ABBA single by single thread

At last we get to Angeleyes, by far the best song on the album IMO. No forced disco rhythm, just the classic ABBA sound. The tune is just sophisticated enough to require several listens before being able to hum it back, without being overly so. Pop perfection.

The only other song on the album that I think comes close is Kisses of Fire. Chiquitita is OK if I try to evaluate it objectively, but I probably never need to hear it again. The rest of the album - I found it a real let-down after The Album.

 

"Voulez Vous"

The image that comes in my head when I hear this song is we've met up with our dancing queen a couple years down the road. It seems she's given up on finding her king and settled for getting laid.

Still, the group has co-opted the Miami disco sound and pulled it off quite well, even if they let their anxieties out onto the dance floor instead of releasing them.

"Angeleyes"
A throwback to earlier, happier times instead has some of the melancholy of current days leaking through.

The fact this single didn't crack Billboard's Top 40 while the group was touring the States is curious.

 

I agree 100%. I think it has been more popular in the last 26 years than it was in 1979, with cover versions by Erasure and other artists, the 'Mamma Mia' musical and film, countless remixes etc..

 

I love "Voulez-Vous", and I'm no big disco fan. Those "Ah-ha's" get me every time as Agnetha, I suppose, goes to higher notes with each repetiton.

Great record.

 

My top 20 so far (A-sides & B-sides):

01 Knowing Me, Knowing You
02 SOS
03 The Name of the Game
04 Dancing Queen
05 Money, Money, Money
06 Eagle
07 Thank You for the Music
08 Voulez-Vous
09 Kisses of Fire
10 Fernando

11 Angeleyes
12 Lovelight
13 Chiquitita
14 Take a Chance on Me
15 Mamma Mia
16 Summer Night City
17 Hasta Mañana
18 Another Town, Another Train
19 So Long
20 Ring Ring

 

It's funny how Voulez-Vous as an album seems to split opinions here. I think it is arguably the group's strongest - there isn't a weak track from start to finish, the sequencing is flawless and the general atmosphere is sophisticated yet fun. In fact, each track on the album could conceivably have been released as a single.

In terms of the single, 'Voulez-Vous' may have received a bit of a boost if Bjorn and Benny had done the US remix earlier as the remix provides an interesting variation on the song, stripping the song down to its bare disco essentials.

'Angel Eyes' is an excellent track but it suffers from an unusually muddy production - I think it was the first track recorded at the band's new Polar Music Studios and I suspect that Bjorn and Benny overindulged on their new toys. On a production level, it's definitely a throwback to the period in 1974/5 where they threw literally every sound into the mix and hoped something would stick.

 

I find it funny how many ABBA songs include the "a-ha"s. Honey Honey, Money Money Money, Take a Chance on Me, Voulez-Vous... are there any others?

 

Knowing Me Knowing You - AHA!

 

Which begs the question: did A-ha do any songs in which they sing "Abba"?

 

I meant to say Knowing Me Knowing You not Take a Chance on Me.

 

Never heard this. I like it! except for the Does Your Mother Know section which sounds odd so high.

 

Not that I know of. However, a-ha’s live drummer between 1998 and 2007 was Per Lindvall that played on some of the later ABBA recordings.

A-ha’s Magne Furuholmen used to intruduce him as the drummer that only plays with bands that begins and ends with an «a».

 

So I take it he did stints in Asia & Ambrosia and we can expect to see him popping up in Anathema?

 

In 1979, I'm not even sure I knew that this single had been released in the U.S. Most of my chart attention was focused on the top 40, and at that time, I had no regular way to see actual copies of Billboard. My university library didn't subscribe to it (or to Cash Box or Record World, for that matter), and the nearest public library didn't, either. So I didn't have a lot of knowledge about what was happening below #40, unless the local top-40 stations picked up on something.

I think I heard the song "Voulez-Vous" once, maybe twice -- I could still sing the part of the chorus that features the title words when I re-listened to it. And I know I never heard "Angeleyes" on the radio. Considering some of the singles Atlantic didn't release, I'm surprised that the label did release this one -- and unaltered from the international release -- especially because it still had "Chiquitita" in reserve. This 45 turned out to be ABBA's biggest U.S. flop since "Ring Ring" was belatedly issued after "Honey, Honey" in late 1974.

