ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2022 Jan - Apr

I think some artists like retrospective compilations as their own personal reflection on their career. And ABBA need some way of celebrating their 50th anniversary which looks back over their 50 years. There is the streaming factor but I think people are still buying albums in sufficient numbers. Plus, they will need something interesting to sell at the ABBAtars shows - I'm sure many of the attendees will be only casual ABBA fans (or even Mamma Mia fans) and a career-spanning double-album would be a nice souvenir. To be honest, I think all the talk of modifying ABBA Gold or The Albums box is rather boring and unimaginative, especially for such a milestone which will probably mark the true end of ABBA's recording career.

I think many of us feel the same. In some ways it’s not the same ABBA - Michael Tretow and some of their long-serving musicians aren’t there. ABBA was much more than the four actual members. Yes, it’s the same four members but 40 years (or at least 35) on. They’re not the same people they were then as 40 years’ life experience has passed. And for us long-standing fans who were (in my case) between five and ten years old when we first heard ABBA’s recorded output compared to 50 now, similarly we’ve changed so much.

Is it really possible to marry the two? Voyage is unmistakably an ABBA album and stands up extremely well with what’s gone before, but there’s still such a gulf between now and then. An unwanted compilation offering nothing new wouldn’t change that.

Someone did a post on here once that talked of ABBA’s “death” and how Voyage should have not had the ABBA logo and instead had the name fading out, signalling ABBA’s farewell. I didn’t get that at all. No offence to whoever made that post, but it must rank as the oddest thing I’ve ever read on here.

To me this is a one-off reunion. ABBA ended in 1982 and they came back for a very belated and unexpected encore. But it’s something quite separate, not a continuation. Had Voyage been released in, say, 1983 or 1984 I’d have understood that reasoning but 40 years on? No, something to celebrate and not lament.

I certainly see your point. However, I'd argue that ABBA are in a fairly unique position. Setting aside the fact that they are in distinctly different eras with distinctly different market forces, both "Greatest Hits" and "Gold" were probably all that was known of ABBA by generations at the time. "Greatest Hits" was a bold title to claim in the UK, where their chart presence thus far had been patchy. So many of the tracks were unknown, you could possibly argue that it might as well have been marketed as a studio album. When "Gold" came along in 1992, all of the songs had been hits. ABBA were famous and (grudgingly) admired. The collection has become so enormous, that it has eclipsed virtually everything they've ever done. Have that many people used Gold as a gateway to the album tracks? My guess is not as many as you'd hope. 

A new compilation won't even make a tiny dent those sales numbers. But stitching together the old tracks with the new is doing what the ABBAtars will do. People who see the show might be keen to have a great-sounding souvenir. Approach the tracklist and the artwork carefully enough, and you have something that pulls together all of the eras. Hen parties might pick up copies alongside the sequinned cowboy hats and whatever other tat is on sale at the merch stand. I suspect that a fair number of these buyers might have nothing beyond Gold. 30 years on, a new compilation might be picking up a whole new generation. Pop it on the stands in the Museum. Reinforce the idea that Voyage is an equal partner in the group's catalogue. 

Yes, I'd definitely like a compilation to offer something new. Ideally a new song or two. Some alternate versions (bring back the 7" edits of Eagle and The Visitors that were booted off More Gold). Maybe even a couple of Voyage show live versions. Definitely some glamorous packaging featuring new and/or genuinely rare photos (I'm sure there must be more from the Voulez-Vous and The Visitors sleeve sessions). Put out a decent partner DVD with those 4K videos. 

All in all, I would appreciate something that celebrates the 50th anniversary of a truly iconic group and their stunning output. Creativity will be required to ensure it's not just a tarted-up facsimile of Gold. 

I just dug out the CD (2008 edition) and - oops - you're dead right, Alan, the running time for Eagle is 4:23. It was The Visitors and Lovelight that were replaced by the familiar versions. But the point - if I can manage to make it with my longwinded muddled thinking - is that these compilations are a great opportunity to give collectors/fans something different to what they already own. For more casual shoppers, the original albums will provide definitive versions of material that they (probably) heard for the first time on the compilation. So everybody gets a smidge more value and entertainment for money.

You know what? As a casual buyer I'm always a bit angry to find alternate or live versions or edits on compilations... Because when I buy a Greatest Hits album by an artist, I usually do it because I'm not that much interested in him/her and I'm satisfied with just the big hits. And then I'm put off by not hearing the version I know and expect. So I guess you can't please everybody at the same time. But of course I'm 100% for including as much alternate versions on an ABBA compilations as possible. I don't care about casual ABBA buyers' opinion!   

