Post by HOMETIME on Dec 29, 2021 12:55:29 GMT
The three songs that were down the list for me - Little Things, Keep An Eye On Dan and Bumblebee - have all grown on me to varying degrees. I still have issues with them but I don' t want to skip any of them now. Although Little Things might end up being skipped when Christmas has fully passed. There's a difference between "suitable single" and "not suited to the singles market" with tracks on every album - a judgement that might even be objective. But "filler" is a different ballgame. To me, a filler track is something that the group wearily approved as a deadline was approaching. Something that came with someone sighing, "oh it'll do." I don't honestly see that having happened with Voyage. Remember, Bjorn was less than keen on Angeleyes, and Benny didn't particularly rate One Of Us either. The misalignment between fans' and artists' opinions can often be huge.
As much as the flutes bother me on Bumblebee, I honestly think they're all 100% behind that song. And, melodically, it's a sneaky little thing. It's guaranteed to get stuck in my head for the entire day after I've heard it. Strip those pesky flutes away, and you're left with something quite lovely (IMO). The vocal performance is delicious. The lyrics have been approached with care and the music sounds like it has ambition, that it comes from the same bloodline as ISHFIY and OTF. I don't imagine it as a single, but I think it's a more-than-respectable ambassador for the album.
Same with Little Things. Blighted by flutes to a lesser degree, the melody and piano arrangement have a frosty beauty. I really would like to have heard what Bjorn might've written if Christmas hadn't popped into his head first. Musically, it feels like a piece that might have made the cut for The Visitors - or even Chess or Kristina.
Keep An Eye On Dan had more work to do in capturing my affections. It's still my least favourite but I like it a lot more than I did. Agnetha does a really nice job on lead: the crackles around the edge of her voice really give the delivery some humanity. For me, the chorus is the weak spot. Lyrically, I find it clumsy and unfinished. For a man who has developed a tendency to over-writing the details in his lyrics, Bjorn really kept it basic here. It feels like a working lyric rather than a finished thought. The women's delivery sounds a bit shouty too. I think it's more unison than harmony here and, if they had flipped that, they might have gotten some of the magic ABBAness that makes DSMD such a gem. And that synth solo has the same nasal quality as the solo in Under Attack. For me, it's too thin to be effective - although it certainly has atmosphere.
Sorry - I started off trying to add a little positivity to the discourse and turned into a complete Negative Nelly with my commentary on Dan. I know it's a favourite for many, and I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. If you love it, you love it and more power to you. But for those who find it hard to understand why someone might not share their opinion, I hope that the explanation might make sense of my feelings.
Taking everyone's views about the album into account, I wonder whether - despite everything - we might somehow have difficulty distinguishing between '1981 ABBA' and '2021 ABBA'? Given their ages, life experiences, shared history and hard-earned contentment, I imagine that the shape of their creativity must have evolved and changed quite a bit. When you think how much our own tastes and interests have evolved over the same period (well, those of the same vintage as me!), it seems unfair to expect a group of 70somethings to do more than please themselves. The fact that we (mostly seem to) like the album is gravy. This could just as easily have been 10 unambitious Thank You For The Music retreads.
As much as the flutes bother me on Bumblebee, I honestly think they're all 100% behind that song. And, melodically, it's a sneaky little thing. It's guaranteed to get stuck in my head for the entire day after I've heard it. Strip those pesky flutes away, and you're left with something quite lovely (IMO). The vocal performance is delicious. The lyrics have been approached with care and the music sounds like it has ambition, that it comes from the same bloodline as ISHFIY and OTF. I don't imagine it as a single, but I think it's a more-than-respectable ambassador for the album.
Same with Little Things. Blighted by flutes to a lesser degree, the melody and piano arrangement have a frosty beauty. I really would like to have heard what Bjorn might've written if Christmas hadn't popped into his head first. Musically, it feels like a piece that might have made the cut for The Visitors - or even Chess or Kristina.
Keep An Eye On Dan had more work to do in capturing my affections. It's still my least favourite but I like it a lot more than I did. Agnetha does a really nice job on lead: the crackles around the edge of her voice really give the delivery some humanity. For me, the chorus is the weak spot. Lyrically, I find it clumsy and unfinished. For a man who has developed a tendency to over-writing the details in his lyrics, Bjorn really kept it basic here. It feels like a working lyric rather than a finished thought. The women's delivery sounds a bit shouty too. I think it's more unison than harmony here and, if they had flipped that, they might have gotten some of the magic ABBAness that makes DSMD such a gem. And that synth solo has the same nasal quality as the solo in Under Attack. For me, it's too thin to be effective - although it certainly has atmosphere.
Sorry - I started off trying to add a little positivity to the discourse and turned into a complete Negative Nelly with my commentary on Dan. I know it's a favourite for many, and I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. If you love it, you love it and more power to you. But for those who find it hard to understand why someone might not share their opinion, I hope that the explanation might make sense of my feelings.
Taking everyone's views about the album into account, I wonder whether - despite everything - we might somehow have difficulty distinguishing between '1981 ABBA' and '2021 ABBA'? Given their ages, life experiences, shared history and hard-earned contentment, I imagine that the shape of their creativity must have evolved and changed quite a bit. When you think how much our own tastes and interests have evolved over the same period (well, those of the same vintage as me!), it seems unfair to expect a group of 70somethings to do more than please themselves. The fact that we (mostly seem to) like the album is gravy. This could just as easily have been 10 unambitious Thank You For The Music retreads.
