ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2020

I think things are still really uncertain regarding when or how theatre productions and such might be able to start back up again safely. 

That is crucial to know in order to plan the 'ABBAtars' project properly - as well, of course, as the resumption of the 'Mamma Mia!' stage shows around the world, 'Mamma Mia! The Party' and also things like the 'Super Troupers' exhibition in London. 

With the new songs tied to the ABBAtar release, I think it is really difficult to predict when things might happen. 

Latest interview with Bjorn in France this week...

Today Björn was interviewed by the newspaper "Le Parisien"

Björn talked about the new ABBA songs and the Avatars project.

He said: "Oh yes oh yes ! Benny and I wrote a few songs, even for ABBA! These songs should be released before the end of the year. They are already registered. Not an entire album… At least two songs, maybe three or four, We haven't decided yet" and He added: "We wrote these new songs to accompany an ABBA show with avatars that We hope to see on stage in 2022. And you will see, they sound very ABBA".

Ecrivez-vous toujours des chansons ?
Oh oui, oh oui ! Benny (NDLR : Andersson, le co-compositeur du groupe) et moi avons écrit quelques chansons, même pour ABBA ! Ces chansons devraient sortir avant la fin de l'année. Elles sont déjà enregistrées. Pas tout un album… Au moins deux chansons, peut-être trois ou quatre, nous n'avons pas encore décidé.

Mais cela n'arrivera jamais. Nous sommes restés les meilleurs amis, un lien très fort nous unit. Mais nous ne ferons pas de tournées, nous sommes trop vieux pour cela. Nous avons écrit ces nouvelles chansons pour accompagner un show ABBA avec des avatars que l'on espère voir sur scène en 2022. Et vous verrez, elles sonnent très ABBA".

I have a source who has told me there were 4 completed songs, so I'm glad this interview confirms that.

Yes, the teasing is frustrating and is in stark contrast to how ABBA released songs back in the 70s and 80s - they may record a song one week and it was out in the record stores within a few weeks (or a few months at the most).

If the new songs will be released before the end of the year, hot on the heels of the Studio Albums boxset and Super Trouper vinyl releases, it would seem that B&B are not concerned about making a good deal of space (in time) and perhaps fuss for the release of the new songs. I could imagine them wanting to release them quite casually, although I'm not sure that the record company would go along with this.

Even if we get only two songs this year, I imagine there will be more in 2022, as I think they have said previously that they will keep something new for the ABBAtars tour.

I read that to mean not a whole album this year, but that 4 songs were completed but they hadn't decided how many to release this year. Perhaps I read it incorrectly? 

I think you’re being optimistic...

“Maybe three or four, we haven’t decided yet” is a rather odd thing to say. It suggests they’ve recorded at least four but can’t decide if the unnamed two are good enough to release (as in Just Like That and I Am The City), or that they haven’t recorded the other two yet but might do.

What do you do with four tracks these days? B-sides don’t really exist anymore and it’s too few to create even an EP.

Still, it would suggest they’ve abandoned the idea of waiting until the ‘Tars are ready and that the two tracks (minimal) will get an airing separately. If it really is going to happen this year, I’d suggest November or December.

Unless Björn’s French is that good, is it likely that the interview was conducted in English, then translated to French and then (separately) back to English? That’s two rounds of translations... nothing could have been lost in that could it?

I understand it the way Alan does: they have recorded more than two songs (at least four and the existence of those have now been officially confirmed for the very first time), but they haven't decided yet, if the other two besides I Still Have Faith In You and Don't Shut Me Down are good enough to be released... In such case it would be better to remain silent about them...

And what do you do with four songs? Put them on a brand new compilation as the opening and closing tracks... Roxette were experts in that and I remember their fans were not happy - every few years a new Greatest Hits album came out with basically the same tracklist (always omitting one favourite single that Per never liked) plus 2-4 new songs...

I had hoped that, although the avatar show was the instigator of Benny and Bjorn writing new songs for ABBA and all four getting back in the studio again, their love of making music together would take over, and we'd get a new album - that it would become their primary motivation. I was obviously indulging in wishful thinking. It's the two songs, and, just maybe, two more - which would still be great, of course.

But despite what Bjorn has said, I want to engage in a bit more wishful thinking: that we'll get the surprising and wonderful gift of a new ABBA album.

They could just release the first 2 songs on the same day and see which one is more popular with the fans on streaming sites like Spotify. I don't think they would precisely co-ordinate vinyl and CD single releases worldwide on the same day, certainly not in the current world climate.

Didn't Ed Sheeran do that with 2 songs recently, and got the number 1 and 2 positions in the UK singles chart (I'm not suggesting the same would happen to ABBA, since I think mass streaming is possibly a teenage thing nowadays!).

I download and stream songs, via Amazon and Spotify Premium, but I am not sure how many others do.

Perhaps we'll eventually get a new 2CD 'Very Best of ABBA' type compilation - a bit like the Japanese '40/40 Best of' - but with the new tracks added?

I agree with Alan that there is no guarantee that the new songs as singles would rise very high in today's Singles charts. In fact, there may be a case for not releasing them as individually downloadable singles in order to avoid the trials and tribulations of the Singles charts. I would prefer to see them released on some kind of album (but not "Gold") as well as on limited-edition singles on vinyl and perhaps CD, but not limited enough to create a buying frenzy like on Record Store Day when non-fans snap up copies to sell at inflated prices on eBay.

I hate to say this but it would be easy to add them as bonus tracks to the downloadable edition of "Gold" and on a bonus disc with a CD edition of "Gold". Perhaps there will be an intermediate release of (say) two songs in this way before the end of this year and then a new album containing all the new songs in 2022 when the ABBAtars are supposedly launched. It's still not clear how the soundtrack will be created for the ABBAtars show (studio or live versions of songs, or a mix of the two) but I could imagine them releasing an 'ABBAtars soundtrack' album at the time.

That 'message' from Universal UK sounds quite depressing to me, the worst-case scenario being that they will link the new songs to the purchase of an expensive package of old material. They should make the new material accessible to people with all sorts of pockets. And it seems to me that they are already very active in pushing ABBA's back-catalogue, with the various vinyl re-releases of the studio albums (and the Deluxe CDs before that). These re-releases have proved that today's UK public (at least) have little interest in buying ABBA's studio albums in great quantities, as the re-issues have so far hardly dented the UK Albums chart. I think the hard-core fans already feel exploited by the record company and I really hope that they don't use the new songs as a vehicle to try to squeeze a lot more money out of us. In my mind, they should package the new songs in an interesting selection - ideally a whole new album, otherwise a compilation of lesser-known ABBA songs that deserve more of the limelight (possibly drawing on some of the album tracks used in the "Mamma Mia" movies).