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Post by Alan on Apr 10, 2023 20:28:32 GMT
On I Can Be That Woman, to me it it is sexist. I think I get where you’re coming from here. It should really be “I Can Be A Better Person”, which could apply to either of the human characters in the song. The gender is irrelevant. A bit like “I Am Just A Girl” which is saying “I think I’m ordinary” (or perhaps even less than ordinary), but the gender unnecessarily confuses things. |
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Post by Alan on Apr 10, 2023 18:51:09 GMT
Where I have mixed opinion (Amber light) 🟠 It's not that the 8 tracks should never have been released when recorded and finished but perhaps they should never have been recorded at all! I totally get the point once recorded they had to be released. I’d have felt severely short-changed if we’d only got the first two songs. I’d have been thinking “these are so good, why did they stop there?” And also that a compilation is no decent home for them. The original compilation albums the five non-album singles appeared on are all long deleted. I’m happy with eight songs that aren’t quite up to the standard of those two, and some way better than others. |
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Post by Alan on Apr 10, 2023 18:25:17 GMT
Not a good few days for guitarists. As well as Lasse Wellander, Ian Bairnson died a few days ago. He worked with many acts. Guitarist on Kate Bush’s first four albums, notably the guitar solo on Wuthering Heights. He also co-wrote two of Bucks Fizz’s early 80s hits (If You Can’t Stand The Heat and Run For Your Life).
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Post by Alan on Apr 9, 2023 9:58:24 GMT
Lots of songs do well even if they’re not that great. Madonna had waited until ABBA were cool enough and couldn’t really fail. It was her last major hurrah though. She had a couple of number ones after that, and she’d had a very good run, but the end was nigh.
After 18 months, I’m starting to see Voyage as quite an average album. I don’t listen to it very much (the last time was December, and that was the first time in more than six months). I’m never going to be able to favourably compare it to other ABBA albums as I heard all of those in my first 10 years and was much less critical then (I didn’t get much pocket money so couldn’t afford to buy much music - perhaps a reason my older brother’s music tastes were such a big influence as he was working by then). I tended to like whatever I heard in those days.
This is not to say that I wouldn’t like to hear more. Not a full album but at least those two outtakes.
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Post by Alan on Apr 8, 2023 10:03:07 GMT
Bucks Fizz are OK but I didn't like any of the songs where they sang with mock foreign accents notably " When We Were Young ", " London Town " and " Rules Of The Game ". These were the worst songs from their back catalogue. It seems they were asked to sing them like that, but no idea why. When We Were Young was a big hit. Jay Aston has said that she was adopting an affected voice, similar to Hazel O’Connor, although a review at the time remarked on her simulating Lene Lovich. Aston has since stated, despite the song's success, her vocal affectation wasn't a good idea, Bobby G said he was unhappy with the way his vocals on London Town were mixed, giving them a distorted quality, claiming that he "sounded like a munchkin". Cheryl Baker said of The Rules of the Game that she was unhappy with the affected way she was asked to sing. I like I Hear Talk (the song) a lot. Also Golden Days and Heart of Stone (I think they did a better job of it than Cher. It worked better having more than one vocalist sing the chorus). Agnetha, of course, covered their song “Love In A World Gone Mad”. Although Agnetha is by far the better singer, I prefer the arrangement of the Bucks Fizz version. Bucks Fizz’s worst singles in my opinion are Love The One You’re With (an unnecessary cover version of a song already well-covered) and Magical. A Smash Hits review of the latter had Susan Tully (of EastEnders and Grange Hill) commenting that she hoped it would do well but that it really was an awful record! |
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 23:33:10 GMT
Is it? Without the ABBA sample, would it really be anything?
Some of her albums Music and American Life I do like. Confessions On A Dancefloor has its moments (such as Jump) but anything after that she lost me completely.
Ray of Light was to Madonna what Hounds of Love was to Kate Bush. Hard to top. Kate tried and came near (Aerial) but Madonna decided to go off another way. Her last three or four albums are forgettable, cringeworthy efforts and Ray of Light is now a distant memory (25 years anyway).
