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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2023 22:37:16 GMT
…I have to point out one thing about One Man, One Woman. If you consider what was going on between Björn and Agnetha at the time, the lyrics are probably the most personal and poignant in the entire ABBA catalogue. The video for that song really highlights that. It’s partly the lighting perhaps, but you can really see it across Björn’s and Agnetha’s faces. The Winner Takes It All was over 18 months after they’d separated, whereas with this one they were in the thick of it. Assuming they had some problems during much of their marriage, it must have been throughout 1978 where it really escalated. It was rare for it to show, but in this video I think it did. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2023 16:20:51 GMT
The Beatles’ single has been released in multiple formats which must have helped? I think I read 7” black, 7” blue, 7” blue/white marbled, 10”, 12” and CD.
Don’t Shut Me Down only got a CD, with I Still Have Faith In You an additional 7”. More variants may have helped them? (There were, I think, about 23 different variants of the Voyage album with eventually ten on vinyl alone). I’d have definitely bought other variants of the first two singles had there been any.
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2023 16:15:23 GMT
It's not odd...it's a remix. That wasn’t what I meant. If you read my post, you’ll have seen that I said “it’s odd to try and make a Christmas song out of one that isn’t”. The fact it’s a remix is completely irrelevant. Even you said you were underwhelmed (which was a bit of a surprise!) |
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2023 13:51:51 GMT
It is an odd thing to do, to try and make a Christmas record out of one that isn’t (especially one that was originally released in May so never had any association with the festive period).
I wonder if Jörgen had a Christmas song written for her but she wouldn’t do it, so he’s done this instead?
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Post by Alan on Nov 10, 2023 7:18:35 GMT
And here it is:
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Post by Alan on Nov 8, 2023 19:02:56 GMT
Crikey. No-one's posted about ISIITM for seven years. Not even to slate it! So just taking this opportunity to reiterate that I rather enjoy it, in its maudlin, hangdog kind of way. And those backing vocals... This boy cries, indeed. Indeed, I like it too. As with Two For The Price of One, Agnetha and Frida steal it. I like songs like that where they aren’t centre-stage, but provide the highlight of the recording. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 5, 2023 19:54:53 GMT
Interesting, johnny. I would have assumed that the Thursday release might have scuppered the chances of a number one hit but clearly not. Kate Bush set some records last year when Running Up That Hill finally reached number one, but The Beatles would far surpass that. Free As A Bird, in the era of physical-only sales, “only” made number 2, and Real Love number 4. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 5, 2023 19:50:03 GMT
Remember, remember.the 5th of November. Voyage is 2 old today. Back in the day, ABBA would have had a follow up.and nearing completion of another LP. There’s still the hope that we might at least get the two Voyage outtakes/previously incomplete tracks next year, though until there’s an official announcement (unlikely to be until April at the earliest) I’m not putting money on it. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 5, 2023 17:45:27 GMT
Note to Alan:Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought this thread was intended to be for ad-hoc or off-the-cuff, non-musical, random thoughts/comments. At least I wonder if that was The Rubber Ball Man's idea for this thread? Recently the thread has specific music-related topics that perhaps could be more suitably posted elsewhere on the forum? Just a suggestion. What do you think? Maybe, because so few of us post, it doesn't matter much! Valid point. I wasn’t sure how to split it as even The Beatles posts often mention other things. Apologies for the slightly clumsy title I’ve given it, but tried to allow for everything that’s been mentioned since the first Beatles post. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 3, 2023 23:56:00 GMT
The video is quite scary in my opinion, but in the age of AI, probably what we’re going to have to get used to more and more in the years to come.
You get the four of them in the 60s, the three of them circa 1995, the two of them now but mixed with the two dead ones as they were in the 60s, with the living two also getting that treatment in places. Is the 60s footage real or deep fake/AI-generated?
As I say, scary. I heard a bit of Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 today where he played a piece of what sounded like his voice, but fake and AI-generated. It sounded exactly like him.
In years to come, we’re not going to know what’s real and what isn’t.
