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Post by HOMETIME on Jul 5, 2022 15:33:36 GMT
I recall Benny being dismissive of The Name of the Game saying it wasn't catchy. On comparing The Day Before You Came vs Under Attack he said tge former was a better song but the latter a better recording. I think it was finished in late summer 1981. The video seems to have been shot in August? The Spanish video was shot a few days later, by which time Frida had been to the hairdressers, popped the champagne open and said "surprise me." The clip is all before-and-after. So WAISAD could have made a really nice Autumn single, with OOU following a week ahead of the album and (ideally) the title track emerging in February. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2022 16:22:59 GMT
So WAISAD could have made a really nice Autumn single, with OOU following a week ahead of the album and (ideally) the title track emerging in February. It's a pity it didn't happen like that. |
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Post by lamont on Jul 5, 2022 17:29:17 GMT
I don't understand why there was no single released before The Visitors album. When was When All is Said and Done finished? I know they started it in March 1981. Some think it if was released instead of Head Over Heels it would have been a big hit. I think by 1982 ABBA were on the way out and WAISAD would have only been a bigger hit if released before The Visitors or at the same time instead of One of Us. I remember reading in a music magazine at the time that Epic allegedly rejected some songs as singles early in 1981: as the only 3 that were written were Slipping Through My Fingers, When All Is Said And Done and Two For The Price Of One. I don’t know how reliable the magazine was, and considering ABBA’s amazing succes till 1982, I can’t see Epic refusing a release. Though I recall Bjorn saying that he thought Two For the Price Of One was a worthy contender. |
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Post by joseph on Jul 6, 2022 18:00:56 GMT
It was timing with the later singles. Under Attack is a cracking song (although not one of my favourites) but nothing was going to save ABBA at this point.
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Post by lamont on Jul 6, 2022 19:31:13 GMT
It was timing with the later singles. Under Attack is a cracking song (although not one of my favourites) but nothing was going to save ABBA at this point. I blame the Look In magazine in the summer of 1981! |
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Post by HOMETIME on Jul 22, 2022 10:21:42 GMT
I think the mix on KOF is what lets it down for me. Agnetha's soft solo is too quiet and the transition to the chorus seems rushed. Once you get to the chorus, it all sounds a bit tinny. The second verse with the breathy joint vocal and the dramatic LO-SING-YOU is the best part of the song. I like the girls' held notes with the male BVs underneath at the end. All in all, I think that both Lovers and KOF could have been more powerful if the mixes had been approached differently. IIWFTN is another that would have needed pruning for 7". The album version is perfect for an album, but the intro (especially before the second verse) needs pruning and the outro/coda needs to be edited too. It has scope for a wonderful 12" version too. I saw this video on YouTube, looking at some of the vocal parts in various songs. The section related to Under Attack shows (IMO) that there was more going on in the vocal arrangement than the single mix seems to provide. The melodies Frida sang in Chiquitita are so great that they could have been the basis for a whole other song. And the BVs in Our Last Summer are sublime! Having searched for this previous post, I now see that this thread might not have been the best place for these clips. However, in the interests of consistency, I'm posting this sequel here. Some striking moments in otherwise buried backing vocal arrangements. Hasta Manana is gorgeous and the vocal arrangement on Lovers is fantastic. I think that had B&B sung the tongue-twister line, the shrillness of the final mix would have been cooled quite a bit. The harmonies and backing vocals on KAEOD are really lovely. Again, I think the final mix misses the point slightly: these gorgeous harmonies pushed higher in the mix might have given us a more ABBA-sounding final result (to my ears, its shoutyness pushes it closer to one of Elaine Paige's Chess moments). And the line sung by B&B makes the overall narrative more interesting. |
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Post by Michal on Jul 23, 2022 5:50:15 GMT
HOMETIME, thank you, both these videos are fascinating. I hope the author will continue. Many of these backing vocals are practically inaudible when listening to the complete recordings so having them isolated is priceless. It only shows what could be done with the multitrack tapes - an in-depth documentary with the songs dissected, playing isolated parts of backing vocals or specific instruments would be a great ear-opener.
