ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2021 Jan - Aug

I'm with Alan on this one, so it's a No from me too. Bjorn has a pleasant but not exactly outstanding voice, and I wouldn't want him to take one of only five possible songs. I wouldn't, however, object to a line or two from him in one of the songs, as in "Honey Honey". But if there is a whole album, a song led by him would be a welcome touch

Although it apparently contradicts the post I quoted from (the original being on page 2 of this topic), a Frida lead on ISHFIY does promise a lot. I deserve to be shot at dawn for this, but many of my favourite ABBA moments are on Frida (or Björn) leads where Agnetha comes in during the chorus. I’m thinking I Let The Music Speak, Andante Andante, Lovers (Live A Little Longer), I Saw It In The Mirror, Two For For The Price of One etc.

On the Björn leads, I know it’s both of them coming in, but Agnetha’s higher voice makes hers the more noticeable. On Agnetha leads, that effect isn’t there quite as much as she’s present all the way through.

Their voices might be lower now, but I’m assuming they still have that contrast. The combination of their voices is far more of an important part of the ABBA sound than Björn and Benny have ever given them credit for.

Oh yes, I should have included Put on Your White Sombrero. There are others though.

Yes, I like both voices (and their third, combined one). It’s exciting that we’ll get to hear them together again after all this time (whenever they’re eventually released).

Silly sausage lol

Those answers from Bjorn were hardly generous, but more in the way of polite responses. Back in the day, Benny and Bjorn were much more open in the music press about recordings that were already in the bag for the next album. I remember knowing at least a couple of song-titles in advance for Arrival, Voulez-Vous and The Visitors (in addition to the precursor singles). I wonder whether the current secrecy is for legal/contract reasons.

It's a sad state of affairs that ABBA's music has become so blatantly NOT the natural, artistic expression of four talented musicians who love making music (as they used to vehemently claim in their own defense), but a cold, calculated marketing tool for the benefit of some commercial project (the avatars).  Critics who hated ABBA back then for being so commercial must be thinking "Didn't we always know?".

It does seem that the release of these new songs is being closely tied to the ABBAtar tour. It is to an extent understandable that there should be some co-ordination between the two, as the tour was the motivation for the songs, but it seems to go further than that - we can't even be told for definite how many songs there are and all their titles, which is frustrating. Bjorn has a business head on him but I'm not so convinced that Benny is entirely comfortable with this situation - I recall him indicating a year or so ago that if he had his way, they would be released in September (2020).

I'm not a great fan of the "Mamma Mia" musical but we probably have this project (in its original stage-musical form) to thank for the second resurgence of interest in ABBA (the first resurgence being thanks to Erasure's "ABBA-esque" EP). So, I was OK with the "Mamma Mia" musical and I felt that the first movie was a natural progression of its worldwide success. I was even quite welcoming of the second movie, mainly out of curiosity as to which songs would be included and how they'd be arranged. However, "Mamma The Party" experience was for me a step too far as a blatant money-making exercise.

I wonder if Benny and Bjorn might consider this (maybe they have already) - say to whoever: "Our fans have waited too long for these songs. We'll have to sort something out regarding this avatar project, but these songs must be released now!"

Then, unfortunately,I have to agree with what others have said: that nowadays, for ABBA, the music comes second - if that.

Unfortunately, as the creators and owners of all they have recorded, they are entitled to use it all as they see fit. This may of course, not fit in with our cosy memory of them but having seen so many artists from 70s struggling with money nowadays I think I will let them be. They never owed us anything, but if they choose to give us new material well and good.

Part of the frustration of them keeping us in the dark is that at the end of the day, they will be expecting people like us to buy the new songs and the ABBAtar tickets. Having said that, the hard-core fans are probably not important for this project, as we're not numerous enough - this project is targeted at the masses, the more numerous casual ABBA fans who will snap up the new songs and flock in droves to the ABBAtar shows. We are useful in generating a bit of money from the anniversary album re-issues though.

A sceptic might quietly wonder if the pandemic hasn't been somewhat 'handy' in terms of offering an open-ended reason for delays, since it's hard to take issue with it without coming across as cynical.