ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2022 Jan - Apr

Bizarrely, the only place in the world I have heard a ''new'' ᗅᗺᗷᗅ song (Don't Shut Me Down) was in Donegal, Ireland!!! Unfortunately, oldies like us aren't that motivated to run a campaign the way modern fans do. I was shocked to see the abuse against ᗅᗺᗷᗅ this week by the Little Mix fans who think they deserve (or would achieve) a Top 3 placing if it weren't for the super-Swedes   

I have Spotify but I rarely use it. I joined this autumn because of ABBA too. But the sound quality is better when you play the music from CD or vinyl through proper speakers. 






14000 streams is less than 100 sales, isn't it? So not much difference. And by the way... who listens to the same album twice a day 7 days a week? I certainly don't. Of course, I can let it play through Spotify on a loop 24-7 but as my wife pointed out, it is actually cheating. And is it really that important? I don't think so.

I was thinking about it and it is probably too soon, but I'll try:

1. The Album - no doubt about it :-) There is not a single weak song and it sounds so fresh. I never get tired of this record, as it contains such an interesting mix of styles and I can feel the energy radiating from the album.

2. Voulez-Vous - a very energetic successor to The Album. I think it works very well as an album. The only objection I have is I Have A Dream - one of my least favourite ABBA songs.

3. Arrival - well, this was tough. I'm still not sure if it's Arrival or The Visitors. But I probably listen to Arrival more often now. Dancing Queen, Knowing Me, Knowing You and Money, Money, Money are enough to justify Arrival's No.3 spot. There is My Love, My Life, which I've never liked much (The I Have A Dream category). And then there are songs such as Dum Dum Diddle and Why Did It Have To Be Me...

4. The Visitors - it used to be higher in my "chart" but somehow it cannot compete with the first two for me at present, even though there is not a song on it that I don't like. I guess it's the overall feel.

5. Voyage - actually, since its release it is the ABBA album I listen to most often, but it's quite natural. The new releases always dominate for some time. I like the album very much and there are a few songs on it that would probably make to it my ABBA Top 20 (at least Don't Shut Me Down and Keep An Eye On Dan). Even Little Things and Bumblebee have grown on me but still I wouldn't place Voyage higher that in the middle.

6. ABBA - Hard to explain but this album has a great charm for me, despite its imperfections. Great tracks on it - Mamma Mia, SOS, I've Been Waiting For You, So Long, Intermezzo No.1. And the rest is so interesting (oh yes, even Man In The Middle :-)) that I really enjoy listening to the record. The only song that doesn't work for me is I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do.

7. Super Trouper - many will be shocked to see it so low I guess :-) There is just one song that is not a favourite (Happy New Year), so I really cannot put my finger on what the problem with this album is. The individual songs are great. But as a whole it sounds probably too perfect... almost sterile. I loved it in the beginning but I got tired of it very quickly. I seldom listen to it.

8. Waterloo - not a bad album in my opinion but with so many great records to compete with, it couldn't make it higher

9. Ring Ring - well, this was obvious, wasn't it. Hastily put together, the only ABBA album that really contains fillers, in my opinion :-)

I’m not sure I can agree with this. It almost feels like we’re being shamed into using Spotify. As Michal has pointed out, you need a lot of streams to qualify as one sales unit. I bought the album physically eight times. How many streams would I have had to do to equal that? I’ve only listened to Voyage twice in the last month, so would have made no difference whatsoever if I’d streamed it.

14 times a week (as someone mentioned) and I’d have got bored. Don’t get me wrong, I love the album, but could never listen to anything that much. Throughout my whole life, I’ve generally listened to albums more at first, but then gradually each one gets longer and longer after the previous hearing. Voyage will be no different. It has to stay a bit fresh.

I’ve got about 15,000 songs downloaded from CDs (plus vinyl and YouTube rips) so have everything I need on my phone. Spotify or any other streaming service would be quite useless to me. Even new albums quickly find their way onto YouTube. Why would I need to pay into a streaming service (even with a free trial)?

People should be free to hear the album how they want to. Your streams make very little difference. The album is doing extremely well without them.

Me too. After homework. But the weight of those headphones used to hurt my ears. I sometimes wear headphones now usually at the gym, walking or using transport. For a while I stopped listening to music regularly until last year. Now I am enjoying it all again and the old tracks too. Think the best side of any Abba album is Side one The Album.