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Post by truedogz on Jul 23, 2022 9:31:56 GMT
Tony the people extracting the vocal harmonies and isolating the instrumentals are doing great work perpetuating ABBA's legacy by revealing the intricacies and genius in the recordings. It started with those leaked tapes some years ago. Even though these videos often get taken down due to copyright issues they are actually doing the band a great service.
A couple of things have become apparent to me in these clips. While Benny gets accolades as a pianist Bjorn often misses out on accolades for his guitar work. The session musicians have said he is excellent on the acoustic guitar. You can hear this in the second clip in 'Move On' - he almost certainly created that.
The other thing I have picked up is the contribution of Bjorn and Benn to the harmonies usually attributed entirely to the two girls, often as enhancements and complex counterpoints. I'm not pointing to the clear male parts but some performed by the girls - sometimes the boys are contributing too. In these stripped down recordings you can hear them even in Dancing Queen. Often they do counterpoints, one of the best examples is in KMKY in the chorus at 'easy I know' and the same trick was repeated in the outro of Just A Notion. It highlights the notes and and also causes them to linger.
This clip is the best example of the backing vocals in KMKY. The creator has separated the various layers in the chorus. The first time the general backing layer, next Agnetha's high notes and in the third chorus you can hear the male counterpoints:
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Post by HOMETIME on Jul 23, 2022 11:08:28 GMT
That clip is astonishing - thanks for unearthing it truedogz . Taking this, the other videos and the "unmixed" tracks together, it shows how much care, attention and detail went into the vocal arrangements. And this KMKY clip shows how unbelievably precise they were. No overhanging syllables or breaths, these voices are in absolute synch. Today, we (and by we, I admit that I also mean I) use software that pulls layered vocals together for this kind of seamlessness. Back in 1976, ABBA had to rely on their own craft, work ethic and commitment to detail. Even that final chorus where it's just Frida in super close harmony with herself is incredibly precise. If anyone can ever persuade ABBA to create a music-focused documentary and related anthology, I hope there'll be tracks that give us acapella mixes here and there. Even if they're only isolated choruses. Coming back to something you said about the male contributions to the harmonies, I really had to listen to that line in Dancing Queen that's attributed to Bjorn quite carefully to be sure that it wasn't Frida. But it is him. Sometimes their two voices meld quite brilliantly. The pre-chorus on Summer Night City is another case in point ("I know what's waiting there for me..."). There must have been some incredible planetary alignment at play when these four people came together. |
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Post by truedogz on Jul 24, 2022 7:58:43 GMT
Tony, the two of us have probably unwittingly highjacked this thread bringing up all these stripped down records. The topic is worthy of a thread of its own so maybe a moderator might shift our posts to a newly created one.
Yes, the backing vocals in KMKY are amazing. We know Benny considers it to be one of their best recordings and is listed on Spotify as his personal favourite. Someone once said that by following up DQ with KMKY ABBA staked their claim for immortality.
There are other excellent stripped down vocals of other songs out there and with better technology we are getting clearer extractions.
Voyage of course is available in Dolby Atmos and some clever people are extracting the vocals and instruments. I'll attach the link for one that covers Just A Notion. Once again the boys are in the background enhancing the work of the girls but it is also great to see what they do with individual instruments. Listen from the 5.00 min mark:
As to the original intention of the thread I'd say half of ABBA's recordings could easily have been singles but for the most part they got the selections right. What has to be kept in mind is that after a lead up single is release, such as DQ from Arrival, single sales after the album release would progressively reduce as many people had already purchased the album.
The one I'd like to hear released in total is Memory Lane.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2022 19:05:34 GMT
Slightly related to this - the order in which singles were released.
For the ABBA album it may seem obvious that SOS or Mamma Mia should have been the opening single. But when were they finished?
The first single So Long was ready in November 74. Several nonths before ABBA was released. I know it flopped but it was very 1974 wasn't it? The height of Glam Rock.
Take a Chance on Me is clearly the most commercial sounding song from The Album but wasn't it not recorded until very near the release of The Album and really couldn't have been released a couple of months before hand?