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 21:11:49 GMT
The songs were age appropriate and ABBA didn"t embarass themselves by trying to sound youthful or modern. Yes, I am talking about you Madonna and Sir Elton John if you are reading this 😀 Indeed. Elton “friends with anyone that’s famous enough and will duet with whoever is in at the time” John, and Madonna who looks unrecognisable and thinks she’s down with the kids when actually she’s just embarrassing. Loved Ray of Light but severely let herself down with anything since. Voyage may have its faults but it’s true to ABBA. No unnecessary collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa or whoever is currently popular, or inserting expletives or your name into songs (“Bitch, I’m Madonna” etc). ABBA really showed them up and proved that they are well above all that. Back to Voyage. No Doubt About It is clearly a bit marmite. For me it’s part of that awkward bridge between Keep An Eye On Dan and Ode To Freedom where I start to lose interest. If it was a film at the cinema I’d be wondering off to the toilets even if I didn’t necessarily need to go. |
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 20:38:41 GMT
It's a better song than, say, Save Me (Why Don't Ya). How very dare you! Bizarrely, I used to love that song when the album came out. Maybe it was the backing vocalists (“save me, save me, save me, save me”). There was something reassuring that it wasn’t just me that was still interested (this album was the last straw for my brother). Whoever these backing vocalists were, they still put some enthusiasm into a mid-80s ABBA solo album. I didn’t know who Eric Stewart was at the time of release. It was only later that I discovered he was by far the best looking member of 10cc and the singer (and co-writer) of I’m Not In Love. It seems his 1979 eye injury did restrict him, and any photos of him with Agnetha are only behind sunglasses. With Jeff Lynne and Justin Hayward (and Eric himself) contributing songs, it really should have been a better album than it actually was.  |
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 17:52:23 GMT
If anyone has some loose change lying around, there’s an opportunity on Discogs to acquire this. A snip at just £300 plus £2.50 postage. I’d love it but can’t justify that price for one 50-year-old single. As previously stated, it’s significant as it’s understood to be the first appearance of the ABBA name on record anywhere in the world (the UK being late to the party and not releasing the single until 12 October 1973). The date of the birth of “ABBA” is there, though this promo single would have been circulating within the music industry before then. And no troublesome individual names in parenthesis, though the UK would later be forced to carry them for all Waterloo-related releases in 1974 (including the Ring Ring remix). (Nerd alert: the Epic company sleeve still uses the previous Epic radial logo and wasn’t amended to the record-“e” logo until the orange label period).  |
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 13:25:05 GMT
You could probably add Ireland to that list of European outposts. We gave ABBA 12 No.1s and the later chart positions bettered the UK, but it's too tiny a market by which to measure broader success. Ireland tends to get grouped in with the UK, particularly as the same CBS (Epic) licence covered both countries, but agreed, a separate chart. [Nerdy collector facts - Ireland had the only issues of I Have A Dream and Greatest Hits Vol 2 still on the outgoing orange Epic label. Ireland also had the only commercial issue of Head Over Heels on a standard paper blue Epic label, the UK only getting the Dutch purple variant or injection-moulded version (the promo was on standard blue paper though). Also that oddity of a white label with orange text for Knowing Me Knowing You (with no record-“e” logo). I have all four of these Irish variants.] |
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 12:55:34 GMT
Actually that song [The Day Before You Came] was a big hit - just not in the UK. Top 5 in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (I think), Netherlwnds, Belgium, and a biggie, Germany. I’m at risk of offending people here, but you know you’re in trouble if you’re only successful in those countries! Sweden and Norway are perhaps a given as local (but small) markets loyal to their act (with Frida being Norwegian-born). Finland and Denmark I’m less sure about (other than still being Nordic/Scandinavian) but tiny markets nonetheless. Netherlands and Belgium are tiny, albeit loyal, markets. Both could be relied upon to supply ABBA with a number one. Belgium isn’t considered important enough for Wikipedia but the Netherlands even made Head Over Heels a number one (I’m assuming Wikipedia is correct and it’s not some fantasist that’s made it up). The fact that The Day Before You Came, as a brand new single, “only” made number three there still indicates a commercial decline. And Under Attack stopped at No. 7. And as for Germany (or West Germany as was then), yes, a major market on a par with the UK but not exactly renowned for good music taste (David Hasselhoff, anyone?). Even there, there’s evidence of a decline. One of Us a number one, Head Over Heels way back at 19, Day “only” number 5 and Under Attack only four places higher than the UK at 22. The likes of Boney M carried on years after their UK success finished. I shudder at the thought of ABBA having a European career but not anywhere else. (With apologies to members from those countries. No personal offence intended). |
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 12:38:30 GMT
Back to topic. I agree that another new album might not be a good idea. A deluxe of Voyage (like the April Fool of four additional tracks) would work as it’s adding to an existing album. It wouldn’t need to be commercially successful in its own right, as it’s simply a new version of an existing album. The previous deluxe issues didn’t spoil the legacy of the originals did they?
