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Post by HOMETIME on Sept 7, 2021 11:38:41 GMT
I just nipped over to Discogs.com to see what the artwork is like for the singles. I was impressed to see that lyrics are included. The production notes were a bit of a revelation though: the tracks are "arranged and produced by Benny Andersson" and not the Andersson/Ulvaeus we're used to. Bjorn is credited as "associate producer" on DSMD.
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Post by gamleman on Sept 7, 2021 11:48:22 GMT
I've just seen a Facebook post from a female musician called Little Boots who says she will be joining the live band on stage for the ABBA Voyage show to do keyboards/synth and backing vocals. So, this suggests they won't be using recordings of A&F doing their own backing vocals.
On your post HOMETIME about Benny being named as producer and Bjorn as associate producer, I suspect this is because Benny spent more time at the mixing desk fiddling with the arrangements. It was his studio, after all.
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Post by Alan on Sept 7, 2021 11:53:41 GMT
…I perhaps couldn't rely on them to get the album to me on its release date. In theory the album should be quicker, as they’ll have much more time to prepare deliveries. I’d like to think they’ll even post them out on the Thursday, so there is at least a chance of them arriving on Friday (they wouldn’t risk sending them any earlier than the Thursday in case they arrived before the Friday). My contingency plan is to make a visit to HMV on the Friday - thankfully we still have one in Derby - and get the yellow vinyl plus the alternative CD artwork. Not sure if this has been widely publicised but HMV only have the UK exclusives on these - Fnac and Tower Records should have them as well, along with major record stores in other countries. I read something that definitely confirms Fnac anyway. However, I did ask in HMV on Saturday to check they’d definitely have them in-store and the answer was “yes, scheduled, but anything can happen between now and then”. I didn’t ask further but I’m taking that to mean HMV is in trouble again (hardly a surprise post-Covid) and could go under before November. If it does it will be the third time within ten years and not sure it can survive again. He offered a pre-order but I’d have to pay upfront, so I just said no, I’ll come in on the day. |
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Post by Alan on Sept 7, 2021 12:11:16 GMT
  The 7” has an inner sleeve. What Benny was saying about it being “just us” isn’t quite true as there’s a drummer, a guitarist and an orchestra! I thought it was all recorded at Benny’s Mono Music Studios, but it appears it was just mixed there and recorded at RMV Studios. Does he own both? As it’s a one-sided single, the b-side has the lyrics going round in circles where the playing area would normally be. |
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Post by Alan on Sept 7, 2021 12:31:58 GMT
  And finally, from the Don’t Shut Me Down CD. Björn is only credited as “Associate Producer” on this one, and not ISHFIY (unless that’s a mistake). This one also clearly states the recording date as 2017 but mixing not completed until this year. |
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Post by gamleman on Sept 7, 2021 12:48:02 GMT
…I perhaps couldn't rely on them to get the album to me on its release date. In theory the album should be quicker, as they’ll have much more time to prepare deliveries. I’d like to think they’ll even post them out on the Thursday, so there is at least a chance of them arriving on Friday (they wouldn’t risk sending them any earlier than the Thursday in case they arrived before the Friday). My contingency plan is to make a visit to HMV on the Friday - thankfully we still have one in Derby - and get the yellow vinyl plus the alternative CD artwork. Not sure if this has been widely publicised but HMV only have the UK exclusives on these - Fnac and Tower Records should have them as well, along with major record stores in other countries. I read something that definitely confirms Fnac anyway. However, I did ask in HMV on Saturday to check they’d definitely have them in-store and the answer was “yes, scheduled, but anything can happen between now and then”. I didn’t ask further but I’m taking that to mean HMV is in trouble again (hardly a surprise post-Covid) and could go under before November. If it does it will be the third time within ten years and not sure it can survive again. He offered a pre-order but I’d have to pay upfront, so I just said no, I’ll come in on the day. Yes Alan, if they get the timing right, the ABBA store should in theory be able to get the album to us on the release date, but I agree that they probably won't risk posting them before Thursday. I really hope that HMV doesn't close down. I have ordered the items you mention from their website, as I didn't fancy a trip to HMV in Sheffield on the release date - for one thing, I'll have to wait in for the other deliveries. Fnac are getting those same exclusives in France, as I've seen them on their website. |
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Post by bennybjorn on Sept 7, 2021 13:21:51 GMT
Just seen this comment over at Pop Justice.