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Post by Alan on Nov 3, 2023 20:50:43 GMT
Again, I don’t really want to sway the topic to ABBA, but…
The Rolling Stones in 2023 have three original members and five former members, three of whom are deceased.
The Beatles do have all four of them on this “new” record, but John Lennon only by a 1978 cassette recording and George Harrison via some mid-1990s input.
All four of ABBA’s official members recorded new input for Voyage. 39 years after their last completely new recordings were released and 40 years after their last album. And with a 35-year break in any recording activity.
Surely there has to be some sort of record there? All of a band/group’s official members rather than just some of them, and none of them only by archive contributions to something that was not originally intended as a group project?
Like most acts, “ABBA” wasn’t just the four of them. The likes of Michael Tretow, Ola Brunkert and Rutger Gunnarsson were not official members but made arguably equal contributions to the earlier ABBA recordings as the main four, but due to death or illness did not contribute to Voyage. With solo acts it’s even worse. Even the likes of Prince or Kate Bush, who had a lot of control, were not truly solo acts. It’s therefore very difficult to define but, in terms of acts with more than one official member, surely ABBA must have some sort of record? Does anyone know?
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Post by Alan on Nov 3, 2023 18:52:33 GMT
Again, it’s released on a Thursday not a Friday, as with the first two Voyage singles and Agnetha’s single. Why do they do that? Surely much of the physical sales are going to be made by pre-orders on the Thursday. Is it that they think there will be more publicity on a Thursday and less interest on a Friday because it’s the start of the weekend? That overall sales/streams might be higher so it’s worth sacrificing a slightly higher chart position?
Is it really 18 years since the last Rolling Stones album? I thought they were quite prolific. Then again, 18 years is 2005, which doesn’t seem quite so long ago. How many of them are left now, two or three?
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Post by Alan on Nov 3, 2023 15:08:59 GMT
Sometimes I raise my eyebrows at some ABBA releases, but thankfully they’ve come no where near to what Kate Bush is doing. Take a look at this. It’s real, it’s not 1 April. music.katebush.com/buy/hounds-of-love-lost-at-sea/To recap, one version of the whole vinyl album in an entirely new cover for £138, or half the album in even more lavish packaging for £285. Or both halves of the album in a bundle for £500. Bonkers. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK last night had its annual Snatch Game. Kate Butch (his dragname) did Kate Bush, reinvented as this gruff cockney but still looking the part. Worth a look. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 3, 2023 15:02:00 GMT
Not wanting to turn this topic to ABBA, but johnny’s and HOMETIME’s posts do make interesting comparisons. Not sure I noticed much over-the-top praise of Voyage (certainly not on here anyway) but the recent A+ is a different story. The whole “either love it or don’t say a word” brigade used some gutter tactics to stifle anyone who dared. And just yesterday, there was a particularly nasty attack on a forum member because of it. If it applies to The Beatles fans as well then at least it’s not exclusive to ABBA or Agnetha fans I suppose… |
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Post by Alan on Nov 3, 2023 14:41:08 GMT
I quite like how they’ve extracted Lennon’s voice from a cassette recording, but yes, it’s not really The Beatles in that it was a late 1970s John Lennon demo. Just like Free As A Bird and Real Love. The marketing is good - to brand a release as “the last Beatles song ever” when it comes 53 years after they split and 43 years after one of them died is quite something.
Apparently there was a fourth song on the cassettes that Yoko Ono handed them in the early 1990s (“Grow Old With Me”), but as they never attempted to record it back then (and George Harrison has since died) there’s no possibility of the “final, final Beatles song ever”.
