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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 7, 2024 10:43:59 GMT
When ABBA Came to Britain was somewhat disappointing. It's a pity they weren't on screen sharing memories like Blondie members in their programme. Way too much screen time for that one Superfan and the bloke from Primal Scream. Agreed. There was a little overlap with the older The Joy Of ABBA, which I think actually might have done the job more effectively. Possibly? Having Bjorn on screen made the difference. When Blondie Came To Britain was far more effective, because it had its subject front and centre. ABBA in Switzerland looked like it has been restored - everything looked so crisp and vibrant. Looking at it now, the non-performance sequence was pretty tedious and the script was dire. More ABBA at the BBC was fun, despite its reliance on videos and non-BBC productions.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 18:48:57 GMT
So Rock Me is more worthy than When All Is Said Or Done? 🙄 When All is Said and Done...is that the lovely song from Pierce Brosnam? ....runs away from Hometime... I'll take a rolled up TV Times to the back of your legs. As expected, we non-UK types can't vote. Gosh, sob, etc.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 10:49:35 GMT
I hope that somebody understands that this misfire might undermine some important goodwill? This is what happens when you lock a PR intern in a small room and give them too much Fanta and Skittles.
I'm far more annoyed than this BS warrants. Going to dig out some non-ABBA music to take my mind off things. Grrr.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 10:40:19 GMT
I dumped twitter a while back, but I replied to the post on Insta. http://instagram.com/p/C5YEtTSol1o To be fair, I reckon this massive overkill is more likely to have came from management rather than Gary himself. It doesn't even constitute news, given that we've known about it for weeks now.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 10:33:09 GMT
This has to be the most infuriating pricktease yet. Read the room, Gary/BBC. If ABBA or Universal paid a PR to engineer this, they should demand a refund.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 10:23:17 GMT
WT F??!
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 9:24:52 GMT
So Long just played, and dare I say... pretty good..... Agreed. Way better than I expected. Imagine if the multitrack or original master for that recording were in Polar's vaults? It could be tarted up quite nicely for a proper release. Or did the Beeb retain ownership of those things (and the wipe them)?
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 9:20:26 GMT
So the Big News is not ye olde So Long, which has now been played (better than I expected) and it was a promo for the TV show.
An hour to go....
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 5, 2024 9:12:37 GMT
Something struck me about the insistence on playing the old TOTP performance: will it be a cleaned-up track; might it come from from a bigger, more interesting release like....ooooh, I dunno.... an anthology? Yes, I might just be over-caffeinated. Ultimately, I think this particular item is a hyperactive promo for More ABBA At The BBC tomorrow. I don't think it's that unlikely that Radio 2 might be given an exclusive for a new single, foreverfan. They were big supporters of Voyage and its singles, plus it was Radio 2's Zoe Ball who MC'd the really big reveal in 2021 (albeit on telly). Frida spoke to Zoe at length on Radio 2, as did Agnetha when they supported A+. The station still has power to help influence (parts of) the charts. I think a plugger could do a lot worse than offer them an exclusive on (let's say) a single that wasn't the flagship for a new studio album. Hopefully, the next hour will give us something good to savour beyond an old, quickly re-recorded So Long.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 4, 2024 19:37:08 GMT
* puts sobbing back in the diary for tomorrow *
(In pencil. Because I'm an optimist)
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 4, 2024 19:01:39 GMT
Great that the Dolby Atmos version is being released, but please please please don't let this be the vaunted "big news." I'm too old to cry in public.
EDIT: I've decided to hang on for dear life to the phrase "long lost" - which could not be applied to Waterloo, Dolby Atmos or otherwise. No sobbing for now.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 4, 2024 17:58:00 GMT
I guess it's a hook to promote More ABBA at the BBC? A reminder for fans of magic pop to set aside their Saturday evening?
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 4, 2024 17:27:28 GMT
Ah! OK. Thanks for that. I guess I had better try to tune in online. At least it's Friday, so if somehow there's a new release, it'll get a full retail week before the next chart.