Likewise with One of Us from The Visitors?
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Post by gary on Aug 29, 2022 19:17:28 GMT
Hamlet is a beautiful clip of music. But I wonder if it eventually evolved into Chiquitita? It reminds me of that quite a lot.
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Post by agnethaaa on Mar 15, 2023 15:51:42 GMT
I'm going to pick: 1. Tiger 2. That's me 3. Hole in Your Sole really want to do these in my Abba Tribute Band - Abba's Angels but not enough of the general public know them and the backing tracks available aren't great / or non existant sadly :-( abbasangels.co.uk/ |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2023 14:59:59 GMT
I don't know about you but I spend an indefensible amount of time agonising over this topic - in terms of choices of singles and indeed the order those singles were released. I know. Still, it's fun. (I think.) So I'll pick these two. What have they got in common? Well, they'd have shocked the world - or at least a good proportion of the record-buying public who thought they had ABBA's measure by this stage.
- The Visitors: and as the first single from the album. That would have been a massive statement of intent. 'Think you know ABBA? Think again!'
- Hole in Your Soul: as a 'wildcard' follow-up to TACOM, to shake things up a bit and (again) confront people's attitudes about ABBA. It'd probably have struggled to make the Top 5 but so what? I recall Nicky Horne once played this track on his evening rock show 'Your Mother Wouldn't Like It' on Capital radio. I'd love to have seen ABBA flaunting their rock credentials a bit more publicly on occasion. No? Just me then.
I'd also have released 'Voulez-Vous' as the first single from the VV album. No messing around. No half-measures. No snowman videos. Kick off the New Year of 1979 with an absolute banger.
All of which probably proves it's a good job I wasn't picking ABBA's singles.
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Post by lamont on Oct 31, 2023 21:08:49 GMT
An Abba sims game would be great, where you could have the Abbatars and include them in top of the pops, live shows, and even making appearances at Live Aid etc. I’d love that game!
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Post by johnny on Nov 1, 2023 12:18:00 GMT
I love this topic and have contributed a lot over the years on this subject.
In the UK
Honey Honey
Eagle
When All is Said and Done
The Visitors
With LAYLOM released earlier and on 7 inch too.
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Post by iiwftn on Jan 4, 2024 17:28:16 GMT
Naturally I am going to pick the one that got away; If It Wasn’t For The Nights; a 10 out of 10 masterclass of a song, perfect in every way.
From the earlier years, ‘Gonna Sing You My Love Song’ would’ve been a left-field but stunning follow up to ‘Waterloo’.
And how about ‘Me and Bobby and Bobby’s Brother’ as a better choice for the failed 1973 Eurovision heats? 🤪
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Post by HOMETIME on Jan 4, 2024 19:25:24 GMT
Naturally I am going to pick the one that got away; If It Wasn’t For The Nights; a 10 out of 10 masterclass of a song, perfect in every way. From the earlier years, ‘Gonna Sing You My Love Song’ would’ve been a left-field but stunning follow up to ‘Waterloo’. If It Wasn't For The Nights just gets me every single time. I'd love if there was a canny 7" edit and a banging 12 extended remix available alongside that lovely long album version. And a proper video too - not one of those lazy singing-in-a-disco clips that they routinely tossed off in 1979. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong is the classiest and most elegant song from their early material. I've said before that it reminds me of something from Dusty In Memphis - Breakfast In Bed, maybe. It's one of those songs that might have suited the US market better. I'm intrigued that the Waterloo labels indicate that it was published by a different company to the others: Screen Gems. I wonder if there are any stories to be told about alternatives fates for the track? And how about ‘Me and Bobby and Bobby’s Brother’ as a better choice for the failed 1973 Eurovision heats? 🤪  |
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Post by johnny on Jan 4, 2024 21:04:51 GMT
Yes, Hometime, ITWFTN could have done with an edited version. The full length album song just wasn't single material.
