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Post by johnny on Jun 11, 2024 7:33:20 GMT
Let's face it, it's not very good. My Mama Said is by far the best track. Great bassline and funky jazz feel.
The title track and Honey Honey are fun songs and I rather like Gonna Sing You My Love Song.
The rest are pretty awful. Two stars overall.⭐️⭐️
Rankings.
1. My Mama Said
2. Waterloo
3. Honey Honey.
4. Gonna Sing You My Love Song
5. Hasta Manana
6. Dance While the Music Still Goes On
7.Watch Out.
8. Suzy Hang a Round
9. King Kong Song
10. What About Livingstone
11. Sitting in the Palmtree
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Post by HOMETIME on Jun 11, 2024 9:51:44 GMT
Time has made me a little kinder to this album, but I rarely ever play it. I think I've only given it a full, uninterrupted run through once in recent years. My main beef with the album is the lyrics. Some decent tunes hampered by terrible lyrics. The arrangements are a bit naive and undercooked in places too.
My ranking:
1. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong - like a sister to Dusty Springfield's "Breakfast In Bed." Warm, sensuous, classy. Maybe more suited to a Frida album?
2. My Mama Said - this would be a little epic with better lyrics.
3. Waterloo
4. Honey, Honey
5. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On). The song is 90% chorus. But what a chorus.
6. Hasta Manana. Catchy. Sounds like something from an Agnetha album, to my ears. Between this and GSYMLS, I think B&B might have been assigning vocals on the basis of what albums by their better halves contained.
7. Suzy Hang Around - great tune, lovely arrangement, awful lyrics. I think this deserved better.
8. Watch Out. The girls are fantastic on this.
9. What About Livingstone - if the lyrics were much better and if the production had leaned a little harder into a Motown direction, this could have been a peach.
10. Sitting In The Palm Tree - awful lyrics letting down a reasonable tune. The girls' section is the best part.
11. King Kong Song. Something tells me that this was a cynical stab at grabbing the kind novelty hit that seemed to be easy to achieve in the early-to-mid 70s.
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Post by jchanabbafan on Jun 11, 2024 12:16:56 GMT
I got the 'Waterloo' album in mid 1975 and at the time I remember preferring the 'Ring Ring' album (and the Aussie cover design) but it was great to have so many of their albums to play !
It always bugged me that they didn't choose a rear cover shot without a blurry Frida in it - there must be others.
Waterloo Album - I'll say 2.5 stars
1. Waterloo - classic and still sounds fresh
2. What About Livingstone - quirky, mature subject matter, great vocals
3. Honey, Honey - gets you right from the start
4. Dance (While the Music Still Goes On) - joyous
5. Gonna Sing You My Love Song - another mature subject, great vocals
6. Hasta Manana - ok, but things get a little more ordinary from here on
7. Watch Out - well it was the glam period I suppose
8. Suzy-Hang-Around - another sensitive subject
9. My Mama Said - funky, not a fave
10. King Kong Song - ok, a bit raucous
11. Sitting in the Palmtree - bit of a snooze
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Post by gary on Jun 11, 2024 13:49:15 GMT
I have a soft spot for the early albums, but the songs certainly are a mixed bunch. There is nothing truly great here, not even Waterloo, which is a classic but hardly very original. The top spot goes to my favourite of the pre-greatness songs (that is, pre-SOS songs).
1. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)
2. Honey, Honey
3. Waterloo
4. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong
5. What About Livingstone
6. Suzy-Hang-Around
7. King Kong Song
8. Hasta Manana
9. Watch Out
10. My Mama Said
11. Sitting In The Palmtree
Two and a half stars. But I’ve realised my star ratings are a bit up the spout. I gave The Visitors three and a half, and there is a greater difference in quality than that.
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Post by johnny on Jun 11, 2024 14:08:45 GMT
^Maybe you're judging by "favourite" not "best". Technically you might find The Visitors to be really professional, thoughtful, serious etc but not quite your cup of tea.
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Post by eddie on Jun 11, 2024 17:40:38 GMT
" Waterloo " has a couple of fine songs on it. Notably " Gonna Sing You My Lovesong ", " Dance ( While The Music Still Goes On ) ", " Honey Honey ", " Waterloo" and " Hasta Manana ".
My ranking,
11. " King Kong Song " Never listen to this one. Awful !
10. " Watch Out " Another that seems to fall into " the abyss " of unlistenable.
9. " Sittin' In The Palmtree " Very bland and unexciting.
8. " Suzy Hang Around " Uninspiring.
7. " What About Livingstone " The vocals from both ladies are enchanting. However the chorus a little on the " throwaway " side.
6. " My Mama Said " Funky and quite soulful.
