ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2019

It's all if and maybe. Frustrating, but zilch we can do about it. 2021 seems ludicrously far away. I guess the ABBAtars must be much more complex to get right than they antipicated.

My one reason to "forgive" them is if they release a WHOLE NEW ALBUM. That's really the least they can do. Seriously, I don't see why the hell not. They've already done two new songs....maybe more.... they did that song with Avicii not long ago...I'm sure they could stretch to one more ABBA album. And make it a great one.

As time goes by I’m becoming more and more disappointed in what seems to be a total mess...
I try to remain optimistic, as said there is precious little we can do about, but I wish all this drip drip info coming out and contradicting each other would stop.
There has been plenty of time to have released the two new tracks and written two more  if they wanted something new for the ABBAtars project...half way to a new Album..emmmm

in the words of Diana Ross... I’m Still Waiting.....

I think Josef had the same experience (he mentioned it within this topic) but I’ve also just dreamt (last night) that I heard one of the songs. And not only that, it was on my phone and for some reason my phone decided to randomly play it loudly at inconvenient times!

Naturally I don’t remember anything about the song I’d dreamt up, but within the dream I liked it, very ABBA.

It has been over two years since the new songs were recorded, and they are not mixed? What the heck is taking so long?

My speculation: It's like sugar but too much will be rather unpleasant so I'll leave what's in my mind, relevant to the topic

I also think it's either Universal Music/the Swedish division of the earlier undergoing a big helm of reissues (e.g. Scott Walker 4 on vinyl! Yippee.. but the digital remaster is nicer imo) to make way for the remaining schedule, and to be generous to new, recent artists, scramble them somewhere, and at the end reserving the last spots for legacy artists who are seriously putting out new materials whether it be compilation, an album or a new single...

And the most pointed out spot; Benny Andersson's issue with perfection, perhaps, or his procrastination (as Mike noted as well as others. It hasn't been mixed for two years after recording? Well that's weird.) which is subject to dispute.
Others have noted Anni-Frid and Agnetha are oddly silent in this say, regarding the delays; okay, maybe Anni-Frid did say something about it, but way earlier on Aftonbladet; 2018 I think, but after that, nothing.

Polar Music's extremely emphasised on tourism, business and restaurants to the point ABBA is a brand tantamount to somebody wearing a Nirvana (Kurt Cobain) t-shirt.

Or Simon Fuller and Co. abiding by the old business plays and playing the Tim Cook game in which they sit out on 5G (as other smartphone companies quickly adopt the support) until the scheduled date.

I’m really beginning to despair these days.. so if latest rumour is true it’s as early as 4 months to a painfully long 16 months or more..
will I still be alive..lol

Im still hoping that we may have a Christmas surprise.. but it seems a terrible mistake to even have mentioned it all in the first place now, and that’s from someone who has tried to remain optimistic as possible throughout..

Still nothing any of us can do about it, but remain hopeful and frustrated...and what has become my ABBA mantra... I wait..🤪

If they really are still trying to link the “ABBA Tars” thing (I can barely bring myself to say that as it sounds so rubbish) with the new songs, then I’d say we’re looking at late 2020. Possibly even December. But if the Tars thing is delayed further then I imagine the new songs will be as well.

If they were recorded in 2017, and not released until 2020 or later, it means they will be over three years old by the time we hear them. It robs us of the knowledge that this is how ABBA sound “now”. Not quite as bad as I Am The City (11 years), Put On Your White Sombrero (14 years) or Dream World (16 years) but any further delay will make these new songs quite old before we get to hear them. That’s fine if the songs were the first to be recorded for an album (Kate Bush did that all the time!) but not if they are stand-alone songs.

They really shot themselves in the foot by announcing the new songs before being certain of the release date(s). I wonder if anyone behind the scenes has yet realised that these delays are taking the shine off everything? The ABBAtars tour would sell regardless: the vast majority of people buying the tickets will be going for the nostalgia factor and the novelty of "seeing" ABBA. I reckon that, in the main, they'll be people who loved the whole Mamma Mia franchise. Releasing the songs now will not dilute the impact of the eventual show. Anyone buying tickets on the strength of the new material would probably be the same people who would buy tickets if "Just Like That" and "Just A Notion" were in the show.

Of course, it could be that B&B are looking at the new songs as lead singles for the eventual "soundtrack" album of the show, and won't consider them being released in any other context.

Either way, they have managed to suck a huge amount of the joy out of an otherwise exciting development. Extraordinary.

   
   It would be interesting to see how an 'ABBAtars Show' Soundtrack Album would be credited and marketed.

   After all, it would be ABBA's real voices on it, so it would really be an ABBA Album - no matter that it is from The ABBAtars Show.

   I'd say that it should be credited to ABBA. The ABBAtars can be the 'Act' on the Cover!

  Such a Soundtrack has the chance to be a big Hit. The 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Soundtrack has just become the 1st Queen
  Album to reach 40 Weeks in the UK Top 10. They have never even had a 30 Week Top 10 Album before. However, Sales
  of Albums are now so low, that it has only just reached 470,000 UK Sales. It was never a No.1 or No.2. It was a No.3
  Album, for 5 - non-consecutive Weeks.

  I'd like an ABBA Soundtrack to one day do as well as that...

  Regarding the New Songs...The Official Charts Company is way behind with the 'Plans'. (Hopes!). They still think that we
  are to get New ABBA Songs in the final 4 Months of 2019. I've now told them that Gorel says that we should 'Eventually'
  get them in 2020. Which could be January 2020 to as late as December 2020. Gorel is such a close Friend of ABBA, that
  she still sees some, or all, of them every Week. This is why we have to listen when she states the 'Latest ABBA Plans'.

 Of course, by now, we should know, that they are not really 'Plans' at all. They are more like 'Aspirations' that ABBA would
 like to fulfil. ABBA really have no more idea when the New Songs will be released, than 'The Fans' do. 

 I'm rather embarrassed about it all. I don't think that the Staff, at The UK Charts Company, have ever seen a hugely popular
 Group, lose its way, with what they announce to the World, and actually back up with action...Nothing seems to happen...


   

It is NOT the only name that can be given to the tour. It was just a throwaway, silly word used. Nothing is set in stone. As is already abundantly clear with all the delays.

We should have some kind of poll here, just for fun, to see what names we could come up with for the avatars besides the dire ABBAtars. I'd like to start but I can't for the life of me think of something that wouldn't incite derision. I guess it was inevitable that ABBAtars would pop up given the pun but I really don't like it.

In the end, the powers that be will decide (their minds as cold as ice 😆 ).

If I didn’t already know, which is a form of torture, I really wouldn’t want to have known, if that makes sense..

In all reality, what on earth are they playing at, as mentioned before they could’ve written 2 albums in the time it’s taken to get this far.. they didn’t really need those blasted ABBAtars to do a video.. just use imagination for Gods sake..

I  despair yet again....
ps still waiting...for how much longer though....

^I hear what you're saying, Edmund, but I believe all four in ABBA still have their talent. Agnetha fairly recently recorded A and is still in possession of that lovely voice. Frida, too. Agnetha sounded rather 'rusty' when her and Frida sang TWOFD to BennyBjörn but I'm sure that was nerves. Plus, it's on a terrible key for her. Frida sounded flawless but then she always did have amazing pitch and control of her voice.

As for the delay....well, it is sad but it won't affect my love for the group or the music. That's for keeps. Frustrating, but I'm trying to keep an open mind. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes? It's a lot of attention focused on Agnetha and Frida and perhaps they're not ready for that. There'll be a premium for new photos of them, you can be sure of that, holograms or not.