Neither song is bad at all. So why did the single fail on the charts? Two things come to mind:

1. Double-sided dinosaurs.

In the first two years of the 1970s, double-sided hits were all over the U.S. charts. Then, starting around 1972, record companies decided that, rather than putting two hit songs on the same current 45, they'd put two hits on two different 45s and release them roughly three months apart. To emphasize the point, record labels got out of the habit of releasing promo 45s that were the same as the stock copies except with special labels. Instead, they issued promos with only one song on them. Usually, these had the intended hit in mono (for AM radio) on one side and stereo (for FM radio) on the other. Thus there was no confusion over the hit side. It wasn't always foolproof, but it worked.

By the end of the 1970s, the charts were down to, maybe, one genuine double-sided hit a year. And most of those underperformed on the Hot 100 because the airplay was split between the two sides. Radio got used to playing only one new song per artist at a time; releasing two at the same time was a good way for program directors with limited slots for new releases to ignore both of them rather than decide.

Based on documentary evidence, more on which later, Atlantic didn't intend for this single to be a double-sided hit, but only did so when its intended A-side looked to be a flop out of the box.

2. The disco backlash.

If you weren't there at the time, you would have no way of knowing just how dominant disco music was in the early part of 1979. More than once in May of that year, eight of the top 10 singles were disco, or could be construed as disco. Taken outside of historical context, many of those hits stand up very well, but together, it was overkill.

To paraphrase Newtonian science, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite overreaction." That's what happened in the second half of 1979. A major label, Capitol, actually released a 45 called "Disco Sucks" (by a group called Richfield). A Chicago DJ, Steve Dahl, became a national celebrity because he blew up thousands of supposedly disco albums in the outfield of Comiskey Park, the home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, on "Disco Demolition Night." After that, radio dropped disco music faster than a speeding bullet. A song with a heavy dance beat had to be extra-special to do anything on the charts. Donna Summer still did fine at the time, and Chic's "Good Times" survived the purge, though it would prove to be Chic's last Top 40 hit. But songs that would have been sure-fire Top 10 hits earlier in '79 struggled to make the top 20 or even top 40.

In this atmosphere, "Voulez-Vous," with its obvious dance beat and a title that was vaguely risqué -- I doubt I was the only person to flash back to LaBelle's 1975 #1 smash "Lady Marmalade," with its French suggestion, "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" (rough English translation, "Do you want to sleep [go to bed] with me tonight?"), when I first heard it -- was almost destined to fail on the U.S. charts.

---

Based on industry reviews, it's pretty obvious that Atlantic serviced "Voulez-Vous" first and then flipped the single to "Angeleyes" several weeks later in a desperate attempt to salvage a hit.

In its August 18, 1979 issue, Billboard predicted that "Voulez-Vous" would be a hit: "The foursome shoots for its 10th Top 20 hit with this driving rhythm number which features intriguing, almost Russian-sounding musical accents. The brassy backup instrumentation makes this one of the group's most dynamic tracks." Record World reviewed "Voulez-Vous" on its front page the same week, but overlaid white type on a white background in spots, so it's hard to read. I think it says, "Following the Top 20 'Does Your Mother Know' and the title cut from their latest LP, this exciting invitation from the dual female lead vocals translates, 'Do You Want To?' "

A month later, reviews for "Angel Eyes" (sic) appeared in the trades. The September 15, 1979 Billboard had it as its lead in Top Single Reviews, writing, "Atlantic flips over the foursome's 'Voulez-Vous' single to push this sprightly side, a recent hit throughout Europe. Fulsome harmonies and a lilting melody highlight the track..." The same week, Cash Box reviewed it thus: "The third single off of ABBA's 'Voulez-Vous' album glistens with the group's bubbly female harmonies and a layered, string-driven melody showing an inviting pop-classical influence. As usual, production is top-flight and a most danceable beat could give this track a good deal of disco action, as well as Top 40."

Despite the good reviews, neither side came close to the top 40.

Each of the three U.S. trades treated the 45 differently on its respective charts.

In Billboard, "Voulez-Vous" charted first, debuting on September 1, peaking at #80 and dropping off the Hot 100 after three weeks. It was directly replaced by "Angeleyes" in the September 22 issue; that song peaked at #64 and spent five weeks on the chart.

Cash Box also charted both sides separately, but with a slight overlap. "Voulez-Vous" debuted on September at #86 by itself. The weeks of September 8 and 15, the magazine listed the 45 as a double-sided hit at #85 both weeks. The next week, "Angeleyes" was by itself and stayed that way thereafter as it got to #76 while spending seven weeks on the Top 100, including the two weeks listed jointly with "Voulez-Vous."

Finally, Record World treated the single as a double-sided hit from the start and during its entire chart run. It debuted September 8, and the single peaked at #77 during a seven-week chart run.

