ABBA single by single thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Haristar, Apr 7, 2018.

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  1. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    That's was exactly my point, how could Abba compete with fresh new talent like Tight Fit and The Goombay Dance Band? :D:D
     
  2. motownboy

    motownboy Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington State
    I have a different interpretation of "The Day Before You Came." Agnetha tells the story as if she was recounting the love that at one time had changed her life from the position of that love having ended. It was told in an almost "other person" manner because a "Winner Takes It All" type vocal from Agnetha would have been too over the top. Back in 1982 I considered it a bit of a letdown, but in hindsight it is a brilliant composition, arrangement, and performance.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
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  3. motownboy

    motownboy Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington State
    LMAO!!! :biglaugh:
     
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  4. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    It's Sweden. They're more broadminded in Scandinavia than in many other places.
     
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  5. David G.

    David G. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    I absolutely love the song "Head Over Heels," and I quite like "The Visitors," too. Despite the fact that these songs didn't have the right "sound" for U.S. radio in the early '80s, I really liked the direction in which Benny and Björn were moving at the time. I've spent much time over the years pondering what the next album would have sounded like, since the sound was definitely evolving during this period.
     
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  6. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    I like HOH but more for the intro than the song proper. I prefer The Visitors, but agree that it's not an obvious choice for a single.
     
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  7. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    "The Day Before You Came" is an intriguing song, unusual for ABBA, not their very best but by no means their worst either.

    Steven Wilson covered it, in case you didn't know; I'd be interested to hear people's opinions on that cover before i give my own.

     
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  8. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    "The Day Before You Came" is really sophisticated for ABBA. It's practically a folk song, set to mellow early '80s techno. I could hear Suzanne Vega covering it. The Steven Wilson cover just emphasizes that, although it's missing the song's "woop-woop" electronic hook. Relistening to their catalog for this thread, "The Day Before You Came" probably stuck out more than any other cut. I don't necessarily love it - it's no "Dancing Queen" - but it showed a growing sophistication to their songcraft that few pop bands of this caliber ever really attempt. I'm kinda surprised it got tapped for a single release.

    It's telling that this moody bit of Eurotech did much better in their native Sweden (#3) and other Northern European countries (#5 in Germany, #3 in Belgium, #5 in the Netherlands, #2 in Finland, #5 in Norway, #4 in Switzerland) than it did in the UK (#32), France (#38) or Spain (#29). In fact it was their biggest hit in their native land since '80s "The Winner Takes It All".

    If they'd stuck together for another record the results could have been very interesting, assuming they'd continued in this vein.



    In fact, something about the beat, the synths and the verbose half-spoken lyric on this one reminds me of "One Night In Bangkok" off of Chess.
     
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  9. tim_neely

    tim_neely Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Central VA
    As mentioned, in the U.S., Atlantic flipped the single, releasing "The Visitors" as the A-side and "Head Over Heels" on the flip.

    I think the reasoning was that "The Visitors" was already a hit in the clubs, and Atlantic thought it might have blown it the prior year by burying the #1 club hit "Lay All Your Love on Me" on the B-side of "On and On and On" and never trying to service it to pop radio -- especially after "On and On and On" made the top 100 in only one of the three trade magazines.

    I listened to "The Visitors" recently, and it would have been hard to imagine this as a dance hit during the height of disco. The hottest music in the clubs was starting to change to synth-driven rather than the bass-and-drum-heavy hits of the past. Some of the biggest dance hits of 1982 fit squarely into new wave. This ABBA hit felt as if everything old was new again, as it reminded me of, believe it or not, "Tomorrow Never Knows" by the Beatles, especially the first half, before the beat becomes heavier.

    "Head Over Heels," meanwhile, is hard to imagine as a hit song after listening to it. It would have been interesting if it had been, as two completely different songs with that same name were U.S. hits in 1984 and 1985 (by the Go-Go's and Tears for Fears).

    ---

    Billboard called "The Visitors" a potential top-30 single in its Top Single Reviews of April 17, 1982. It wrote, "The title song from the Swedish quartet's most recent album offers their darkest, most mysterious single yet, a brooding minor-keyed confession that bursts into a propulsive gallop on the choruses, punched up with vocal harmonies and handclaps." In the end, the song became ABBA's last Top 100 hit in both Billboard and Cash Box, with a #63 peak in the former and #81 in the latter. In all, the group had 20 Hot 100 hits in Billboard and 19 Top 100s in Cash Box.

