ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2021 Sept - Dec

I have to concur really, as I'm usually a realist.. but I guess this something none of us can predict, but just hope for the best.......

As for new singles, will they release it with the ABBAtars as the video ? I just feel they wont , as it would potentially spoil the surprise, ISHFIY only has a what a minute ? just to tantalise.....

And not just large but over-inflated as many will be buying it several times due to all the variations. I’m getting it four times already, and am planning on getting a fifth (and possibly sixth) on the actual day. Future buyers of the album (after the first week) are unlikely to get it more than the once.

^^^^ Interesting... so perhaps we may see another CD promotion single........

Just needs to be catchy !!!

The ABBAtars project is taking the piss.

They perform on visual tape but musicians play 9× a week.

Well, Abbatars might not get tired as Bjorn says but the real musicians will play.

Let's call them out on this.
Subcontracting their work to musicians whon will actually perform.

Very little info on this. Yet they are asking people to pay lots for this exploitative farce.

Disagree if your "moral" values tell you to.

In the UK..

DSMD , is down to 47 and 3 weeks on the charts
ISHFIY, is now out of the top 100, after 2 weeks, However it is number 5 on the Single Vinyl charts, Last week number 1....

Gold is back in the top 10 at 7 .....

Bottom Line:
They are not appearing

Other musicians doing hard work

Public not being told much about this. Haven't PUBLIC the RIGHT TO KNOW? Not sure if this is breach of consumer law.

Oh, and "standard pay" inadequate if ABBA and organisers make millions

There are fans, yes.
And there are sychphants.

Johnny , I  would think that the musicians are very glad to be doing a job they love, the last 18 months have been pretty dire for the 'live' entertainment industry. They all auditioned for the show knowing it was with avatars technology. Would you really rather they be unemployed? From reports I've read, they've had a great time in rehearsals.  Maybe you should read Little Boots interview?

One thing I’m not clear on from the interview with Victoria Hesketh/Little Boots is why she’s playing the piano in the ABBA shows. It states, “Hesketh faced the daunting task of learning Benny Andersson's baroque piano lines”. However, the digital Benny is there to play the pre-recorded piano parts himself. Why is she needed to do that? Is it because the recordings are multi-layered and they want to create as much of that on stage as possible?

She also implies that both Chiquitita and Voulez-Vous are included in the show. No real surprises there but that’s five of 22 songs that are apparently definite.



This TicketMaster link, along with everything else we’ve read so far, states that the ABBATars represent re-imagined versions of 1979 ABBA. If that’s the case, why are the images we’ve seen so far appear to be 1977 ABBA? Are the people behind this not clued up on how ABBA looked and when? Didn’t bother me at first but has started to irritate me now.

The video for I Still Have Faith In You even has the real ABBA preparing to go on stage in 1979, only for the ‘Tars to come out looking like 1977. If hairstyles are changeable, why couldn’t they match them up? The only other clip we’ve seen so far is the one where Agnetha is in the green costume and Frida in red, but again hairstyles still look like 1977. Why do they keep on with the 1979 nonsense?

I hope to experience the concert in the future. I will then be able to comment on whether I think it was a good or bad experience. I love Abba and I would to have experienced them live in their heyday. Illusion or not I am willing to give it a go. Could be big with hen parties too. I was uncertain about the musical Mamma Mia before seeing it for the first time in 2002. Was won over immediately. And it introduced Abba to new generations. Hopefully Voyage will do the same. As for the charts. Streaming has completely devalued the singles charts. Not sure how the majority of artists will survive in the future when £10 means you can listen to as much as you like as opposed to one cd from one artist. Was a better measure of popularity as you knew how many people actually bought the single as opposed to now. To tighten up the charts and bring value back to them it would need to be one stream from one account. Not multiple listens by the same account. I started off liking Bad Habits now I find it irritating because its constantly played. I very much doubt if it would have been number one for as long had it not been for streaming and having to rely on physical sales.

Not sure how I'm insulting people's intelligence, but okay... *shrug*

We only know as much about the show as we've been told through the publicity and the interviews. It's not a standard concert, but something quite new. It does involve live musicianship, which I imagine will lend at least some kind of feel of spontaneity. I imagine the musicians will be playing to a click-track that includes the lead vocals and maybe some original instrumentation, so that everyone is in time. Rehearsals will have made them comfortable with the format. An impact of the show will be the visual experience - it looks like a massive light show along with the digital ABBAtars. My guess is that it will be their voices - from whatever era - and maybe some of the studio vocals will be double tracked, who knows? There may be some of their original instrumental lines. Little Boots and the other musicians will be playing what might have been album overdubs or essential countermelodies that one musician couldn't play alone. They'll be providing live BVs to add to the live feel and make it sound less like someone just playing the ABBA Gold CD over the tannoy. This is all my own conjecture and it could be entirely wrong.

If anyone is doubtful about what's on offer, the best thing would be to wait for reviews and fan feedback before buying tickets. Or if the whole thing offends your sensibilities, skip it altogether. People will vote with their wallets, ultimately.

I was interested that the piece in the fanclub magazine says that the show will include tracks not familiar to the general public. This is a treat for fans, I think. I suspect that a fair number of additional songs are rehearsed and prepared to that the show can be changed up a bit from time to time. It could be a bit like a normal tour in that respect: gauge the audience reaction to certain numbers and replace them or change the running order if the momentum is affected.

I'm intrigued by the technology involved to create this avatar show, but it's really the new music that mostly interests me. But in many ways, my tastes in music have changed quite a bit since ABBA's heyday: I still enjoy listening to a number of ABBA tracks, but I hope the Voyage album will explore a broader spectrum of popular music than people in their 70s kind of attempting, say, another Arrival album.

I assume a number of ABBA fans do, indeed, want to hear new songs that say, in effect: "We're back - and just as before!" And many comments about Don't Shut Me Down - which I also like - have been along those lines. If that also aligns with the current musical sensibilities of the ABBA members, that's fine. But, if not (or not entirely), then I hope that this likely final album from them will, to some extent, reflect that.

We knew that the album is fairly short, but two tracks at under three minutes? I never thought I Still Have Faith In You was especially long, it seemed just right to me, but it’s over a minute longer than the next longest track!

Don’t Shut Me Down feels too short - there are plenty of longer mixes on YouTube that people have done. Hopefully they’ll do the same for the other tracks.

Albums perhaps did seem a bit long at one point, as they were designed to give CD buyers value-for-money, but now we’re back to vinyl they’re perhaps going too far the other way again.

   I've heard 'rumours', that 'Voyage' has a 'Hidden Track', as a surprise for Fans.
   That the real length of 'Voyage' is just over 40 Minutes. I've no idea if it's true.

Kylie’s Light Years CD had a hidden track, but it was before track 1, which meant when you played first track, you had to rewind, to get to hidden track, rather ingenious. Oddly enough the track was called Password. And the album turned 21 years old on the 25th September.