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Post by Alan on Nov 2, 2023 22:51:19 GMT
Was that really necessary, joseph? Colin doesn’t post much anymore, and he always has been more interested in charts than anything else. I thought we’d all accepted that. I don’t think there was anything that controversial in what he said. It’s not as if others (including myself) haven’t said similar. Your post made me cringe, to be frank, and I almost considered deleting it as I’m aware that Colin is quite sensitive and would be upset to see that. Such an attack was uncalled for. |
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Post by Alan on Nov 2, 2023 16:28:20 GMT
It’s getting near that time of year again, so there is another Happy New Year 7”. It’s reminiscent of the 2019 Voulez-Vous boxed set issues with a blue splatter (the cover even more so). It appears to have another alternate photo on the label (I think all of them so far have done).  |
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Post by Alan on Oct 27, 2023 9:44:25 GMT
All 6 six songs from the 1982 sessions would have made it on to a 1983 album anyway No, they most definitely would not. Three of the songs were released in 1982 specifically for singles and the compilation. As with Fernando, Summer Night City and Gimme Gimme Gimme they would have remained non-album singles. When they took that “break” it was for Benny and Björn to work on a musical and Agnetha and Frida to work on solo projects. No 1983 album was planned. They didn’t announce a split but that’s really what happened. The two unreleased 1982 tracks would have remained that (and one remains unreleased in full to this day). I do get that fans want to believe their own version of ABBA but it’s largely in the realms of fantasy. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 27, 2023 9:38:06 GMT
Welcome back, Barry! @thisboycries
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Post by Alan on Oct 26, 2023 20:33:41 GMT
Scotland's chart is Sales only. It doesn't include Streaming. On the UK wide Sales chart, which is physical and download A+ was 13 and A #14. Thanks for clarifying that, johnny, as I didn’t know that (and I think that, like the main UK chart, most people would assume it includes streaming). The sad thing is that the likes of Henry might have assumed it was legitimate - that a) the Scotland chart was entirely separate from the UK chart and that b) it would naturally include streaming figures. Neither is the case. It’s not really a chart in its own right (or certainly not one to be taken too seriously). Also interesting about a Wales chart, I had no idea such a thing existed! |
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Post by Alan on Oct 26, 2023 20:04:30 GMT
I always thought that was a very odd inclusion on the 1997 reissue of Super Trouper. I think it might have been because Gimme Gimme Gimme was recorded after the Voulez-Vous album was released, so could never have appeared on it (unlike Fernando and Summer Night City, which were released before their associated albums). As the same applied to The Day Before You Came and Under Attack, it made more sense to move Gimme Gimme Gimme to Voulez-Vous, the logic being that it was the closest studio album, not necessarily the next one. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 26, 2023 19:31:57 GMT
WAISAD should definitely have been included as TDBYC & UA don't quite fit into The Visitors recording sessions. They were recorded a year later almost. I still don’t understand why this is a problem. What else would you do with them? Since 1997, all five non-album singles have been attached to studio albums as bonus tracks. Contrary to Adam’s mistaken belief (sorry, AdamDawson2003, but PLEASE grasp this), three of the 1982 tracks were NOT recorded for a possible ninth album. Only You Owe Me One was, and would almost certainly have only ever been a b-side. It’s highly unlikely that that the other two songs recorded for ABBA IX (I Am The City and Just Like That) would ever have made it considering they were considered not good enough for release in 1982. Gimme Gimme Gimme was actually added to Super Trouper for the 1997 remasters. It was only moved to Voulez-Vous for the 2001 issues. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 26, 2023 14:43:36 GMT
A nice unseen outtake from the Waterloo photo session would top the set off very nicely. There should be some - as with The Visitors, the Waterloo album used an alternate take for the 2001 (and later deluxe) CD issues. It’s not much of an alternate though as probably taken a split second apart from the original album cover shot. There are differences if you look closely though. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 25, 2023 18:42:14 GMT