I definitely don’t. The Visitors was a very dark album. By 1982 they had moved away from personal issues in songs, and this is followed through in Voyage. Super Trouper was also quite dark in places (though dressed up to be otherwise). In some ways, Voyage is the lightest, happiest ABBA album since Voulez-Vous (and even that had its moments!).

Currently, this forum is busier than it's ever been.  Am I right?

I saw this Youtube video about possible 2022 releases

1. Documentary
2. Anthology
3. Compilation album/50 years
4. Deluxe edition of Voyage
5. A single or two


Interesting back in 2018 Benny said the 2 original Voyage songs would be old by time of shows and they would need a new song...
Also, more recently the two discarded Voyage songs were unfinished - as oppossed to say JLT which was unfinished because they didn't like it.

Btw, the CD market has fallen and vinyl market risen in recent years but CDs still far outsell vinyl


Anyway, here is that vid

Personally.. I think all are possible, but the ones more probable are.... Documentary, Deluxe edition of Voyage, A single or two.

Perhaps I'm being over optimistic , (which surprises me ! as tend to be more realistic .. ). I feel that the closer we get to the ABBAtar show we will get more just to ramp up excitement and Money of course...lol.
So between now and May, we may be lucky to get a single from Voyage.. just to tick along.. then early May.. a new track, probably one of those " unfinished ",
Followed by the Deluxe version as the show opens..

As for the documentary, I would like to think there may well be one, but the reluctance, so we assume of the girls to seen, I think this is less probable, that said there is a lot of video footage doing the rounds... so we never know...again May time to tie in with the show and possible Deluxe...

Anthology.. possible in time once all this is over , so a 2 to 5 years time ? ...

Compilation.. tough one, again possible, as marketing may dictate , but would it better Gold, as in popularity, unlikely, and as someone said, these " Best of, Gold etc are not so popular.. plus would it include anything really worth buying, after all the public have Gold 6 million times in the UK , Voyage/Deluxe will also have sold 500,000 plus.. so adding a couple of Voyage tracks to a new compilation wont really work...but we said that of More Gold, 18 hits, etc and they did sell , but that was another era...

So potentially a quiet couple of months, then ramp up again....

I initially thought Voyage would turn out to be more conceptual and more progressing than Visitors on my first expectations; however I was met with a conventional yet still top tiered ABBA album with one dud track that is still better than nothing (Ode to Freedom). It's the mature and sophisticated kind of ABBA album - and we're all in tune with it - even if it means some bits of disagreements

Little Things worked out fine as a softer song - somehow the dynamic compositions of ABBA is realised that they are not just a silly dance kind of music.
After a few listens, Little Things should have been a bit more softer with a bit of a decrescendo on it just to make the "little" make sense; there's some edgy spots but fortunately not too much. I've said too much about my thoughts on Voyage so I'll be tackling on the Matt Pop remix; it seems gratuitous and too martialist, for a song that seems Christmassy and double entendre-ish, but it's nice to have a few more options.[/quote]I am just grateful that we have new Abba songs to enjoy. I'd have settled for just the first two singles, but we get greedy and always want more. The Voyage album, for me anyway, delivers more than I could ever have dreamed of, and I am truly grateful. [/quote]Agreed.A hen party karaoke is better than being stuck in a room with one album you hate, a turntable and speakers.

I'm hoping the Voyage show would inspire more people than to be turned off. Having a faithful capture of the models is a far cry from the Abbamusset's "Fifth Member" section. At least ABBA, collectively, hasn't engaged in NFT, crypto or artificial intelligence. That's one thing I am thankful to them.

Thanks Graham, shocking to hear " Voyage " has received NO airplay. That is terrible. Shame on you Radio 2 !

Björn in discussion with Graham Norton in 2019 mentioned a new compilation, ABBA platinum....

Compilations, my points

1. As discussed we are in the streaming era,there isn't the same demand for new compilations

2. My suggestions of a re-vamped Gold or promoting The Albums box set got described as "boring" in here. Thanks! 😀

Gold is a proven winner and 1 or both of the original Voyage songs could be on a new one instead of a couple of existing songs.

The Albums box set "only" sold about 60,000 in the Uk if marketed and cheap like the £15 it was, it could add to sales. After all, 400,000 have bought Voyage. Room for improved sales!

3. I don't see Defintive Collection of 2 or 3 discs as doing any better commercially. I can't see who it would appeal too. Gold, for casual fans. The Albums box set for serious fans.

And what would it include? Voyage tracks?

4. It is too early to think about Voyage tracks on any new album. It will kill off that album. ABBA released too many best ofs during their career - at the expense of their studio albums and being seen more than a singles band.

Perhaps no new compilation at all!