    In Record World, "The Visitors" debuted at #132 in its extended 101-150 chart the week ending April 10, 1982. And that would prove to be it, as the magazine abruptly ceased publication with that issue. RW had been in financial trouble for some time, and didn't print a March 27, 1982 edition. But, when it returned with April 3 and April 10 issues, it appeared to have righted its ship, at least for the time being. The staff wasn't notified of its demise until after the last issue was printed, thus there were no tributes or any other indication that Record World was closing.

    Taking the place of RW anong U.S. music-industry chroniclers was Radio & Records, which was founded in 1973 and had entirely airplay-based charts. By the end of the 1980s, R&R was a solid #2 behind Billboard, and many radio people considered its charts more authoritative. Several radio countdown shows began basing their charts on those in R&R, as had, earlier in the 1980s, the TV show Solid Gold (to some degree).

    The Radio & Records charts were smaller than those in the other magazines, reflecting the smaller contemporary radio playlists. In all, 11 ABBA singles made the R&R pop chart; many, but not all, of them peaked lower than in the other trades. Here is the list with peak positions:
    "Waterloo," #10
    "SOS," #10
    "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do," #17
    "Mamma Mia," #29
    "Fernando," #12
    "Dancing Queen," #4
    "Knowing Me, Knowing You," #12
    "The Name of the Game," #19
    "Take a Chance on Me," #7
    "Does Your Mother Know," #18
    "The Winner Takes It All," #19

    As noted, "The Visitors" made the Billboard Disco Top 80 charts, paired with "When All Is Said and Done." The duo debuted in January 1982 and peaked at #8. On the Record World Disco File Top 40, "The Visitors" got at least as high as #13.

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    Atlantic released the 45 of "The Visitors" with the catalog number 4031, probably in late March 1982 (the April 5 date on 45cat seems off by a week). It has a picture sleeve, which uses the same photo as on the "Head Over Heels" sleeve in other countries, except that Atlantic put a huge light-blue border around it and added "ABBA" in large letters at the top. The records were pressed at the usual Specialty (SP) and Allied (AR). Most stock copies have picture sleeves, but the 45 is fairly uncommon compared to some others, so the sleeve ranks about a 2 on the 1-10 rarity scale.

    Promo 45s include the full-length "The Visitors" (5:47, matrix number ST-A-40661) in stereo on one side and a unique edit (4:22, ST-A-41083) on the other. (Stock copies have the full version.) It appears as if all the promo 45s were pressed at Specialty.

    Atlantic's 12-inch promo, with the album versions of "The Visitors" and "When All Is Said and Done" on opposite sides, has the catalog number DMD 308 and was released probably in December 1981. It exists in three different label variations, though the music is identical on each. Copies from Allied (AR) have "The Visitors" designated with the word "ONE" at 3 o'clock and "When All Is Said and Done" with the word "TWO" at the same place. Copies from Specialty (SP) have a blank space on both sides at 3 o'clock. The first pressing from SP has a typographical error on "The Visitors" label; the matrix number is listed as ST-DM-40667-SP. The second pressing corrects this to ST-DM-40661-SP. (40667 is actually the Atlantic master number for "Two for the Price of One.")

    Supposedly, a second Atlantic 12-inch single of "The Visitors" exists, with the same contents as the promo 45 (album version on one side, edit on the other) and a catalog number of DMD 326. One very small, indistinct photo on Discogs serves as the only online evidence I could find, and when something has only one source, I tend to be skeptical.

    As mentioned, a special 8:05 remix of "The Visitors" by Greg Silva came from the new Hot Tracks subscription service. Hot Tracks was founded in 1982 and was originally based in San Francisco; its successor company still exists today, but has abandoned vinyl and CDs for subscription downloads. The original 12-inch single (Series 1, Issue 3) had a red label with black print and comes in a black sleeve with stickers on both sides. The B-side features remixes of songs by Sister Sledge and Lipps Inc. A bootleg 12-inch exists with the ABBA remix on both sides. Because of high demand, Hot Tracks reissued "The Visitors" a couple times, including on Series 10, Issue 5 (1991, vinyl and CD) and the 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition wallet (1997, 17 CDs).
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
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  10. gja586

    gja586 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gogledd Cymru
    I really like the fun and quirky Head Over Heels.

    I absolutely adore the moody atmosphere of The Visitors and Frida's metallic/synthesized vocals. It's Top 5 Abba for me. :agree:

    Like many songs, I never paid much attention to the words. So until I got back into Abba recently, bought the album and read about it on this forum and in the liner notes, I always assumed the song was about visiting aliens. :shake:
     
  11. KennyG

    KennyG Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    The first chorus is subtly different, most notably the drums and the backing choir isn't quite as tight. For the final mix, they took out this chorus and replaced it with a copy of the second chorus. The earlier mix was used on the original video soundtrack (but not later 'remastered' versions).