An anthology of entirely previously-unreleased recordings would also work. It’s not a new album, and it’s released in the knowledge that it wouldn’t have mass appeal, so a high chart position (or one of any kind) wouldn’t matter. That 1994 4-CD set didn’t chart (not sure if it was eligible to in those days - it would now) but did that matter?
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 12:24:19 GMT
I still feel disappointed by Bjorn's comment that they might have considered continuing in the 80s if TDBYC had been number one. It feels like the wrong focus for an obscenely rich artist. I’m a bit cynical of that (me? Cynical? Who’d have thought?!). We’re used to Benny opening his mouth and putting both feet in it, but not so much Björn. I think this was a way of evading calls for a reunion. Blame the audience. “We stopped because of the fans and therefore we’re not getting back together”. What exactly is he saying? If Super Trouper hadn’t been that successful (unlikely I know, as it was on the back of a major tour), that ABBA wouldn’t have gone on to make The Visitors? That would have been a convenient excuse. Benny and Frida perhaps felt compelled to continue working together because ABBA were still successful (regardless of Frida’s unhappiness). The real excuse was ABBA’s commercial decline. Frida wanted out and Benny and Björn wanted to make a musical. Perhaps only Agnetha wanted the comfort and security of ABBA, but only if it was completely on her own terms (which by 1982 it finally was). |
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Post by Alan on Apr 7, 2023 11:50:16 GMT
A quick re-cap of how previous anniversaries were marked:
1984 (10th) - UK and and the (then) West Germany separately issued their own 7” singles boxed sets. For the UK, this was the first commercial coloured vinyl issue for ABBA. Fantasy (and incorrect) artwork in some cases but did at least provide an opportunity to get the increasingly hard-to-find b-sides.
1989 (15th) - nothing, as PolyGram were waiting for worldwide record company licences to expire. Also not a significant anniversary and commercially, ABBA at lowest point.
1994 (20th) - the big one. That 4-CD Thank You For The Music set. Two completely unreleased songs, an unreleased alternative version, ABBA Undeleted medley and first issue on CD of many b-sides (and some not previously released in many countries).
1999 (25th) - CD singles boxed set. A novel idea at the time, despite the awful West German artwork. Only rarity was first CD issue of Ring Ring single remix.
2004 (30th) - Waterloo 30th anniversary edition and single picture disc (again based on dodgy West German artwork). Over in Japan, CD boxed set. Nothing new but does at least re-create UK artwork on CD. The 2005 Complete Studio Recordings could be regarded as a late addition to this anniversary, which did offer a few rarities.
2014 (40th) - Live at Wembley album, including a previously unreleased track (I’m Still Alive). 40-single boxed set. Nothing new but first recreation of Polar artwork (and some non-Polar releases). Deluxes of Waterloo and Gracias Por La Música and a 7” picture disc (deluxes concluding a long-running series, so not particularly significant anniversary releases. Gracias was somewhat unexpected though).
2024 (50th) - TBC, but at least Waterloo half-speed, three or four 7” picture discs, three or four 7” coloured vinyl box (as part of an ongoing series, this isn’t really that significant in terms of an anniversary).
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2023 13:32:31 GMT
So why not carry on with this model whilst their health allowed? But perhaps it was a lot more difficult, stressful and unenjoyable than they let on, or perhaps one (or more) of them don't now have sufficiently good health. Oh well, I reckon there's still a chance of new stuff, however small. I think it’s more that Benny doesn’t want to. The footage from the Voyage opening night did show Agnetha almost shrugging her shoulders at Benny’s reluctance. For the other three I’d say it was an enjoyable experience, but Benny perhaps less so as he was more the creative force. Health-wise, Frida might have some mobility issues (unless that was temporary following a hip replacement) but otherwise we’ve no reason to think they’re not in good health. With three of them now in their late 70s, that sadly won’t always be the case though. |
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Post by Alan on Apr 3, 2023 17:51:13 GMT
Hi - just wondering if we need all these 'Abba Voyage General Discussion' threads (with their different dates) cluttering up this page? Would it be better to put the older ones elsewhere, so we can see other topics more clearly? I separated it because the main topic was getting so big. Obviously they’re part of the Voyage section so no where else I can put them. If anyone posted in the other older topics it would bump them up, and move the old General Discussion ones further down. It’s still possible to see the full list though: abbachat.boards.net/board/85/abba-voyage |
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Post by Alan on Apr 2, 2023 18:11:38 GMT
I’ll join the Dollar club too. I also love their first album, Shooting Stars. It was produced by Christopher Neil who went on to produce a lot of major acts. The big hit from that album - Love’s Gotta Hold On Me (number 4 in 1979) - was supposed to be sung by David Van Day but because it was so high, he tried and couldn’t do it, so Thereza Bazar sang it instead and it was their biggest hit so far (a fact which the arrogant David apparently hated!). The Top of the Pops performance of it is hilarious, with David reduced to little more than a backing singer (though does sing the last line).
