ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2022 Sept - Dec

Can someone explain to me what it is that they like about Keep An Eye On Dan? I know it is a favourite of many fans. To me, it has very dull verses, a production without any spark, and one of the most uninspired choruses of any ABBA song. It could be by anyone if it weren’t for Agnetha. Even among the overall mediocre album, it stands out (though it’s not the worst track by any means).

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Alexio. Cheers, but I can't take any credit for it. I just spotted it on the Internet, I forget where. In the original picture, you can see a little of Benny but no idea where Björn is. I'd like to see/use the whole picture but it's like looking for a needle in a hay stack.

It was a year ago today that I Still Have Faith in You and Don't Shut Me Down. There was a real buzz and sense of excitement and anticipation, wasn't there? The first new songs in 39 years.


A short report on the news too and that Youtube live stream. I remember it started 5.45 in the afternoon. The first sing not played until 6 o'clock. Those opening 15 minutes seemed an eternity.

The songs to be are easily the best songs from Voyage and are up there with ABBA's best.

The reviews of the songs were positive too.

Ugly or not (I would say yes), I wonder how high in the charts the 30th anniversary re-releases all together can push ABBA Gold. It's currently at No.12, thanks to streaming. If we add the 1992 Amazon-exclusive CDs (and I bet they will sell if only because it is a limited edition), the picture discs, cassettes and golden vinyl, the chart performance could be quite impressive. A return to No.1 maybe? Or is it too optimistic? 

 




My eyes!! Ugh. I bet that it's some kind of slipcase.

Thanks Michal. I can’t think of an example at the moment, but I sometimes find that if someone explains to me why they are so passionate about something, that enthusiasm is infectious. I guess it helps me see something in a different way, or appreciate aspects of a song/album/anything that I hadn’t considered before. Recently, I have been giving Voyage another thorough listen, in the hope that I could find something that I had missed. I would very much like to like it more.

Hometime - thanks for posting that video of a reaction to yhe show.

Keep an Eye on Dan - yes, Gambleman I think there is musical theatre influence. I think when ABBA go along this mode, The Visitors, Voyage sone of the 1982 songs it is the Frida leads that come off better. Agbetha sounds a bit "talk-sing" and pedestrian.

On Voyage KAEOD is very much like that. Agnetha is at her best when more traditional ABBA mode like Don't Shut Me Down and the "we do have it in us" parts of I Still Have Faith in You.

I'm sure you are right that DSMD is the most popular track amongst the fans because it has the magic of a traditional ABBA track. I suppose B&B may have considered a traditional ABBA album as a creatively backward step for them.

I get that theatre vibe too. In some ways, KAEOD reminds me of "Nobody's Side" from Chess and I sometimes wonder if this is among the deliberate throwback references on the album. For me, the Chess chorus is the stronger of the two. I'm not wild about the song but I think it's Agnetha's delivery that saves it. The lyrics are pure melodrama and skate very close to being OTT. Agnetha sounds like she feels the lyrics, which is what saves them. I keep banging on about the shouty chorus and it might have been a production decision to make it sound like one bitter ex barking at the other. For me, the melody is not strong enough to support that approach. Taking a more ABBAesque approach to layering the harmonies might have made it feel more tender.

With regard to the vocal approaches to various songs, I think it's fair to say that B&B directed that a lot of the time. They definitely said as much with regard to TDBYC - I think the delivery was something that Agnetha wouldn't naturally have done. I also have a hunch that in 1981/82, Bjorn and (especially) Benny might have had a harder time telling Frida what to do. On that basis, maybe her leads on The Visitors might be a bit more self-directed than on previous albums? 

Yep. I certainly wasn't clear: Nobody's Side is a peach and really should have been a hit. Its verses chime a little with the verses of No Doubt About It I think.

I hadn't connected KAEOD and "Nobody's Side" but I prefer the latter too. I couldn't believe when it wasn't a hit but "One Night In Bangkok" was. It is tempting to think that the singles market had moved on by that time but then "I Know Him So Well" was a huge hit (in the UK). The shouty nature of the KAEOD chorus is quite 'musical theatre' and I hear this in NDAI as well - you can imagine them both being performed on-stage.

I don't think it would have been much effort for Agnetha to achieve that vocal on TDBYC. She was the queen of melancholic vocals from quite early on - "SOS" for example, but even as far back as "Disillusion" it was there. I think that Agnetha was able to put more emotion and feeling into her vocals (and performances) than Frida. However, Frida had the more versatile voice and this may indeed shine through on "The Visitors" album, although there is such variation that I imagine B&B indicated to her what they wanted.

By Frida being the more versatile singer, I mean vocally in terms of range (low to high notes), power and texture. She could make her voice sound quite different on different songs, much more so than Agnetha. I got the feeling that when singing in unison, it was Frida who usually changed her voice to match Agnetha's.

However, for me Agnetha has the more attractive voice and when it came to emotion, Agnetha conveyed it much more effectively. I may get slated for this, but Frida's voice could sometimes seem deadpan in comparison, particularly on ballads, although it could work well on some songs - KMKY, for example, where a certain numbness is appropriate. I think one of Frida's best solo efforts on a quiet song is an early one, "Gonna Sing You My Lovesong", where there is a charming innocence to her voice. And her voice works so wonderfully on "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room", where a more mature sounding voice is called for.

Now at the risk of being sent to Coventry by Frida fans, I also think Agnetha made more effort on-stage. Putting their live concerts to one side, on TV shows Agnetha generally put more into her facial expressions and body actions. I first noticed this while re-watching "ABBA in Switzerland", where I felt Agnetha was more animated than Frida, making more effort to connect with the songs and the audience. It was a bit like Frida couldn't really be bothered on that occasion

Neither of them were lacking as singers - they have among the best voices in the world, as far as I'm concerned - but they have their respective strengths.

100%. Then again, I think that partisan behaviour is typical of fans of bands/groups everywhere. I see it on social media with teenage K-pop hysterics but it gets a little cringey when it's middle-aged people. 

It's a long time ago now but if my memory serves me well I'm pretty sure it was Skallgång that was playing when I went to an ABBA event in Brighton back in the early noughties? I could be mistaken. But hearing that the song is used at the beginning of Voyage triggered that memory. There were also lots of images of ABBA flashing up on a screen (I think this might be on YouTube? I also have it downloaded on my laptop sonewhere. ABBA's costume designer was there (Owe Sandstrom) and fans were having their picture taken with him but I was too shy to do the same, despite encouragement from my partner. I coukd kick myself now. I initially thought this occurred at ABBA WORLD in Earl's Court (which I also went to, a precursor to the ABBA museum) but it wasn't. It's funny how memories become entangled and confused. Makes me think of Like An Angel Passing Through My Room.

Anyway..