A lot of tracks were released as singles from this particular album. The singles box set could have had five or six singles included, and that is without TDBYC & UA. I have three singles from El Salvador - One Of Us, Head Over Heels & When All Is Said And Done. If you add on Slipping... And Soldiers. Almost all of ABBA’s albums had other tracks released as singles in obscure countries. Somewhere in the world, all of the following English language tracks were released as commercial single A-sides between 1973 and 1983, but not by Polar: Another Town, Another Train Rock ‘n’ Roll Band Nina, Pretty Ballerina Ring Ring (1974 remix and US remix) Hasta Mañana I’ve Been Waiting For You Bang-A-Boomerang Rock Me That’s Me Thank You For The Music As Good As New Lay All Your Love On Me On and On and On Happy New Year Andante Andante The Visitors When All Is Said and Done Slipping Through My Fingers is not included in the above as it was a promotional single and not a full commercial release. Not sure where you’d get “five or six” from. The Visitors had Head Over Heels as a b-side, and even used the same cover photo as Head Over Heels, so would be little more than a duplicate. Slipping Through My Fingers doesn’t count as it was only a promo. Soldiers wasn’t a single anywhere. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 25, 2023 18:18:01 GMT
top 10 austria and scotland It seems odd that it should chart at number 9 in Scotland, as sales there are incorporated into the main UK chart. It’s possible they aren’t classing A and A+ as two separate albums, but it’s still nine places higher than it would have been in the UK chart. Guessing she’s more popular there (well, Scotland is that bit nearer to Sweden I suppose!) It would be interesting to know how England, Wales and Northern Ireland would differ if they had separate charts, but they don’t. All four nations are included in the UK chart. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 25, 2023 18:12:48 GMT
With four months to go before the Waterloo singles box set is announced. Can anybody in here work out what singles they can use. I can only think of Waterloo & Ring Ring? The third single would be the Swedish versions of Waterloo and Honey Honey, as this was released as a single by Polar in Sweden. Ring Ring would not be included as that was a UK-only single featuring the remix. The set should be: Waterloo/Watch Out Waterloo/Honey Honey (Swedish versions) Honey Honey/King Kong Song |
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Post by Alan on Oct 22, 2023 18:50:02 GMT
Hi adrianstirrup and welcome to the forum. Please feel free to post - I know forums generally have the reputation of having a “clique” and that everyone somehow knows each other personally but that honestly is not the case here (and that goes to any new member or “lurker”). None of us have ever met and know little about each other, other than from what they post on here. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 22, 2023 18:31:11 GMT
However, the Japanese atrocity does it absolutely no favours. I did, to my utter embarrassment, purchase the 7" Japanese Coca-Cola single many years ago (sight unseen) and upon first glimpsing the front sleeve, was so appalled, I never looked it at again. The alteration to the band's faces is beyond absurd, particularly Bjorn, who simply looks demented. I also never understood the 'faux-perm' enhancement to Frida's obviously straight hair in the original photo. Disturbing. I’m glad you said that as I had half an eye on one on eBay. I’m guessing it’s something better seen online and not owned? There’s that classic scene in Addams Family Values where, after listing a series of atrocities that Debbie has done, Morticia Addams adds, “All of that I can forgive, but Debbie, pastels?” And here it’s “but ABBA, Coca-Cola?” (even if it was probably Stig that brokered this deal without ABBA’s knowledge). And the real problem with this is that younger fans like Adam (sorry AdamDawson2003, not that I think you’ll take any notice) think it’s a “proper” ABBA single when it really wasn’t. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 22, 2023 17:45:58 GMT
The news has reached Super Deluxe Edition. superdeluxeedition.com/news/abba-the-visitors-40th-anniversary-reissue/I do find the suggestion that The Day Before You Came and Under Attack somehow shouldn’t be part of these issues a bit bizarre. Where else are they supposed to go? It’s no different from Fernando being included in Arrival and Summer Night City / Gimme Gimme Gimme being included with Voulez-Vous. It’s the nearest album to them, and have been associated with it since the first remasters in 1997. The Singles is a long-dead compilation and was adequately replaced by either the 1994 4-CD set or The Definitive/Essential Collection. |
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Post by Alan on Oct 20, 2023 20:37:36 GMT
If you go into the album in its number 48 placing, you get the full chart history of A going back to 2013 (including a couple of re-entries in 2014 and one in 2015 - the original album being sold off cheap?) but clearly showing two entries for this week. It’s absurd. On the one hand they’re treating it as two separate albums and on the other, the same album. Absolutely barking mad.  |
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