Reissue label Cherry Red actually re-released Shooting Stars a few years ago in its original artwork, along with a CD boxed set of all their albums and output. Although I had most of the stuff already, I bought it!
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Post by Alan on Apr 1, 2023 14:54:03 GMT
Alan, this is fantastic news. I look forward to hearing more forthcoming information. Are you sure it isn't a cruel April 1 Fool's joke ? Am I the first victim to be taken in ? I hope not ! Yes, Ed, I’m afraid. I forgot the the date for a minute and believed it myself. I was so quick to post it on here that I initially put “Are our dreams about to come true?” Not sure if you may have replied to my original post and you posted your reply while I was editing it. Some of the comments in ABBA Access’s post weren’t too happy, and I can understand that. Something silly like ABBA Voyage dolls - complete with Tron outfits - going on sale might have been amusing but something like this much less so. |
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Post by Alan on Apr 1, 2023 13:02:42 GMT
April Fool. From ABBA Access:
The ‘Voyage’ saga continues! 🤩
It has been reported that ABBA will be releasing ‘Voyage - Deluxe Edition’ to celebrate the two years of their last album, with FOUR more tracks!
This edition will be promoted by one and final single - ‘Hit By A Train’.
But the exciting news do not end here - The ABBA Voyage band are currently working on a live album for the show and it’s planned to be released after the London arena ends its stay in the big city.
Let the voyage continue! 💫
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#ABBA #CheckTheDate
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ABBAccess is not affiliated with ABBA®, Universal Music or Polar Music International • All rights reserved to Universal Music AB® & Polar Music International®
I believed it for a few minutes, apparently ignoring the “check the date” line, then someone reminded me it’s April 1st, and this was posted this morning. Damn.)
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Post by Alan on Mar 31, 2023 20:20:31 GMT
If there was something similar for ABBA, we would be in ecstasy, believe me! I think I’ll settle for all four of them still being alive and releasing an album after 39 years. Even if John Lennon hadn’t been murdered, and possibly remained in good health to this day, George Harrison died in 2001 aged 58, which was “only” 31 years after the last Beatles album release. That’s how lucky we are. All of ABBA made it to their 70s and therefore belatedly got back together. Had one of them been as unlucky as George Harrison, there would never have been an ABBA reunion. (I know you didn’t mean it like that, but I think it’s worth pointing out again). |
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Post by Alan on Mar 30, 2023 20:38:22 GMT
I always coveted the tin box. Then I got the cardboard version at a low price. The German artwork really is ugly. I think it's a part of my erratic little collection I'd be least upset to lose. What saves it is that it’s the only issue of the singles in CD format. Some of the later singles do use the Polar artwork (albeit rather poor quality scans, though disguised because the reproductions are smaller). I did love playing those singles in the days before downloads (I didn’t have iTunes until around 2005). Yes, there were some annoying aspects for us UK/Irish fans (Mamma Mia with the wrong b-side, the wrong Lovelight, Voulez-Vous and Angeleyes the wrong way round and no Lay All Your Love On Me) but on the whole it was a nice set at the time. And we’ll never get such a collection again (not on CD anyway). Also it was the first CD issue of the Ring Ring remix (mastered from a vinyl single - they didn’t recover the UK sub-masters from Sony until the following year). Oh, and one of the first appearances of the awful error Eagle edit. That one still rears its ugly head to this day. |
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Post by Alan on Mar 29, 2023 21:27:09 GMT
I got the second edition of that, with the cardboard box and a single or two left out. Got it in the HMV sale in 2000 for about £30. Loved it at the time, despite the awful West German artwork and the dodgy mastering. I often saw the tin box version in shops with dents.
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Post by Alan on Mar 29, 2023 21:22:58 GMT
Let’s be honest , there’s not to many of us fans left out there, only 600 plus so called on here and only 20 or so post, so no great numbers , sales would be very small unless there is something new, so will the record companies go to great expense for a few 1000… Let’s face it, we’re just a tiny microcosm of the fan community. I’d say there would definitely be enough of a market for unreleased material. Much less so a new compilation of already available stuff. It’s got to offer something new or otherwise it’s pointless. (Thanks for your post… I decided to have a clearout of members who have never made a single post. It’s reduced that 600 figure by almost half, but some of those that have posted haven’t been online for years!) |
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Post by Alan on Mar 29, 2023 14:00:40 GMT
The 40-single boxed set from 2014 was clearly the launch pad for the picture discs/coloured vinyl series. It seems they re-created/scanned the artwork for those and got them out on black vinyl first.
