ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2022 May - Aug

I'm sure most (perhaps all) artists do release albums for creative rewards as well as financial rewards. This is definitely true of ABBA and I think they made this album partly due to the enjoyment that being back in the studio brought. But I dare say there was pressure from the record company and/or Voyage show people to record new material too, and the motivation for that would be financial.

I have got nothing against LT as a creative endeavour in its own right but creatively it actually spoils the album for me (as a Christmas song). It is easy to skip on digital media but not so easy to dismiss on vinyl.

I don't see the similarity with "Intermezzo No 1" and "Arrival", which are perfectly valid tracks for a studio album, although I'm not an enormous fan of the "Arrival" track. "Happy New Year" is the closest other example but I don't have a problem with it because a) it is such a great song, and b) it isn't really seasonal-sounding in its production.

I would say both. From ABBA's point-of-view, I'm sure that it was creativity and legacy that motivated them towards the Voyage show. However, I doubt that these were the motivations of the people who dreamt up and developed the project (although the originator of the idea, Simon Fuller, is no longer involved). Their motivations would be the money and the technology. In fact, the cutting-edge aspect of the project was probably a motivation for ABBA too. Yes, ABBA have more than enough money to live very happily, although B&B seemed to relish the promotion of the show and album and the accessories, such as LT knitwear - those knitting videos were the best thing to come from the release of the LT single  

I think the first two Voyage songs ISHFIY and DSMD were inspired by the idea of a return. Those songs were creatively very good. Production wise to can hear Frida on DSMD and Agnetha on ISHFIY - later tracks wouldn't be so clear - or good.


I am sure there was pressure from Universal to put out an album. Releasing those two songs would have generated a huge amount of interest but little in terms of sales or chart longevity. They needed an album for that.

Getting another 8 or more songs for an album was probably harder than writing and recording the original two. JAN was a throwback to a discarded song. LT an attempt at a Christmas song (and I agree it doesn't fit on a studio album). KAEOD even references SOS. Were ABBA running out of ideas for Voyage? The two unreleased tracka clearly not deemed good enough for the album.

It seems highly unlikely we will get another new album. What would the inspirstion be? They have left it too late forba revived career. Voyage was a one-off.

Interesting points. I've listened back to the older stuff a bit more recently and I noticed something I hadn't paid attention to before. Maybe it's just my ears, but it seems that where there is a female lead vocal, the other singer is often a bit more prominent in the chorus. I think Chiquitita, MMM, Lovers, DSMD and ISHFIY are reasonable examples. It seems to be key to the ABBA vocal sound and certainly reinforces that ABBA is a group and not just some lead vocalists jockeying for position.

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall at the point where they - Benny, principally - thought about turning two tracks into an album. I can certainly see how hearing the final mixes of ISHFIY and DSMD would have given them a rush. You could be right about Universal being pushy, johnny , but I can't imagine a situation where ABBA would be susceptible to that. Unless Universal are investors in the Voyage stage show project? That might give them enough power. Even so, a group that previously turned down $1bn doesn't sound like one who'd be hooshed into the studio by some corporate Aunt Lydia.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there were moments where they individually groaned and wondered why they had agreed to this. Recording an album is hard work at the best of times, but when you're quite a bit older and, to quote Agnetha, dealing with "our minor ailments" it must be harder still. Universal were surely aware of the album and if they pushed anything, it might have been completing the album to coincide with the launch of the live project. That could see them scrabbling around the mixing desk in August 2021, with a set they could stand over - albeit one that might have been different if they'd had the time to finish the last two songs. For instance, isn't there artwork for DSMD that lists JAN as a B-side? Imagine if release of the first two singles had been staggered and the album had come out closer to May? That sounds more like a label strategy to me.

The matter of JAN still kind of baffles me. I have a feeling that Benny had the song up on bricks for a while, with a view to recycling it for a BAO album. I still don't understand why they didn't record it from scratch. It's a group vocal for the most part, and that would allow everyone to support each other. And, to my ears, the vocal mix in the verses is a bit messy. The guys' voices undermine things a bit, IMO.

As much as I'd love another album, I don't see it happening. 2024 will be a big deal. They'll celebrate 50 years (I know, I know - that should have happened this year), Gold will be boosted no matter what, so will the Voyage show. I'm willing to bet a pound of jelly babies that there'll be a new compilation for that moment too.

I don't mind the references and throwback ideas for a live setting but I wish they'd kept them off the album. The ones I can see are SOS on KAEOD, Fernando on Bumblebee, IHAD on Little Things. There may be more that are less obvious. But I wish they had just dumped the idea after chuckling about it over coffee.

It surely isn't just your ears, Tony, because I agree. Apart from one or two exceptions I think B&B were careful a lot of the time to ensure that one of the girls didn't feel completely sidelined on a track. I'd also mention SOS: ostensibly an Agnetha lead, but the "Now you're gone..." section sounds like it's Frida double-tracked to me. And I reckon that kind of 'vocal disttibution' is characteristic of ABBA.

A few have mentioned that that they feel Frida is more vocally to the fore on the Voyage album, and that it's because the women's lower tones favour Frida. But even on recordings from the '70s, in the mid-range, I sometimes get the probably mistaken impression that it's Frida double-tracked and not Agnetha singing alongside. And similarly, higher up, Agnetha is dominant, even though, no doubt, Frida was often belting it out up there too.

Görel Hanser confirmed it in the fan club magazine apparently. The snow photo was taken in January 2019 when they were recording those two songs.

Voyage flies above Gold in this week's physical albums chart.
The Voyage concert clearly working its magic!

Translated into reality/non-delusion, Gold is number 12 in this week’s album chart, whereas Voyage hasn’t been in the top 100 since 16 June. Sorry.

There’s a lot of distortion in the physical charts too though. Voyage was released in so many different variants. The show edition vinyl is apparently available at the ABBA Arena now, so I would hazard a guess that these are being bought up to then sell on eBay. It could well be this version alone that’s helping it to do well on the physical chart. You may not like streaming, but chart manipulation is rife in the physical market.

Well if you are a Scottish Abba follower, then you maybe be interested to know that the Voyage' Album has notched up 41 weeks on their Official Sales Chart Top 100, up from 50 to 34, this week.

I think that deserves the Song Super Trouper' to be added to the Voyage' set list, for those loyal Troopers.

My take on how we got the Voyage' Album, was that all four agreed to get back together to record Abba Music, which was amazing in its self, with no pressure, and to use Voyage' Show has a pretext/motivation.
I am sure when they entered the Studio they had considered doing more songs for an album but kept it to themselves and found the creativity and Chemistry was there, so it happened. Will they record a New ABBA Album in 2024? Yes!

With some of Benny's solo instrumentals, Abba covers of songs from Chess, Kristina' and Gemini and JN!

I was referring specifically to the show version (solid orange vinyl) which has only been available since May. It sold out in the official store on the first day of sales, but later became available at the venue. eBay flippers are buying these up to then sell on at a profit. I think someone here mentioned they were limited to three per person? If that’s the case they must have stacks of them, and no where near as limited as the one day sell-out in the official store implied. It’s almost certainly this that’s mostly responsible for its “success” in the physical chart.

The fairest way for the chart to mean anything would be one stream one device...would stop all the nonsense of a few thousand fans distorting charts with listening to the same track or tracks and counting towards sales . It would return the singles chart to the way it was ...songs would have a chart life of up to 20 weeks max and no long stays at number one. The charts have became very boring. They need to shake it up.

Alan - the blue vinyl edition sold at the concert is neither here nor there for Voyage. Across the country its sales as gine from about 1000 a week to 500 a week. I doubt very many at the concert.