    'When All Is Said And Done' also had a unique video mix. Again, it was an earlier version without the intro and different vocal phrasing at the very end of the song. For the 'remastered' versions, they dubbed on the LP mix and, in more recent versions, restored the intro using footage from the Spanish version!
     
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  12. Paul Rymer

    Paul Rymer Forum Resident

    Head Over Heels had a lot of radio airplay even before it was announced as a single in the UK, which may have prompted its release and helped the album do well. Unfortunately when it came out maybe the momentum was lost. Looking at that chart posted earlier I bought 11 of the singles above ABBA, and as a 12 year old Adam Ant by 1982 was seen as past it let alone ABBA. Pop was moving really fast in 1982 and ABBA (unfairly) were seen as a bit middle-aged by kids. My mum asked if I wanted The Visitors and I said no, I wanted a Japan album.
     
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  13. cut to the chase

    cut to the chase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    We're now talking about ABBA in 1982, so the solo singles of Frida and Agnetha should also be mentioned.

    Someone pointed out that Frida's 'I Know There's Something Going On' flopped in the UK. It was, however, quite a success in many other territories, reaching the top 10 in Australia, South Africa and 9 European countries (including number 1 in France, Belgium and Switzerland).

    In the US, it spent 29 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, where it climbed slowly but steadily until it reached a #13 peak, where it stayed for 3 weeks.
    It was at #20 on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1983.

     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
  14. cut to the chase

    cut to the chase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Agnetha, in the meantime, released a duet with Swedish singer Tomas Ledin. Ledin toured with ABBA in 1979 and 1980 as a backing vocalist.
    Their duet 'Never Again' reached number 2 in Sweden. A Spanish version called 'Ya Nunca Más' was also recorded.

     
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  15. cut to the chase

    cut to the chase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    The second single from Frida's 1982 solo album was 'To Turn the Stone'. The song was written by Giorgio Moroder for Donna Summer, who recorded it for her 1981 album 'I'm a Rainbow'. However, the album was shelved by her record company and remained unreleased until 1996.

    Frida's cover version reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and Belgium in late 1982.

     
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  16. cut to the chase

    cut to the chase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    And then, finally, Frida recorded two vocal versions of ABBA's 'Arrival' in late 1982, one in French named 'Belle' with singer Daniel Balavoine (it peaked at #15 in France) and one in English titled 'Time' with B.A. Robertson (it reached #45 in the UK).

     
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  17. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    Exactly, by 1981/2 the whole pop landscape had changed and it was pretty much out with the old and in with the new.
    This is exactly what happened 10 years previous with Glam rock. Both of these periods were a golden age for pop music in the UK.
     
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  18. tin ears

    tin ears Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland UK
    I can live without the B A duet, but both of the solo Frida tracks deserved to do far better in the UK than they did. I actually prefer Fridas "To Turn The Stone" to the Donna Summer original, and that's saying something considering I'm a huge Donna fan.
     
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  19. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    Produced at Polar with the digital setup as well, which must've been like defrosting a freezer with a flamethrower.
     
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  20. julotto

    julotto Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kiel, Germany
    Abba had just split when in 1984 the band Blancmange released this cover version of The Day before you came. I remember hearing it for the first time and realising what a great song it is. It reached no. 22 in the UK charts, higher than the original. They even used some scenes from the Abba video!
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
  21. Colocally

    Colocally One Of The New Wave Boys

    Location:
    Surrey BC.
    That was my first exposure to the song, somehow it totally passed me by when Abba released it, I remember that Neil Arthur was saying that it was a lost classic.
     
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  22. joe1320

    joe1320 Forum Resident

    Location:
    dublin, ireland
  23. bare trees

    bare trees Senior Member


    I know what you mean. I love these songs too but I understand why they probably wouldn't have fit in with what top 40 radio was playing in 1982. "The Visitors" has one foot in disco and the other in synth pop (a style that hadn't really broken through on U.S. Top 40 yet). I know that "One of Us" was a flop when it was released as a single here in 1983 but I wonder if it would have been more successful had it been released in say , March or April of 1982 on the heels of "When All Is Said and Done".
     
  24. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    I wish I could help but I went with vinyl for their catalog.
     
  25. RevolutionDoctor

    RevolutionDoctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gent, Belgium
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