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Post by HOMETIME on May 1, 2024 10:36:01 GMT
This video popped up on my YouTube feed this morning. Someone has extracted the lead vocal from When All Is Said And Done and married it to Benny's piano track from the version he recorded with Victoria Tolstoy. Slowing the vocal track slightly has made some of Frida's delivery sound a little like Bette Midler in parts. Maybe it's the slower vibrato? The bit where the harmonies come in at the end is really lovely.
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Post by jchanabbafan on May 1, 2024 13:14:16 GMT
Thanks for posting that link Hometime :-) It is really well done. (and my fave ABBA song that is done so well in Voyage)
I did something similar with Ulrika A Rosen's piano version and ABBA's vocals but this is way better. Often when piano only versions are done they are slower than the recorded songs it seems. I couldn't find it on youtube so again, thanks for posting it.
I often pounce on things on youtube as they can and do vanish fast sometimes !
Regards JChan
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Post by Michel on May 2, 2024 5:34:55 GMT
There is also a similar take on The Day Before You Came on the same channel.
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Post by jj on May 2, 2024 6:12:08 GMT
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Post by Alan on May 2, 2024 7:17:35 GMT
There is also a similar take on The Day Before You Came on the same channel. Nothing to do with the video or audio itself, I know, but I wonder why they’ve used a more recent photo of Benny? It looks really odd with 1982 photos of the others! |
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Post by jj on May 2, 2024 7:50:04 GMT
There is also a similar take on The Day Before You Came on the same channel. Nothing to do with the video or audio itself, I know, but I wonder why they’ve used a more recent photo of Benny? It looks really odd with 1982 photos of the others! Perhaps because the track from Benny's more recent "Piano" version is incorporated into this new mash-up. |
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Post by jj-guest on May 2, 2024 10:44:06 GMT
There is also a similar take on The Day Before You Came on the same channel. In this version, the sheer loneliness and isolation of the character, as portrayed by Agnetha, is a million times more apparent than it was before. Truly heartbreaking to listen to. It's nothing if not the cry of a desperate and weakened woman pleading for help. |
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Post by HOMETIME on May 2, 2024 16:52:08 GMT
Benny has the power to deliver this kind of reworking. His Piano album shows how beautiful these songs are, melodically. If he really wanted to, he could take the original vocal tracks and set them in gorgeous piano arrangements.
With Dolby Atmos versions of everything on the way, I reckon there could be more successful versions of these lovely re-imaginings. Whoever produced these, did a great job with limited resources.
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Post by bjorenny on May 2, 2024 18:28:28 GMT
How would hardcore ABBA fans feel about some tracks or even full albums being given a stripped back, 'Let it Be - Naked' reworking, or an 'ABBA with The Royal Philarmonic Orchestra' treatment so that some of the synth work that maybe does date the production on Super Trouper (even though I personally love a synth or 3) can be replaced to show their work in a different light? I'd prefer these options to a remix album - most ABBA songs are so perfectly put together that official remixes may not necessarily work (the extended version of VV goes on a bit for me).