Voulez Vous is an album where the best songs were not the singles
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Post by johnny on Jan 4, 2024 21:40:41 GMT
On Voulez Vous, I would have opted for Kisses of Fire or an edited If It Wasn't For the Nights instead of Does Your Mother Know. And As Good as New instead of Voulez Vous.
On The Visitors I would have opted for WAISAD and the title track like what happened in America.
The albums that had the best choices with singles were Arrival, The Album and Super Trouper - perhaps not coincidentally their biggest sellers.
Yes, Eagle should have been a UK single but it was elsewhere and yes LAYLOM should have been released earlier and on 7".
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Post by Astrid on Jan 26, 2024 20:18:36 GMT
As Good as New
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2024 20:33:17 GMT
I think you can make a decent case for eight of the tracks on the original VV album having potential mileage as singles. It's only L(LALL) and TKHLHC that I'd exclude from that list. |
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Post by daylay on Aug 15, 2024 21:46:15 GMT
I’d say Just Like That.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2024 13:53:07 GMT
In October, 6 of 1994 , just before the release of “Thank You For the Music” box, Frida said in an interview that she was willing to go to the studio to make a new version of “Just Like That” to be released as a single. ------------------------------------------------- Expressen1994-10-06  FRIDA SINGS AGAIN - if the others in Abba stand up ------------------------------------------------------------------- ---Caption for the picture of Frida and Agnetha-- JUST LIKE THAT, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad is prepared to enter the studio again if the others in Abba line up for a new version of the unreleased single "Just like that". It is also one of Agnetha Fältskog's favorite songs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Just like that" and "Dream world" are two of the most played songs on the radio right now. Two ABBA songs that have not been released before. ANNI-FRID LYNGSTAD freezes when she hears them. - I don't understand why we didn't release "Just like that" as a single, says Frida. She is not against to going into the studio and making a new version of the song. If she can bring the other three Abba members with her. Abbas' rewritten compilation box, "Thank you for the music", is going to be released in November 2. The record company Polygram has released a promotional CD with four songs, including "Dream world" and "Just like that". - The response has been very good. The songs are on the radio stations' charts, says Jonas Hildeland at the record company Polygram. There probably won't be a single. - No, there are no such plans now. Frida sits in Switzerland and diligently plays the new old songs that have been in Polygram's tape archive and dusted since 10-15 years ago. - "Just like that" is a complete freezer song for me. A superb song, we must release it as a single. Frida says that she plays the cassettes with the collection box in the car every day , "Just like that" is a song that goes under my skin. I enjoy every time I hear it. My hair stands on end. - It's a song where everything fits. Agnetha's and my voice, the sound, the arrangement and the lyrics. Frida pushes on • You don't mind it being released as a single? - Absolutely not. But it needs to be fixed. It has to be verses. • Would you consider going into the studio and doing vocal overlays, so that "Just like that" can be released as a single? - Yes, absolutely. If everyone agreed to do it, and I'm happy to push on until I get no response anymore. • Can you imagine making a new album with Abba sometime in the future? - I don't know. Difficult question. It's not just about going into the studio and making a record. There is so much else that is connected with such an initiative, and I am not prepared to put up with it. By that I mean promotion work and the like, says Frida. • What do you think of the collection box? - I've been listening diligently and think it's great. I like it with all my heart. The box is well put together, Michael Tretow has done a nice job there. • Your best Abba memory? - Maybe the tour in Australia. It was special, we were incredibly big there. I remember so much from that tour, even though so many years have passed. • Favorite song? - For me it's an easy choice, "Dancing queen". Agnetha's favorite Even Agnetha Fältskog finds it strange that "Just like that" was never released as a single. In an interview for Carl Magnus Palm, who wrote the book about Abba's life in the studio - "ABBA: The complete recording sessions" - she says: - I haven't heard the song for several years, but I remember it as a very good song and a good recording. It's one of my favorites, and I hope it gets released sometime in the future. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are in the middle of work on the musical "Immigrants" , agent Görel Hanser does not think there will be a remake of "Just like that". - It demands so much from them, and right now Björn and Benny probably want to focus on working forward. Abba is something behind them. - And the record company has not heard back with any request to release a single. |
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