He's hardly going to play the dusted-off "live" re-recording that would have been required of a TOTP in the olden days!? I can't imagine that it'd be the most exciting slice of audio.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 4, 2024 17:14:35 GMT
“Huge ABBA news - long lost ABBA track” - Gary just said that. We’ll all be listening tomorrow! " Long lost ABBA track".... Could this possibly mean that Just Like That has been dragged out of the vaults, been given a dab of lippy and a squirt of hairspray? Remember those intriguing registration numbers that emerged last year or the year before? JLT had a suspiciously recent-looking number.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 4, 2024 17:08:31 GMT
HOMETIME : In my post I didn't want to accuse or offend anyone, but just wanted to point out,that very often, the old Western World speaks for "the whole World" but ignoring huge parts of it. If you look up the list of "Most selling Artists" on e.g. Wikipedia, there is no mention, that the list is only counting Artists from the Western World and therefore the list is incomplete. It doesn't matter, if we know the Output of Russian, Asian, Indian or Chinese musicians or not, they are simply ignored although the absolute major part of the world population origins from these countries nowadays. Will ABBA make any impact on the new mega markets? I believe, Björn with his Pop House company already works on it, to place the ABBAtars there. I understand that - we really do think that our little patch of the planet is the be-all-and-end-all. It's a good point about sales: we've touched on it often over the years, but high sales and high quality might sometimes overlap, but they're often distinctly separate entities. After all, The Birdie Song outsold The Day Before You Came by quite a margin. I know which one I adore! (That said, I have absolutely no beef with anyone who enjoys The Birdie Song - fun is a valid choice!). I think that Eurovision might deserve some credit for exposing us to some slightly different sounds than we're used to in our own insular, label-controlled territories. And you're right about how easily huge swathes of foreign music get ignored. I wonder how much of that is down to us finding it harder to connect with songs in languages we don't understand? It seems sad that we don't even try, when many of our western acts do quite well in those territories.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 3, 2024 20:44:54 GMT
Of those two, I prefer WAISAD as a piano melody.
I take it you know the "Funky ABBA" version, sung by Viktoria Tolstoy with piano accompaniment by Benny? I think it's an incredible version. I can only imagine its heartbreaking power if it were recorded by Benny and Frida in the same style at their current ages.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 3, 2024 10:31:25 GMT
I was never a huge fan of TWTIA either. I understand Bjorn wrote the lyrics first, and apparently in a few minutes. Both TWTIA and TDBYC seem lyric led songs which may explain the lack of melody. Tim Rice was on BBC local radio recently. He said for him, the music came first. That way you fit the lyrics to the tune. The other way round ge felt you could get too absorbed in lyrics and its harder to come up with a tune. I don't think that's true, johnny - for TWTIA, there are earlier lyrics called The Story Of My Life and, before that, there were dummy lyrics in French to mark out the vocal melody. I think some of the more maudlin aspects of the final lyric (which Bjorn says came all at once) can be blamed on the bottle of whiskey consumed by Bjorn when he was writing. I'm not the song's biggest fan either, but I'd struggle to deny that there's a lovely melody there. Same with TDBYC, which is probably my favourite track on Benny's piano album. I think it's a gorgeous melody. What both of these songs seem not to have is a chorus.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 3, 2024 10:16:12 GMT
This would be a good time for any Popjustice habitués to swing by and share some barely-veiled gossip. Last time around, they had the juiciest of titbits, suggesting that insiders might have been forum members.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 3, 2024 10:02:33 GMT
The idea that ABBA could (and some seeming to suggest that they should) have stopped with the first two songs is interesting. ABBA - and Benny above all - are known for rigid quality control. We've had forty-plus years of immovable stubbornness on the matter of Just Like That, which Benny refuses to release because it's "not good enough" (Agnetha and Frida have spoken separately of their love for the song, with Frida saying in the 90s that she'd happily return to the studio to fix what ever "the boys" saw as problematic). I'm convinced that Voyage met the approval of all four members. CMP's new book suggests that other songs were abandoned along the way because A&F weren't feeling them, so we have to assume that Benny allowed the thoughts/feelings/opinions of the others to play their rightful part. So ABBA themselves are/were happy with Voyage as an album.
