A+ / Where Do We Go From Here?

Breaking: new ABBA album out next year...."Departure" is ABBA's highly successful Voyage album, re-imagined with two new tracks. Available on CD, Vinyl, Cassette. Order now!

If anything, I'd like some unplugged approach, stripped down versions. Some tracks would benefit from this. But the only point probably was to find a place for the new track...

I did ask myself are we expecting to much.. but it does seem over the top marketing for a 12 year old album... that all said and let's put aside the pessimistic points of view.....

None of us really know anything ......

Trying to stay open minded.........again....

Where is that? I’ve searched a few times and all I can see is the original CD at £6.36 (I’m surprised they’ve not taken that off sale if they’re releasing a new version).

Thanks. ABBA Access is reporting that the deluxe edition is two discs. Guessing the original album on one, and re-workings plus the new track on the other. With any luck the standard one disc version will be the re-workings and new track, so that we don’t have to buy the original version again.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have done well out of pop acts in the last few years… I wonder if that might be what this is. Or Abbey Road.

There was already an orchestral version of I Was A Flower.

I can understand Brian Wilson "Reimagining Gershwin" a few years ago: his take on a great composer of classic standard songs. But what a disappointment this is if it's a 'reimagining' of A plus one new song. Talk about under-delivering! That's what I feel now, anyway. Instead, what about an album of Agnetha's favourite self-composed songs over the years reimagined/remixed, and with a new song from her included? I'd find that more intriguing.

I'm really curious about how things will have been reimagined, and to what extent. Some more organic/stripped back mixes might improve some of the tracks. New dance mixes (especially if the rumoured Kylie song is included) seem like a fairly obvious move. It's interesting that she is focusing on this one album: does "reimagining" things possibly suggest some level of dissatisfaction with the original?

As richard suggests, if this "reimagination" approach was taken to a selection of tracks from her English-language back catalogue, it could have been a very interesting career retrospective. As it is, a new website and socials and a high-profile radio interview seems OTT for the reissue of one album. Welcome, certainly, but definitely OTT.

Maybe there's more to this than we might expect from the information released so far...?

Even better... a reissue with an outtake added as a bonus. Oh my God, what they were thinking? A simple announcement would be more than enough.

I don't know... there must be more to this than it appears now. If it is the first in the series of re-imagined and expanded albums, than the promotion would make sense. If it's a one off, then I don't get it at all.

Thank you for that info Marc.

I think a few of the songs will now be duets. Not long to wait now anyway. Maybe this was Jorgen Ellofson's idea and she was happy to go along with it, plus the Voyage experience maybe gave her a bit more confidence. Frida may have recommended Zoe to her!?

I think we all jumped that gun, joseph!

I noticed that someone on Insta claimed to have heard the track this morning on German radio. Presume he was talking through his tushy? In any event, it'll be in our earholes soon enough.

That's a nice new photo of Agnetha. I imagine we might get one or two more over the course of this campaign.

I’m starting to warm to the idea. Earlier in the year, at the time of its 10th anniversary in May, I did get re-acquainted with “A”, having not heard it in years. I lost count of the number of times I listened to both that and Wrap Your Arms Around Me that month.

It will be quite nice to have new versions of those songs, plus the new one.

Perhaps she’ll follow it up with a new album after the ABBA anniversary next year… Or perhaps not.

Two examples spring to my mind of big 1960 hits - though surely known to many of us - that were reimagined by their composers: 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' by Carole King, and 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do' by Neil Sedaka. But both were re-recordings or covers of their own compositions: slower versions compared to their more uptempo original tracks. In comparison, it'll l be interesting how the songs on 'A' might have changed with this reimagining.

I ask myself how I'd feel if Benny and Björn announced they were reemagining The Visitors album, for example, with the aid of modern AI technology. I suppose it depends on how highly one regards the original tracks; so I probably wouldn't like it. But who knows? Maybe I would - provided the original tracks were retained.