I think you've hit a couple of nails squarely on the head, pixi . A lot of chart positions are helped by streaming campaigns by hardcore fans. I haven't seen the Little Mix fans' complaints but it's typical of many fans' behaviour. Everyone wants their beloved act to reign supreme in the charts but some other act with a huge fan base has the temerity to even exist and get in the way... It's pretty pathetic, when you think about it. Chart positions are a twisted form of democracy. And, when you really think of it, are utterly meaningless. And yet so many people get twisted in the most bitter knots about chart positions, as though they are some barometer of quality. If that was true, then The Birdy Song (for instance) was significantly better than The Day Before You Came. We get dismissive about other acts we don't like, as if we're the arbiters of taste. ABBA fans (including on this forum) behave like those Little Mix fans - whose opinions are no less valid than ours. 

Voyage's success was driven by physical sales. Fans pretty much replicated the situation that might have prevailed had Voyage been released in 1982. The fanbase is older, much less likely to stream than the younger, more tech-savvy fans of more contemporary acts. If the physical sales dry up and the album exits the chart sooner than we'd like, it's absolutely no reflection on the quality of the music, it doesn't diminish the magic of our wildest dreams coming true back in September. We've had a No.1 album, we've had Top 20 singles at a time when such a thing was a massive challenge for any heritage act. There's been critical acclaim.

I certainly didn't mean to shame anyone into streaming, Alan . What I meant was, we can't moan about positions on a chart that is massively driven by streaming when we're not active participants ourselves. It's tantamount to complaining that people don't share our taste. We've gotten the good stuff on our terms. That it's compacted into a shorter timeframe doesn't take away from the achievement.

On the subject of streaming, I hate Spotify with a passion. Their head honcho, Daniel Ek, embodies everything that's wrong with the system (but as someone releasing music, I'm obviously biased!). When I stream, I prefer to use iTunes/Apple music because the sound quality is so much better. The catalogue has improved a great deal too. AND they pay more to artists (it's all fractions of pennies per play, but still).

Its funny how time changes our thoughts.. Initially for most of us ( I'm guessing ), we couldn't get enough and was on constant play ( in what ever format) , that said I wasn't one of them, I played it probably twice in succession, then left it for a few days. now its the odd track and whole album once a week to 10 days. Personally i think this is how it should be, as someone said to keep it fresh, and I still thoroughly enjoy every track because of not playing every second...

I've noticed if I'm in the car and travelling more than 40 minutes and depending on time of day Ill play the whole album, but I'm beginning to notice that if a track on the radio comes on I don't like, Ill change to CD mode and play one track..

Anyone heard anymore news on the potential next single, if any....

I used to listen to each ABBA album on vinyl after each purchase " many moons ago " and always enjoyed the buzz of excitement I felt. My sister and I would often fight over singing to the preferred lead vocals of our favourite tracks from each album ( not in one succession I must add as we would probably end up singing " to kingdom come " ). My sister has a lovely voice. I tend to sound like " a cat wailing " and at the time probably would have attracted the country's whole cat population to our home. ABBA's songs are so deceptively complex and very difficult to sing in particular " Dancing Queen ", " If It Wasn't For The Nights " and " The Winner Takes It All " to name but a few. Just goes to show how Agnetha and Frida excelled at hitting the high notes in such an effective way leaving the listener completely hooked.

I prefer to listen to compact discs and would like to buy a record player to spin my old ABBA vinyls at some point. That would be great to re-live old memories. I like to listen to " Voyage " together with a mix of ABBA's classic back catalogue to " spice things up ". The big hits and album tracks intermingled with the tracks from " Voyage ". I try to limit my playlist to about twenty songs per spin.

I would really appreciate a megarate of roughly twenty to twenty-five ABBA songs. Let's go for it !. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the ranking of all of ABBA's studio albums from fellow fans. As I mentioned before conflicting feedback keeps the forum fresh and alive. We all have our favourites and least favourites at the end of the day. Our love for ABBA will never wane.

A megarate to see if any songs from Voyage make it into a top 20 or 30? Have I got that right? I'd have a go but I'm rubbish at picking definitive favourites. They change all the time. I'd love to do a 'top albums' but I'm not sure where to start. I think ABBA and Ring Ring would be near the bottom but then again there are some cracking songs on both. It's so hard to decide! I should give it a go but I don't think I have the kind of brain that's easily able to format lists. It's like maths to me and I'm rubbish at that. I'm more the 'rambling discourse on the songs' kind of person. Still, I should challenge myself. I know I have said in the past that The Visitors is my favourite album but maybe I need to revise that? I feel I'd need to have all the albums in front of me and become methodical about it.

So... regarding new developments....I haven't seen any Little Mix fans having a rant about AꓭBA but it doesn't surprise me. I think over zealous fans of any group or singer have these kind of people in their midst, AꓭBA included- the "sweaty obsessives" lol. Good old Agnetha, she wasn't wrong. Poor Noel Gallagher is getting a terrible slating for simply having an opinion on the Abbatars! He has incited the wrath of some fans and the comments on the net are outrageous, truly shocking. And he's a fan! Unbelievable. I mean, they care that much? Jesus wept. Like I said, it goes on across the board- people having hissy fits simply because someone says something they disagree with. Full-on insults, going for the jugular.