"Without being able to go into too much detail (but I trust the source), this morning I've heard a second-hand account of someone that has heard Voyage who says the rest of the album is beautiful and even stronger than what we've heard already."
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Post by foreverfan on Sept 7, 2021 15:29:29 GMT
^^^ I tend to believe, or i'm very gullible..lol
If we think about it, the two " new " tracks were supposedly done well before the album...... so they had more time to perfect... so ever hopeful....
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Post by justabba on Sept 7, 2021 15:37:50 GMT
Guys if you don't all stream these songs like mad they are going to drop massively by Friday....
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Post by breifne on Sept 7, 2021 16:00:43 GMT
Yes - and members from outside of the UK should stream to help the songs make their Country's charts.
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Post by richard on Sept 7, 2021 16:03:14 GMT
Well, it's taken a little while for me to latch on to it, but now, after several listens, I love Don't Shut Me Down ! Natural to want to compare it to previous ABBA, but for me it stands up on its own terms. In fact, as I listen to it, I'm immersed in the song for its own sake, which is as it should be.
I find the scenario set up by Bjorn's masterful lyrics quite moving, including the slow vocal intro beautifully done by Agnetha - which is the same melody as the chorus, but slowed down, of course. Very cinematic. I can picture it, and I feel for her.
If I have a reservation, it's some of the jaunty string figurations after the first chorus leading back to the verse. At the moment, I find them a bit quirky and slightly irritating.
And what a thrill to hear that wonderfully tuneful and energetic chorus kick in, with Agnetha and Frida singing in unison!
(ISHFIY is taking me a little longer to fully appreciate, but I'll get there, I'm sure.)
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Post by jj on Sept 7, 2021 16:05:57 GMT
Oh, you know what, I really liked those pics Alan posted of the singles, but now I realise what I liked most about them are just reflections of Alan, or the photographer! Damn!
Those forms and that reddish colour are a really nice modernist touch. Pity they're not actually part of the real thing. |
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Post by gamleman on Sept 7, 2021 16:11:00 GMT
Oh, you know what, I really liked those pics Alan posted of the singles, but now I realise what I liked most about them are just reflections of Alan, or the photographer! Damn!
Those forms and that reddish colour are a really nice modernist touch. Pity they're not actually part of the real thing. Now that I look again, I can see the reflection of Alan's hand below the hand on the cover of DSMD. It looks quite creative. Was it intentional, Alan? |
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Post by Alan on Sept 7, 2021 16:37:22 GMT
Oh, you know what, I really liked those pics Alan posted of the singles, but now I realise what I liked most about them are just reflections of Alan, or the photographer! Damn!
Those forms and that reddish colour are a really nice modernist touch. Pity they're not actually part of the real thing. Now that I look again, I can see the reflection of Alan's hand below the hand on the cover of DSMD. It looks quite creative. Was it intentional, Alan? It’s difficult to get a good angle and not get a reflection! I probably should have taken the cellophane off first as that might have reduced the reflection! It’s been reported on a German site that the album is just 37 minutes long. An average length ABBA album then, though shorter than their last four albums: Ring Ring = 35 mins (international version) Waterloo = 36 mins (international version) ABBA = 36 mins Arrival = 33 mins The Album = 40 mins Voulez-Vous = 42 mins Super Trouper = 42 mins The Visitors = 38 mins Albums are going shorter again as they’re designed for vinyl, not CD. ABBA’s albums have, of course, since been expanded on CD with b-sides and bonus tracks. I don’t think they’ll ever be any for Voyage, so in all it will be their shortest album (though Waterloo and The Album have no different tracks as bonuses). |
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Post by madonnabba on Sept 7, 2021 17:13:59 GMT
It's all very confusing. I have been playing the songs at every opportunity. But there are rules such as not listening on repeat ? As they don't count. And not muting....why would anybody want to mute to try and get a higher placing for their favourite artist? And not skipping in the first 30 seconds. Why bother? People should be listening as they want to and stop trying to rig the charts by falsely skipping the track and having the track on mute on repeat. No wonder the charts are in a poor state.