The Voyage chapter as written by CMP might be frustrating in what it doesn't deliver in terms of detailed recording information, but it does seem to shed some light on Benny's and Bjorn's connection with, and attitude towards the songs. Little Things is a case in point. Benny presented it as a minuet. There was no apparent let's-turn-this-into-a-banger discussion; it seemed to be a case of "I like this, let's see if it works." Bjorn got the Christmas inspiration from the melody and Benny's response seems to have been "really? Well, if you insist." They are both 100% unbothered that it's not a rock-around-the-tree bop for office parties, and seem not to have imagined it as a single. So Universal might have been the instigators there. But my original point is that Benny is anal-retentiveness personified when it comes to their music. I imagine he'd have been the most likely to jam a platform boot on the brake if there was a whiff of doubt about the album.
This forum would have been apoplectic with frustration if we'd heard that there were eight, possibly ten other newly recorded songs, but we weren't going to hear them. It's okay if Voyage doesn't float your boat. It doesn't make you a better or worse fan if you prefer the group's original output. I think our discussions here have been pretty objective, for the most part. I think it might be that, despite ourselves, we might not have come fully to terms with our heroes' ages. We might have liked a 21st century Voulez-Vous, but how incongruous would that have been?
I think that the relative looseness and corniness of the BAO material might have been a fairly big influence on the writing of this album. If ABBA had shelved Voyage, I wonder how many of the songs would be assigned to Helen Sjoholm and Tommy Korberg for a new BAO release? I can imagine pretty much all of them in that setting.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 2, 2024 17:47:54 GMT
With SNC, I think the people who tended to buy the most ABBA records might have been taken aback by its hardness (relative to their other singles). I think the same thing happened with DYMK, which peaked only one place higher. I wonder if that might be why Epic made the poppier Angeleyes the lead A-side, with the brasher/tougher Voulez-Vous on the A2 side?
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 2, 2024 17:44:11 GMT
Does this help, onlyabba4meagain ? The entire chart is fascinating. For those that are interested , from another site UKMIX. Some members have compiled a top 5000 of sales from the 1980s Here are ABBAs sales, apparently very accurate..... Here are ABBA's UK 1980s sales from Robbie #42 Super Trouper, 698, 028 #115 One of Us, 525, 302 #152 The Winner Takes it All 475,775 #1056 I Have a Dream 186,138 #1107 LAYLOM. 178,248 #1534 Head Over Heels 132,664 #1866 Under Attack, 103,712 #2048 The Day Before You Came, 88, 892. #3082 Thankyou for the Music, 44,489 #2546 I Know There’s Something Going On, 62,120 #3059 The Heat is On 44, 846 #4010 Wrap Your Arms Around Me 26,724 I was always sceptical about TWTIA selling over 500k let alone 600k. The minor hits did better than I expected.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 2, 2024 14:05:48 GMT
For what it's worth, we have a dedicated oldies station here in Ireland called RTÉ Gold. Tracks I've heard recently include Eagle, So Long, Money Money Money, Angeleyes, Knowing Me Knowing You, Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, and The Winner Takes It All. An expected selection from Gold, but So Long took me by surprise. I don't keep tabs on their playlist (I don't know if it's even published - other Irish fans might know?), I just tune in when I'm prepping dinner etc.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 2, 2024 9:59:35 GMT
It's five full-fat stars from me.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 1, 2024 17:38:59 GMT
I think Shine is the Frida album I return to most. I still rate it. Recently, I was lucky enough to hear two of the three unreleased tracks (Can't Be Serious and When Love Turns To Lies - a friend splashed out for bootlegs). Both of them great. An expanded 40th anniversary edition including these tracks would be a massive treat. In fact, I think a remix of Can't Be Serious would make a great single.
For illustrative purposes, here is a version released in 1985 by the little-known Ginny. Not a million miles from Frida's version.
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 1, 2024 17:33:20 GMT
The poll is totally fine as it is, johnny. I still like OTF but, of late, I'm liking the lyrics less. Melodically and vocally, it's still lovely. I'd love to hear the earlier version in the different key, with different lyrics. #deluxe #anthology I wonder what our collective attitude would be if they had just issued the first two tracks and withheld all of the others? How frustrated would we be if/when we'd found out?
