Waterloo 50th / BBC Documentary / Other Anniversary Events

I’ve got the ABBA topics as watched threads on there so I get alerted whenever anyone posts in them. Not seen anything about this though.

I’m not aware of any other English-language ABBA forums. If it’s one in another language that’s being referred to, there’s always the risk that something may have got lost in translation.

Which FB group was it, gassi? Is it *that* one? If so, I was blocked by it years ago so can’t see it, but I do know someone in it that would let me know if there was anything like this mentioned in there.

Edit: checked with my friend and no, this did not originate from that FB group.

It will never replace Gold. Number Ones (if anyone remembers that) didn’t last long and The Definitive/Essential Collection didn’t exactly set the charts alight. If it is a compilation, its longevity will depend on how much unreleased material is on it. Arguably More Gold only still exists after 30 years because it’s one of the very few places that I Am The City can be found (and the only widely available one - as with Dream World, the track is still quite rare).

It will probably be called ABBA 50 as both the ABBA logo and the 50th graphic have a similar look.

But with any luck, such a compilation won’t happen and we’ll get something far more interesting and substantial with that title.

Typo .. pre-orders tend to be available 8 weeks before official release date...

Sadly not so far. I wrote a personal message, if he can send me further Information. But it did not happen so far. But I will give you if he answers me!

Published in Aftonbladet Today

www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/8J2WpG/sa-firas-abba-stor-galakvall-i-svt

I’d love this option. An EP these days is not a four-track single at 33 1/3rd rpm but usually a fair few tracks, so that would mean they’ve had to come up with more than just two Voyage leftovers.

Until anything’s announced, I guess we can’t rule anything out. I do hope that after all this build-up, they don’t let us down. They didn’t in 2021 though. I’m cautiously hopeful.

Absolutely Alan. I'm certain this will be a year long campaign, so dont expect everything out by April!

All of that is true Alan BUT we may get 2 new songs. This would be comparable not to a Waterloo anniversary year but The Singles which had The Day Before You Came and Under Attack tagged on. Or indeed More Gold with I am the City. It depends how "single" those songs are.

If we do get those Voyage tracks them there *must be* some sort of album for them. I can't see standalone singles or an EP with more songs. An album it is. But what kind?

Pinched from a PopJustice post:

“I’m not sure if it’s mentioned already, but the ABBA fan club magazine seemed to confirm the members won’t be involved in anything on the April Waterloo anniversary. Not particularly surprising, I suppose, particularly given Eurovision itself being the most likely place they would mark the anniversary in some form.”

I think we kind of knew that already but, assuming it’s a new fan club magazine that’s being referred to, it re-affirms it.

By “mined to death” I meant the existing fully released recordings.

That’s why I like the idea of an EP. It would need more than two new/previously unreleased tracks, so JLT dusted down would be fine, and they’d need a few others. I’m not sure what length it would need to be to chart as an album, but I think the market that bought Voyage is the one to aim at. That market will already have Gold (or more) so might be put off by a compilation of old tracks with a few new ones added (particularly if those are available separately, such as on one-track CD singles).

Going back to ownership of the recordings… if I was in their position, I certainly wouldn’t sanction a new compilation. I’d say “Gold is still a top 10 album, a new one is not needed”. They can and should be putting tight controls over how the Voyage recordings can be used, and not letting Universal run riot!

Which made me think. If 5 tracks makes it album chart eligible, would 3 of those tracks still be eligible for the singles chart!?

An EP is all kinds of interesting. For starters, they tend to be shorter than albums. Cheaper too. It suggests that everything it contains is new (or newly redone?). It has the capacity to have a lead single - possibly even second or third singles too - that could attract the casual radio listener to explore the (slightly) larger set.

It'd probably be slightly cheaper than an album - but how much cheaper? Five or six songs across two sides of a vinyl disc offers some possibilties. Depending on the running time, it could be pressed on 10" vinyl, rather than 12". That could add a little novelty value. On 12" vinyl, it might not work out any cheaper than a standard album release, risking claims of price gouging. Unless the artwork/presentation was lavish enough to feel like a special event. 

But what about afterwards? Would we end up with a couple more singles crying out for a home on a compilation. And, if so, would it be just the singles? And, if so, would the other tracks on the EP/mini album accidentally end up as rarities? In which case, does the case for a compilation and/or anthology get even stronger?


To go off topic for a minute:




I'd argue that there was enough for a Volume 3. Both VV and IHAD were big hits omitted from Vol. 2. Adding them to the singles released in the major territories - TWTIA/ST/LAYLOM/OAOAO from  Super Trouper; OOU/WAISAD/HOH/TV from The Visitors - and the two new singles (TDBYC/UA) would create a 12-track compilation. With two of the tracks brushing close to the 6-minute mark, there'd have been no dead air on the vinyl edition. I also think it might have felt a bit more cohesive than the previous sets. Plus, being a single disc release, it might have been more likely to have a longer chart run. 


Let's round things off by getting back on topic... An EP could be aimed at those who'd refuse to fork out for any new compilation that includes too many tracks they already own? It could even be marketed as the single-disc slimmed down volume of, say, a 3-CD/6-LP set. Completists would still be exploited though.

For me, so steeped in personal nostalgia is it, the very term 'EP' brings a mild adrenalin rush! It sends me spinning back down the time tunnel to the age of EPs (obviously), maxi-singles, mini-albums and all sorts of fun. Does anyone remember 10-inch vinyl, which was a 'thing' in the late 70s/early 80s? Like the Motorhead/Girlschool 10-inch EP which included their classic cover of Please Don't Touch... Just while I remember, I still regret not buying the triangular orange vinyl version of John Cooper-Clarke's Gimmix single. I did get Kraftwerk's fluorescent vinyl 'Neon Lights' single, though. Great days! Would love to see ABBA go full-on retro with some of these weird old formats/novelties, in this of all years, just for the hell of it. Clearly not going to happen, of course.

On another topic, is LT actually improvable?    

 

I'm not sure if someone has already presented the option of a 'Voyage' deluxe edition that concentrated on the Dolby Atmos mix of the album as an option for housing the new tracks? I think this mix was only available for streaming so a physical edition, perhaps with the album outtakes and/or new songs included, would be a welcome release (at least for me). I'm imagining various associated video content would be possible as well given that it would need to be a DVD-A format.

Whilst I would love for some or all of the 'Voyage' show audio (and video) to be issued, I don't believe this will happen while it remains a going concern - i.e. not any time soon. I hope I'm wrong about this.