Regardless how it was treated, it was a failure on the U.S. charts.

---

Atlantic issued the first few thousand copies of the 45 (catalog number 3609) with a picture sleeve. Based on how few copies have sold recently or are for sale as I write this, perhaps only 1 of every 8 copies of the 45 had the sleeve; it's around a 5 on the 1-10 rarity scale. I suspect that, because the Atlantic picture sleeve is similar to the sleeve used in most of the rest of the world (the UK was the exception) that lists the single as "Voulez-Vous"/"Angeleyes", it was deleted when the label switched the A-sides.

The stock 45 was pressed by at least Specialty (SP) on vinyl and Monarch (MO) on styrene. It has the album versions of both sides.

Two different promo 45s were released, both with the catalog number 3609. The first featured "Voulez-Vous" on both sides in stereo; one side had a 3:45 edit (matrix number ST-A-37385), and the other had the full 5:08 LP version (ST-A-37012). When Atlantic changed the A-side, it released a stereo/stereo promo of "Angeleyes"; both sides have the album version (ST-A-37014). Both promos came from SP and MO; interestingly, the Monarch promo of the second song has the title incorrectly rendered as "Angel Eyes." (Its stock copies are correct.)

Oh yes. Atlantic released a promo-only 12-inch single with a special 6:05 mix of "Voulez-Vous" on both sides. It has a special company cardboard sleeve, the catalog number DSKO 202 and a matrix number of ST-DSKO-37491.

 

A quick addendum to my post:

Both "Voulez-Vous" and "Angeleyes" made the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The former debuted on August 18, 1979, two weeks before it made the Hot 100, and peaked at #40. "Angeleyes" debuted on September 29 of that year and peaked at #37.

Despite the special 12-inch mix for the clubs, "Voulez-Vous" did not make the Billboard dance charts.

 

Some of those Ah-ha's sound more like "Uh-huh's" to me. Some sound like just "aaaaah".

 

My experience was very similar to yours -- I think I heard "Voulez-Vous" on the radio maybe two or three times in 1979, and I never heard "Angeleyes" on the radio at all. Although I didn't think about it at the time, I believe the radio station I was listening to most in 1979 dropped disco from their playlists pretty shortly after the beginning of the disco backlash. I guess I thought disco songs just weren't making the top 40 anymore, but it was probably a more conscious effort on the part of the program director to play less disco, given how the genre simply seemed to disappear from that station.

By 1979, I was only buying singles if they had a cool picture sleeve. I was spending my money on albums pretty exclusively. Voulez-Vous was a no-brainer for me; after how much I had played The Album, I picked up Voulez-Vous the first time I saw it in a record store, and I loved it! I played that album to death. I liked it even more than The Album, thinking it sounded more musically sophisticated.

 

I never heard either Voulez-Vous or Angeleyes on the radio even once (Northeastern United States) and I lived on top 40 radio. After "Take A Chance on Me" I rarely heard any new Abba except "Winner..." for a short while and then "When All is Said and Done" once or twice. I remember these things distinctly because of all the flak I took being an ABBA fan when everyone was into Kiss, Led Zepplin etc. in my neck of the woods.

 

Voulez-Vous is such a lovely piece of disco-oriented pop music. It's become one of my favourites of the late-period Abba. For Angel Eyes, that "ah-huh-huh" vocal hook just grabs me every time.

Neither song entered the New Zealand charts. Voulez-Vous is well known enough that I've successfully used it in dance playlists.

 

The "Angel Eyes" intro (and outro) is pure ABBA/Benny magic. Especially love the little flourishes you can hear in the outro.

 

"Angel Eyes" sounds really dated, I think. Lyrically though it's definitely later-era ABBA. I think chorus is kinda weak. The verses are great though.

 

"Angeleyes" must have gotten some airplay in my area. I do remember hearing it before I got the Voulez-Vous 8-tr......uh I mean... album in the fall of 1979.

 

I am really late for this one, I think the party is over! lol

To listen to this, I prefer an edited version, but as a disco/dance record, the 12" single it is a sophisticated and well constructed period piece. One of my favorite vinyl records in my collection.
As a pop/radio hit I am not surprised it failed here in the US. With chart overload in 1979, a lot of great songs got lost, only a few had any longevity. I think any ABBA single during the summer of '79 would of got lost, but think "Chiquitita" would of been a smarter choice at this point for Atlantic records, and just gone with the Voulez Vous 12" promo record for club/disco play.

 

I love playing the 'Voulez-Vous' album, the only track I always skip is 'I Have a Dream'.