinctive ABBA-esque backing vocals.
FINN KALVIK - On The Run / Pa flukt
Produced by Benny. Frida in backing choir. Benny on piano. Subtle ABBA sound.
FINN KALVIK - Natt og dag
Produced by Benny. Agnetha and Frida in backing choir. Benny on keyboards. Distinct ABBA sound, especially in chorus.
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Post by abbafan456 on Jun 4, 2020 15:53:12 GMT
ABBA were quite involved with a lot of Ted Gärdestad's songs. Some of my favorites that they've contributed to are "Come Give Me Love" , "Chapeau claque", "Låt kärleken slå rot", and "Oh, vilken härlig da'".  |
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Post by gamleman on Jun 4, 2020 19:13:33 GMT
ABBA were quite involved with a lot of Ted Gärdestad's songs. Some of my favorites that they've contributed to are "Come Give Me Love" , "Chapeau claque", "Låt kärleken slå rot", and "Oh, vilken härlig da'". I have the albums "Undringar", "Ted" and "Upptåg", which I think were all produced by B&B. I'd have to revisit them to decide on the standout tracks. I know that Agnetha's and Frida's voices are quite prominent on "Come Give Me Love". |
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Post by Michal on Jun 5, 2020 5:53:27 GMT
At least the first Ted's album features all four ABBA members on backing vocals. If you listen to the chorus of Helena for example, it sounds like an early ABBA song.
Actually the song that reminds me most of ABBA's style is Låt Kärleken Slå Rot, which was produced by Benny. But if I remember it correctly, only Frida contributed the backing vocals on that one.
Of the tracks you mentioned, Moviestar is a favourite and I like the Finn Kalvik's album too.
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Post by gamleman on Jun 5, 2020 9:04:50 GMT
I've just listened to "Helena" and it is reminiscent of ABBA before their sound was fully developed. I haven't got the other song but listening to it now, it has echoes of a later ABBA sound, but perhaps not as much as Finn Kalvik's "Natt og dag" and Michael B. Tretow's "Doc McGurgle's..." - without the spoken intro, I can imagine the latter being an ABBA song led by Bjorn.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2020 21:49:15 GMT
In 1978, Agnetha apparently found the time to do background vocals for "Sweden's Bob Dylan", Ulf Lundell, a rather unexpected collaboration. The song is an unashamed ripoff of Needles and Pins.
She kicks in at about 1:00 into the thing:
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Post by gamleman on Jun 10, 2020 12:56:54 GMT
In 1978, Agnetha apparently found the time to do background vocals for "Sweden's Bob Dylan", Ulf Lundell, a rather unexpected collaboration. The song is an unashamed ripoff of Needles and Pins. I actually have this track on a compilation CD called "Svenska 70-tals Klassiker", which I bought for this very reason. I can't say that I was impressed with this song and the backing vocalist is not obviously identifiable as Agnetha. Another ABBA-related CD I have is an album called "Lookin' for a good time" by Tomas Ledin, which apparently has Agnetha and Frida on backing vocals as well as Benny on piano. I'm not keen on Tomas Ledin's material, so haven't played it much. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2020 13:35:02 GMT
^^^
That's right, you wouldn't have guessed it was her if it hadn't been printed on the sleeve. It's a very curious cameo indeed: by that time, he was already a household name, so it wasn't as if either of them needed the other. Maybe she happened to walk by in the corridor...
With the horrendous Ledin, there are at least corporation politics to blame!
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Post by gamleman on Jun 10, 2020 17:22:06 GMT
^^^ That's right, you wouldn't have guessed it was her if it hadn't been printed on the sleeve. It's a very curious cameo indeed: by that time, he was already a household name, so it wasn't as if either of them needed the other. Maybe she happened to walk by in the corridor... With the horrendous Ledin, there are at least corporation politics to blame! I have a question for you, as I see you're in Sweden, so I assume you're Swedish. In working on the Finn Kalvik albums, how easy would have Agnetha and Frida found singing in Norwegian? Is it a case of the same words as in Swedish but with different spellings and a different accent? Would it, for example, be similar to an English person trying to speak/sing with a Scottish or Irish accent? |
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Post by abbafan456 on Jun 11, 2020 3:30:51 GMT
In 1978, Agnetha apparently found the time to do background vocals for "Sweden's Bob Dylan", Ulf Lundell, a rather unexpected collaboration. The song is an unashamed ripoff of Needles and Pins. I actually have this track on a compilation CD called "Svenska 70-tals Klassiker", which I bought for this very reason. I can't say that I was impressed with this song and the backing vocalist is not obviously identifiable as Agnetha. Another ABBA-related CD I have is an album called "Lookin' for a good time" by Tomas Ledin, which apparently has Agnetha and Frida on backing vocals as well as Benny on piano. I'm not keen on Tomas Ledin's material, so haven't played it much. I personally enjoy the song "The Sun's Shining In The Middle Of The Night" from Tomas Ledin's album, which features Agnetha and Frida quite prominently. Tomas Ledin's music style is definitely an acquired taste, but this song is pretty nice.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2020 20:56:40 GMT
I have a question for you, as I see you're in Sweden, so I assume you're Swedish. In working on the Finn Kalvik albums, how easy would have Agnetha and Frida found singing in Norwegian? Is it a case of the same words as in Swedish but with different spellings and a different accent? Would it, for example, be similar to an English person trying to speak/sing with a Scottish or Irish accent? I'd say it's more different than with English and Irish accents, but still mutually intelligible, i.e. each person can speak their own language and still have a conversation. As for how the girls' efforts with Kalvik sound, I think the Norwegian members of the forum should decide. There have been earlier threads that have dealt with this, for example: abbachat.com/thread/931/languages-members-speak |
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Post by gamleman on Jun 12, 2020 16:45:47 GMT
I have a question for you, as I see you're in Sweden, so I assume you're Swedish. In working on the Finn Kalvik albums, how easy would have Agnetha and Frida found singing in Norwegian? Is it a case of the same words as in Swedish but with different spellings and a different accent? Would it, for example, be similar to an English person trying to speak/sing with a Scottish or Irish accent? I'd say it's more different than with English and Irish accents, but still mutually intelligible, i.e. each person can speak their own language and still have a conversation. As for how the girls' efforts with Kalvik sound, I think the Norwegian members of the forum should decide. There have been earlier threads that have dealt with this, for example: abbachat.com/thread/931/languages-members-speakThanks for the response. I have posted a contribution to the other thread |
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