The sets so far have excluded any non-English, non-Swedish language singles (which were in that 2014 box). The only other omission was Happy New Year (Portuguese issue) presumably so as not to clash with the yearly releases of that song.
So yes, Waterloo should be three. The 2014 box did include the German issue of Honey Honey/Ring Ring remix, but I can’t see that being in next year’s sets.
If I’m right, the sets will be:
Waterloo - three singles
ABBA - four
The Visitors - five
So far:
Arrival - four
The Album - three
Voulez-Vous - seven*
Super Trouper - three
Ring Ring - five
*Included Voulez-Vous (extended) - the only single so far that was not featured in the 2014 box.
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Post by Alan on Mar 27, 2023 7:07:31 GMT
'Under Attack', 'Cassandra' & 'The Day Before You Came' would have been included on the 9th album had it been finished in 1982/1983 would have been rather ridiculous to have left them off the album and the fact that they already had 'You Owe Me One', 'Just Like That' & 'I Am The City' with 6 songs they had a half finished album already Er… no. There was no album to speak of, it had already been abandoned. Those three tracks would not have appeared on any future album in the same way that Fernando or Gimme Gimme Gimme didn’t. As for Cassandra, no other non-album b-side appeared on a future album so why would that? I know you’d cobble together an album from the likes of Don’t Do It and Man etc but it really wouldn’t work like that. |
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2023 16:23:30 GMT
Just seen this variant on one of the socials. Japan, Philips December 1973. Removes Rock ‘n’ Roll Band. Opens with She’s My Kind of Girl and reshuffles other tracks.  |
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2023 16:03:30 GMT
Good question, johnny. I don’t know. The same could be said of Gimme Gimme Gimme though. Maybe they spent more time on the latter three songs and hoped that two of them would be good enough as A-sides. Even if they weren’t, they would have to go with them anyway. The album was abandoned before August but not sure exactly when. They didn’t like Just Like That from the start. Not sure what the problem with I Am The City was though, other than that it wasn’t single material. I don’t think their hearts were in it, and too much animosity between Frida and Benny. |
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2023 13:41:31 GMT
I really would prefer it if the two singles from 1982 weren't included in 'The Visitors' box set as those songs and their B-Sides were intended for the unfinished 9th album You’ve said that before but it’s not actually true. Only I Am The City, Just Like That and You Owe Me One were recorded for a possible new album but when it became clear that none of them were considered good enough, album project was abandoned. The other three 1982 songs were later recorded specifically for use on a greatest hits and as singles, never intended for a studio album. You Owe Me One got resurrected because they needed a second b-side, and likely because that’s all it would have been anyway. There are those that believe the other two songs were being saved for a 1983/84 album. Unlikely, as they’d already been cast aside. |
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2023 12:00:47 GMT
I’ve been looking at the various renditions of the Ring Ring album on Discogs. Some monstrosities on there! Australia/NZ, RCA 1975  Australia/NZ, Summit Concorde under licence from RCA, 1980  Australia/NZ, Rainbow under licence from BMG/Arista Ariola, 1988  Australia/NZ, Rainbow under licence from PolyGram, 1990  Unknown, but Polydor and made in West Germany, so a European country, likely 1970s  Germany/Netherlands,Polydor. Includes Honey Honey but not I Saw It In The Mirror. 1979  Germany, Karussell Gold Serie, again no I Saw It In The Mirror but Honey Honey instead, 1975  UK, Castle Communications under licence from Bocu Music Ltd (ABBA’s UK publisher), 1988. Vinyl contains entirety of Sweden edition of Ring Ring on Sides 2 and 4, with ABBA Live on Sides 1 and 3. CD excludes Ring Ring (Swedish) and Rock ‘n’ Roll Band due to time constraints, but still mixes up the sides amongst those from ABBA Live.  |
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2023 11:20:14 GMT
It’s an odd rendering of the names really. It could look like it’s referring to two people, with Benny and Frida respectively being Björn’s and Agnetha’s surnames. As there are four people on the cover, it cleared up any confusion. It’s not even alphabetical. Agnetha’s name (before either Anni-Frid or Frida) would be correct, as would her surname, but in that format Benny should be before Björn (it isn’t, and that’s because Björn was credited first on Lycka).
In terms of the ABBA name, I’d go strict alphabetical, so Agnetha as the first A and Benny as the first B, but this meant the then-couples weren’t together. Usually I’ve seen it stated that Anni-Frid is first and then Benny.
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