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Post by HOMETIME on Apr 1, 2024 14:47:28 GMT
I give the album 2 stars. The only track I really like is DSMD. They should have stopped there and release that one with a video. Wow, Henry, you really have gone off the album since you thought an EP would have been better. I guess it's proof that everybody's opinions evolve constantly. And why not? Having read the CMP chapter on the album, I have a slightly different view of the album myself. I still enjoy it and, for the most part, I tend to play it right through. I don't skip anything. I think it works best as a set. A highly personal opinion, of course. The song that has dipped most in my affections is Just A Notion. The full-group vocals of the verses sound a little untidy to my ears. The same problem arises with Little Things: Agnetha and Frida are not in the kind of perfect vocal synch that we'd have heard if the song had emerged on any of the previous albums. It might have been better to assign a single lead vocal. I don't hate any song on the album - my peeves are to do with the instrumentation. Flutes, especially. My favourite songs remain ISHFIY, DSMD, NDAI and OTF. The rest shifts around a lot more in my affections that they used to. KAEOD was my least favourite for a long time, but I like it a lot more now. JAN might have started off around fifth favourite for me, but has plummeted. WYDWM and KAEOD have risen. While the star poll doesn't cover half-points, I'd probably award 3.5 stars. But 4 stars doesn't feel overly generous, so that'll be my vote. Voyage still gets way more plays than the early albums.
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Post by HOMETIME on Mar 31, 2024 15:54:26 GMT
I'm not sure the accusation of snobbery is valid when it comes to acts we're not exposed to. The big selling acts you mention - Swift, Madge - have made their careers in this market. Alla Pugacheva has not (I do remember her from Eurovision in the 90s, though). It's not snobbery if we simply don't know her stuff! (Is it mostly in Russian?). I don't detect any sneering/distain towards any of the little-known acts you mention. Maybe they endure it in their own markets?
I have no time for snobbery: if you enjoy something, if you're moved by it, if it means something to you, ignore the naysayers. I enjoy many a snob-derided act and it actually gives me pleasure to grind snobs' gears. Get over yourselves!
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Post by HOMETIME on Mar 30, 2024 19:18:21 GMT
The talk about ABBA appearing/not appearing at Eurovision has taken an interesting twist. I've seen two separate mentions of the ABBAtars in this context and, while I'm sure it might well be speculation/wishful thinking/hypothesis, it would be an amazing coup if they could pull it off. I agree with the sentiment that this years entrants shouldn't be overshadowed and, as johnny mentions, there is the murkiness of Israel's involvement and the negativity and protests that attracts. If they were somehow able to pull it off, an ABBAtar appearance would be amazing though. Imagine being able to place it in the actual show afterwards, and replace the old footage with a zingy new "performance"?! The second anniversary would be a great moment for that - with B&B on the premises. It would also be after the Eurovision, meaning that its "world premiere" would not be derailed. Also, ABBA as people would be at a bit of a remove from any possible negativity surrounding the broadcast. That's all centred around an extremely big IF, of course. I totally get onlyabba4meagain 's point about snobbery. It just sucks the joy out of everything. These scientist dudes need a good 20 minutes on a bouncy castle, to get the hell over whatever ails them. At this distance, it stinks a bit of xenophobia, sexism and fragile masculinity. Colin's right@ we should revel in every minute of joy this anniversary year brings us. More ABBA Gold's 20th anniversary seems like a no-brainer to celebrate. Pop it out on white vinyl (with the correct ABBA logo) and I'll part with my cash immediately.
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Post by HOMETIME on Mar 26, 2024 16:35:40 GMT
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Post by HOMETIME on Mar 26, 2024 11:57:43 GMT
Agreed. The final business quarter makes a lot of sense in terms of giving a new release the most commercial support - a lot of Christmas stockings need stuffing, and a new ABBA release would be perfect. johnny posted links to that Music Week article about how the 50th anniversary should boost the back catalogue. I wouldn't be surprised if Gold returned to the Top 5 - or even No.1 - on foot of the documentaries, the Swedish gala thingy, and any nostalgic event at Eurovision. Depending on how the documentaries showcase the music, there might even be scope for some modest recharging of some of the hits - or even albums or individual tracks. A new release in Spring/early Summer might dilute some of that kind of focus. Plus, it's the anniversary year, so something worthwhile is needed for the latter part of the year and to "sign off", as t'were.
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