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Post by daronjulian on Sept 7, 2021 17:36:32 GMT
Front:  Back:  Singles have arrived! I’m wondering if these won’t be available in shops as the ABBA logo and titles are on the back, not the front. I wonder if the hand belongs to any of the ABBAs? The barcodes are stickers on the cellophane. For some reason the ISHFIY CD doesn’t have a sticker. On Amazon, the CDs are illustrated as having the usual plastic single cases. I’m not sure if that means there are different versions of them or if Amazon are just using an inaccurate photo. Are they even available in shops (HMV or equivalent around the world)? Would seem odd not to indicate on the front who they’re by. If there were stickers, I’d expect to see them on the ones sent to me (which were from the official store). Amazon currently list the CDs at £9.99 each, compared to £3.99 on the official store. If they were released on Friday, that means they’ve taken three postal days to arrive. Doesn’t bode well for the album delivery… |
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Post by daronjulian on Sept 7, 2021 17:40:34 GMT
Likewise I only ordered ISHFIY on 7" vinyl on Friday and it has just arrived today.
Don't forget... The album is being released in the run up to Christmas and with everybody ordering on line like last Christmas spare a thought for the post office staff who will be delivering our ABBA coloured vinyl treats. I estimate that I may receive my album copies on 12 November at the earliest.
The Royal Mail will sick to the back teeth of us lot on here multiple ordering of coloured vinyl albums. :-)
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Post by onlyabba4meagain on Sept 7, 2021 17:52:02 GMT
There aren't usually UK Mid Week Charts on Tuesday's - but there are today.
They are for Sales on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. (Top 40's only).
'ISHFIY' is down from No.6 to No.7. 'DSMD' holds at No.8. 'ABBA Gold' rises from No.6 to No.5.
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Post by agan on Sept 7, 2021 18:01:57 GMT
It’s interesting that around 50% is downloads with #ABBA while the rest of the charts entries are almost all streaming. I suppose the stream is coming from the younger generation  |
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Post by madonnabba on Sept 7, 2021 19:29:21 GMT
Bad habits is not a bad song . But when physical sales were about it would not have been number one for that amount of weeks. Should be one stream per device and only registered if you choose to pay say £2 for it to chart. Proceeds to charity. Charts are meaningless otherwise.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2021 19:44:55 GMT
I received the 2 singles today, lovely to see Per and Lasse on there! One thing I was thinking about was ABBA deserve a medal for all the people that their music has directly, or indirectly, employed! The new show is employing roughly 1000 people! There's the mamma mia stage shows and films, not just musicians and actors, but also production, backroom staff, etc, etc, the list goes on, it's astonishing!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2021 19:53:09 GMT
^^^ I tend to believe, or i'm very gullible..lol If we think about it, the two " new " tracks were supposedly done well before the album...... so they had more time to perfect... so ever hopeful.... I was thinking that! I bet they all laughed in the studio "if only we had this much time to make an album back in the 70"s and 80's lol! |
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Post by madonnabba on Sept 7, 2021 21:53:21 GMT
I am sure the album will be the masterpiece we expect. I suspect there is a narrative going for a final Mamma Mia film too. The missing link in a trilogy there would be a Christmas/New year film. We have one song in the waiting Happy New Year and another to come, Little Things. The new singles tell a story too. And with the avatars performing..perfect for hen nights , weekends , the new album should get a lot of exposure even without another film being made.