5. " Waterloo " Catchy and instantly recognisable.
4. " Hasta Manana " Melodic and wistful.
3. " Honey Honey " Infectious pop.
2. " Gonna Sing You My Lovesong " A dreamy ballad with a delightful lead from Frida.
1. " Dance ( While The Music Still Goes On ) " A great song with such a towering chorus.
I think ABBA were trying to experiment with this album and were learning in the process.
" Waterloo " receives three stars from me.
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Post by bjorenny on Jun 11, 2024 18:13:41 GMT
At the risk of Björn-bashing, Dance (while the music still goes on) would have been amazing with a full female lead, instead of the small Agnetha bits. It is one of my favourite songs with a Björn lead, on the strength of the melody and the multiple key changes.
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Post by gary on Jun 11, 2024 19:31:55 GMT
^Maybe you're judging by "favourite" not "best". Technically you might find The Visitors to be really professional, thoughtful, serious etc but not quite your cup of tea. There’s some truth in that. I think it’s not quite as good as the previous four albums, and I’m surprised it is so many people’s favourite. That said, I still like it a lot. |
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Post by rickyrocknroller on Aug 28, 2024 18:35:57 GMT
"Waterloo" is the album I'd probably rank the lowest. Still, I do quite like it whenever I check back on it. It explores various styles of the time, making some songs sound very un-ABBA-ish, though not necessarily bad. What I find intriguing about it is that it was recorded in a very short period of time, with no outtakes or additional B-sides deriving from the sessions. With even the "Waterloo" Swedish Version and English Alternate Mix, it feels almost a bit like a protocol of recording sessions, which is kind of a unique feature in ABBA albums. So overall, I'm giving it a 3/5. Here's my ranking:
1. Honey, Honey - excellent young and sunny ABBA pop, maybe even better in the bittersweet Swedish version
2. Waterloo - always fresh and engaging
3. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) - great warmth and sway
4. Hasta Manana - really nice ballad with a vintage feel. Gets fully elevated on the later Spanish recording with real strings
5. Sitting In The Palmtree - really like it, nice Carribean feel, the breezy bridge is the best part
6. Suzy-Hang-Around - sounds like a sunset, not sure about the lyrics though
7. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong - got great Frida moments but I feel the composition isn't fully rounded
8. King Kong Song - a bit silly, but quite fun
9. What About Livingstone - it's not bad, but doesn't do much for me
10. My Mama Said - again, not bad, but it doesn't get me
11. Watch Out - sorry, no. Did serve its purpose not to take attention away from the A-side though.
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Post by Alan on Oct 31, 2024 16:25:46 GMT
Aside from Ring Ring, ABBA could have entered Hasta Mañana into Eurovision 1974. It was seriously considered as it was believed to be more standard Eurovision fare for the time. However, as an Agnetha lead it wasn’t representative of the group as a whole, so Waterloo won out.
But yes, Ring Ring or Hasta Mañana wouldn’t have won, and even if they had, wouldn’t have been big worldwide hits. They would have sank without trace outside Sweden.
It must be the reason Hasta Mañana is on the new compilation. It wasn’t a big enough hit anywhere important.
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Post by johnny on Oct 31, 2024 16:58:45 GMT
I agree with you until the last paragraph/sentence.
Are you saying Hasta Manana was included on "50" is because it was considered a Eurovision entry? It wasn't even a hit in the Nordic nations that Polar/Universal base their compilations on.
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Post by Alan on Oct 31, 2024 17:24:16 GMT
Are you saying Hasta Manana was included on "50" is because it was considered a Eurovision entry? It wasn't even a hit in the Nordic nations that Polar/Universal base their compilations on. It wasn’t a Polar single, and only a top 10 hit in New Zealand and South Africa (not important/big enough markets) and it was on neither Definitive nor Essential, so yes, the only thing I can think of is the Eurovision connection. |
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Post by johnny on Oct 31, 2024 17:40:18 GMT
Chart positions in South Africa are irrelevant. South Africa at that time was under Apartheid (White Minority Rule)
The Springbok radio station (listened to mainly whites) chart which is referred to as "South Atfrican" charts is clearly not the whole story.
Well-known (amongst) ABBA fans, "chart list" and "biographer" routinely refer to South African and Zimbabwe charts (then Rhodesia) as National charts.
I call these people, we know who they are, as RACIST
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Post by Alan on Nov 1, 2024 9:55:12 GMT
Intrigued who you’re referring to, johnny but yes, completely agree about the South African charts at the time. I only mentioned it because Wikipedia did. I know i took the discussion off-topic, so I’ve moved some posts from the Ring Ring thread to this one. |
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