I have Spotify but I'm getting rid of it. Something about it doesn't sit well with me. I have Voyage downloaded and two copies of the CD (one I haven't even taken out of the wrapper!) and the vinyl is on its way so that's near as damn it.

Yes, Graham, we're often in sync and that's just how it goes. It's natural to have similar likes/dislikes with fans here and there. However, no one really knows someone from the internet although we might think we do. It's easy to make assumptions and judgements. You go by instinct. At least I do. I can usually spot a good egg although I've been proven wrong before. Hey-ho. Thanks for your comment Edmund; you're very kind, but your posts and comments are just as valid and important as anyone else's Mine are no better (and hopefully no worse- debatable lol). Mine are just a stream of consciousness.

I'm ITCHING to see the concert. I get goosebumps when I watch the little preview- Summer Night City- so exciting! Did anyone else notice that the movements Agnetha and Frida do appear (to me, anyhow) to be based on movements they did during actual performances from the past? And movements during the motion captures? Maybe not QUITE as athletic lol Looking at still images, I can see situations where they both moved similarly to something they actually did live on stage or in a video. I'm not explaining that very well, damn it. I'd need to post examples. Now and then combined. I'm fine with their hairstyles, movements. It's a re-imagining. It doesn't matter to me if the Abbatars faces are from '79 with '77 hairstyles, you know? And I always wanted to see Benny and Björn's foreheads! They look slick.

Indeed. The fact that Voyage is in its ninth week on the chart and has never been outside the top 4 in that time is absolutely astounding. I’d never have believed this would be possible. Perhaps my expectations were too low but I honestly thought that sales would be so front-loaded with pre-orders that it would have exited the top 10 after two weeks. It’s already ahead of The Visitors in terms of total top 10 weeks and is now closing in on Super Trouper (11 weeks). Even if it left the chart now (which seems very unlikely) I’d be happy. It’s a solid success.

I thought someone posted that there had been an ad for the album on TV at one point and I remember thinking what a waste of money that was, given the mahoosive preorders. If that ad is gathering dust somewhere, maybe it'd be worth airing it in a month or so - maybe when the next single is ready, so that both releases benefit?

I'm really curious about what the next single might be. If it's something that (as reported) they intend to work into the show, it suggests that it'll be something uptempo - I think that narrows it down to WYDWM, KAEOD and NDAI. If they do work it into the show, they'll have to get the ABBAtars to perform it and I imagine it's something they've already done. It'd be a crying shame if they didn't use the performance for the video. That would give a boost to the single, the album and the ticket sales.

As for the megarate suggestion, I've forgotten the method. It's years since I tackled such a thing and I think I'm having a senior moment about how to go about it. I do remember getting too bogged down in it at the time. There were, I think, 100 songs or so at the time? I'm up for reading anyone/everyone else's. Or we could do it in baby steps, album by album, listing the songs in order of preference?

There's a few songs - including a couple of 'sacred cows' - that would be in my mid-range rankings. Despite everything, I'm slightly less fond of them and sometimes I even find myself hitting the skip button... #BadABBAfan. How badly do our pigeons want to meet the cat? Can I afford to give up everything and enter witness protection?

I favour No doubt about it as the next release. Although Dan is also a contender. But 2 of my favourites are Bumblee bee and OTF. Think an uptempo one would be better in the show.

It's nice to see someone who appreciates Voulez-Vous for a change. I've noticed people tend to place it at the lower ends of their favourite-lists. I really don't know why. Because it's the most disco-oriented album and obviously eager to follow the then-current trends? I don't care, ABBA embraced the style and the result is one of the most cohesive albums they ever made in my opinion (alongside with Super Trouper). The one regret I have is that they didn't use the original rockier version of Does Your Mother Know. But it was probably necessary as otherwise it would stand out too much.

I have always said 'Voulez Vous' is ABBA's best album the songs are wonderful its the disco album it does surprise me that it gets rated so low, I absolutely love the cover of the 'Voulez Vous' album. 

My favourite ABBA album is 'Ring Ring' there are alot of really good songs on there the best one being 'Nina Pretty Ballerina' I do wish that song would appear on more ABBA compilation albums I also really like 'Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother' & 'Another Town, Another Train'.

I really hope that the fifth single from Voyage will be 'When You Danced With Me' the Irish sound is wonderful and its just screaming out to be a single plus its something ABBA have never done before I liked it as soon as I heard it and when the track list was revealed 'When You Danced With Me', 'Little Things' & 'I Can Be That Woman' were the three songs that stood out to me.