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Post by gary on Sept 7, 2021 21:59:25 GMT
There aren't usually UK Mid Week Charts on Tuesday's - but there are today. They are for Sales on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. (Top 40's only). 'ISHFIY' is down from No.6 to No.7. 'DSMD' holds at No.8. 'ABBA Gold' rises from No.6 to No.5. What are the chances of top 10 placings in the actual chart, Colin? Unlike what appears to be the majority of fans, I prefer ISHFIY to DSMD. It seems to be a much more interesting song. DSMD is undeniably catchy but parts of it remind me too much of earlier ABBA songs. But the pair certainly are a nice distillation of ABBA’s two sides. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2021 22:43:03 GMT
There aren't usually UK Mid Week Charts on Tuesday's - but there are today. They are for Sales on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. (Top 40's only). 'ISHFIY' is down from No.6 to No.7. 'DSMD' holds at No.8. 'ABBA Gold' rises from No.6 to No.5. It is not up on the Official Charts Company website |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2021 22:44:41 GMT
Gary
I prefer I Still Have the Faith in You too.
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Post by onlyabba4meagain on Sept 7, 2021 23:10:56 GMT
Johnny -- The Tuesday Mid Weeks are not on The Official Charts Web Site, because they only ever
do that with 2 Mid Week Charts. The first one is the Sunday Top 20 Singles - First Look. That is for
Sales on Friday and Saturday. The others are the Monday Chart Up-Dates. They are Top 100's, of both
the Singles and Albums Charts. They are for Sales on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There is usually
only 1 more Mid Week Chart - the Wednesday one. That is Top 40 Singles and Albums only. It is for
Sales on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The OCC does not put the Wednesday Mids
on its Site. They are just put on several UK Charts Fan Sites. it is unusual for there to be any Mid Weeks
on Tuesday's or Thursdays. There are never, ever any on Saturday's.
Gary, I've read, (UK Chart Sites), a lot of discussion, about whether ABBA's Singles can still be Top 10
on Friday Evening. The general consensus is that it will be very hard, for ABBA to stay in. A few Chart
Fans think that both will still be in the Friday Top 10. Some think that only 1 will be. Others think that
neither will be. I hear that 'ISHFIY''s Streams are fast collapsing. The Guy who Comments on the Weekly
UK Charts - James Masterton - feels that neither ABBA Track will be Top 10 on Friday. But, he really hates
ABBA, anyhow. He's already said, that he'd rather listen to 18 Seconds of an Ed Sheeran String Piece, than
New ABBA Songs.
I've no idea what will happen to the 2 ABBA Songs, in Friday's UK Top 100. I do know, that we are very
unlikely to see either Song, in the Top 10, for a 2nd Week. It is with Albums that 'Old' Acts, can really do
very well. ABBA will easily get into the Top 3 with 'Voyage.
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Post by gazman on Sept 8, 2021 3:22:24 GMT
If anyone doesn't already know, there will be a certain limited number of blue vinyl copies of 'Voyage' available from UK independent stores upon release.
Some of these have very good websites e.g. Juno Records, Intense Records - you can just 'google' them....
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Post by HOMETIME on Sept 8, 2021 8:35:23 GMT
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Post by gamleman on Sept 8, 2021 9:11:59 GMT
I would advise caution in interpreting that phrase about "other songs". It is tempting to hope that this suggests more new songs from ABBA, but it may actually mean further songs from the back catalogue to vary the repertoire for the concerts. I agree what others have said that "Voyage" is quite probably ABBA's final album of new songs. However, we are told that ABBA are back together, so I don't think more new non-album songs are out of the question. I still think there's the possibility of a "The Singles" style chronological retrospective album, either next year to celebrate 50 years of ABBA or in 2024 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision win. There could well be new songs for such a compilation. And since ISTFIY and DSMD were actually recorded four years ago, it's possible that future new songs are already in the can. |
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