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Post by jj on May 2, 2024 18:57:33 GMT
There is also a similar take on The Day Before You Came on the same channel. In this version, the sheer loneliness and isolation of the character, as portrayed by Agnetha, is a million times more apparent than it was before. It's nothing if not the cry of a desperate and weakened woman pleading for help. Truly heartbreaking to listen to. Imagine if this had been the song's original arrangement and how it had been on first release? It probably wouldn't have charted at all. Everyone, especially ABBA fans, would have been well confused! Fans would have hardly believed their ears and would have thought Benny and Bjorn had completely lost their minds. And yet, thanks to this new arrangement, the song's enormous psychological drama is now completely revealed. The emotional pain the woman is experiencing is palpable. The original version was sublime, the solo "Piano" version, simply gorgeous. This one, though, is astounding. Agnetha's character sounds completely broken. Inconsolable. The classical orchestral parts that rise gently when Frida starts her crying (in the chorus) are elegantly placed and perfectly restrained - not too much, just enough. I doubt there's much scope to improve on this arrangement, it's so close to being perfect, though I look forward to being proved wrong. I do hope the ABBAs hear this. |
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Post by HOMETIME on May 2, 2024 20:41:01 GMT
How would hardcore ABBA fans feel about some tracks or even full albums being given a stripped back, 'Let it Be - Naked' reworking, or an 'ABBA with The Royal Philarmonic Orchestra' treatment so that some of the synth work that maybe does date the production on Super Trouper (even though I personally love a synth or 3) can be replaced to show their work in a different light? I'd prefer these options to a remix album - most ABBA songs are so perfectly put together that official remixes may not necessarily work (the extended version of VV goes on a bit for me). I would love that. And I doubt there's been a better time to convince B&B of the wonder of such a project. They lifted original vocals for brand new band settings for Voyage, so why not take a selection of songs - particularly where they might have had some misgivings about the original mixes/arrangements - and breathe a new life into them? Back in the day, I had a fantasy where ABBA reformed for a carefully managed unplugged gig that would be released on audio and video. The moment for that kind of event has long gone - but an album where ABBA (or Benny, if we're being honest) have total control? Why not?! I don't know if the women would be interested in/willing to return to the studio to re-record old songs in new arrangements. But I think there is definite merit in using the original vocal tracks in some beautiful new orchestral or stripped piano and/or guitar settings. Some songs I'd love to see reworked in this way: TDBYC, WAISAD, LAAPTMR, TWTIA, OLS, AA, HNY, IAM, OMOW, MLML, IBWFY. |
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Post by jj-guest on May 3, 2024 4:23:10 GMT
Some songs I'd love to see reworked in this way: IAM
"I'm a Marionette"? (I won't tell you how long it took me to work out which song this acronym referred to.  Suffice to say I need to book myself in for mental acuity and cognitive function tests.)
I never considered IAM as a candidate for the stripped-back, new arrangement treatment. What would you suggest they changed about it, I wonder? I'm genuinely interested.
I like all your other song choices, and bjorenny's 'Let it Be - Naked' album idea for ABBA is almost a given, especially after Benny's "Piano" revealed how stunning the tunes are, stripped of all the synths and even certain acoustic instruments.
The cover for an ABBA-naked album is a no-brainer, too:
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Post by HOMETIME on May 3, 2024 9:23:11 GMT
Well guessed! Sorry, I really should dial down the use of acronyms.
I'm A Marionette is already just a remix away from a glorious orchestral version. That intro could be played/plucked on double bass, or by/with a combo of cello and violas. The guitar solo could be a transferred to piano - can you imagine how brilliant it could be as a rapid piano piece? The orchestral track as it is is just glorious. Plus, this would give a little necessary bite to an otherwise fairly pretty set. Actually, now that I think of it, the approach could also work for The Visitors. Those synth interludes as dramatic orchestral pieces could be amazing.
I wonder if choirs could be used for acapella bass moments?
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Post by Tiger76 on May 3, 2024 12:02:52 GMT
Thanks for posting that video of TDBYC Michel - it's heartbreakingly stunning. I'm not so fussed on the reimagined TWTIA. It's fine but nothing more IMO. I'm just not a fan of the slowed down version of WAISAD even when its sung by anyone but Pearce Brosnam. I suppose it's because I rate the original version so highly - one of my top 3 Abba songs.
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Post by Michal on May 3, 2024 15:08:11 GMT
Back in the day, I had a fantasy where ABBA reformed for a carefully managed unplugged gig that would be released on audio and video. The moment for that kind of event has long gone... I had the very same dream for a very long time. I stopped dreaming around the time the ABBA members were in their mid-60s. But I would love to see the original vocals combined with new backing tracks, either orchestral or stripped-down. |
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Suffice to say I need to book myself in for mental acuity and cognitive function tests.)