Why are these lyrics dubious? I don't think they are dubious at all. PLENTY of love songs when the man bemoans his foolishness and failings in losing a woman's love. This is just the female equivalent. And the singers are women.. I suggest this Guardian writer come to grips with equality - yes women can be fools too.... I'm actually pleased that they didn't cuck out to the PC brigade.
I really like I Can Be That Woman. Benny and Bjorn said they wrote it with Tammy Wynette in mind, and the more I hear the song I can imagine her absolutely nailing it. Country and Western songs had/have those kind of storytelling lyrics. The two best and most obvious examples are Stand By Your Man (probably now cancelled) and Jolene. Anyway back to the song, I was thinking that if this was a single back in say the late 70's early 80's, it's likely we would have had a sad video a bit like The Winner Takes It All. I wonder if it would have had Agnetha waking up on the floor or sofa next to an empty vodka bottle, her Bowie like blue eye shadow smeared all over her face and sofa cushions. Actually thinking about it, it could have been the follow up song to Winner, her story a year down the line, and how she has become reliant on alcohol and begging to Bjorn for one last chance to make it work. And of course there would be a dog in the video as well. Jeez, sometimes I think I missed my calling...
I was right with you until you mentioned "cucking out" to the "PC brigade". No matter how you slice it, Frida singing "he's too good for me....so why am I upset?" and "he's a good man...he worries", "I had to pick this fight....I should be purring" is weird. Similarly, Agnetha singing "you're not the man you should have been...I let you down somehow" seems strange to me. I can't think of any songs where a man would sing stuff like this about a woman. Can you name any? But having said that, my earlier post was my initial reaction to Jude Roger's review and my own response to the lyrics. I'm more comfortable with the songs and love them now. I think what's weird about them is the women are singing as if they are not only to blame but they are also positioning themselves as inferior to the men. Men don't do the latter in songs - they just sing about their lost love.
It's actually a pretty common notion among women regarding their men. The concept that behind every great man is a great woman, or that she can (and will) make him a better man - therefore if he is a failure she feels like maybe she failed in some way. Some women think like this.
I dunno I can remember a lot of country music songs from back in the day with this motif (can't remember the exact songs or artists off the top of my head.) But just dragged up this Bryan Adams song as a fairly modern example..
Ok! Point taken. Maybe it's because this kind of subject matter is new for ABBA, or at least they haven't been so explicit about it before. You've made me think again, thanks.
I've been listening to Frida's solo output from the late 60's and early 70's on Spotify. It's really good, there's a compilation album with about 30 tracks, yellow cover, I highly recommend it.
The mastering/post processing is indeed horrible, with very little dynamic range. Reminds me of the 'The complete studio recordings' or somesuch. The peak-average ratio is attrocious, similar to a top 40 AM station (but with wider frequency response.) The original albums, esp with the ubiquitously used compression undone (yes, the compression can be undone very accurately) sound much better. There is nothing that can be done to recover the new album, and that is very sad. I'd pay $50 for a technically good copy. All this said, the music is great.
I didn't know that Little Things is different on the video version and Ode to Freedom may exists in a different version as the lyric sheet contains extra lyrics.
You certainly get bang for your bucks on that compilation. 38 songs in total and a nice booklet. For anyone who is interested in the creation of ABBA, there are some notable songs included. 'Mycket Kar' from 1968 was co-written by Polar boss and ABBA's future manager, Stig Anderson. He would contribute lyrics for many of ABBA's earlier songs too. 'Harlig Ar Var Jord' was the song Frida performed at the 1969 Melodifestivalen, Sweden's competition to find their Eurovision Song Contest entry. At this event, she first met Benny Andersson who also had penned a song in the contest. 'Peter Pan' from later that year is the first Benny & Björn written song performed by any of the two ABBA women. The live version of 'Barnen Sover' is quite significant. That was taken from a radio show performance in October 1970. This was the first time all four performed together for a recorded show. Sadly, this song appears to have been the only to survive from the vaults. They were called 'Festfolk' at this point and would shortly embark on their not so successful tour. That was in contrast to the 'Lycka' album, released at the same time and which featured backing vocals by Agnetha and Frida, most notably on 'Hej Gamla Man' which was a huge hit on the Swedish charts. Frida did her own version of the title track 'Lycka' and that is included too. As is her first solo number one, 'Min Egen Stad' featuring all four and you can definitely hear the 'ABBA sound' emerging on that.
Frida 1967-1972. It's a double CD issued in 1997. It's basically all the singles (A & B sides) and then her first album plus additional bonus songs from radio/tv shows while she was with EMI and before signing to Polar.
So the extra lyrics in the booklet on "Ode To Freedom" is "Sing an Ode to Freedom" that happens between the first and second verse. There isn't really a chorus in the version on the album. The "Sing an Ode to Freedom" part may be some kind of chorus. Hopefully, we get a full "director's cut" version of this song and the others. There are still two "unfinished" songs that, surmising from an interview, Benny who have to finish, making me think that the vocals for those songs are completed. It sounds the makings of a true deluxe edition exist. Now, if we could only get "Voyage" nominated for Grammy "Album of the Year" for next year's awards. That's a hint to Universal!... ...
Now that the album is close to 3 months old does anyone knows the total sale worldwide….and what country has the most sale? Im guessing Uk or Germany but that may be wrong.
Latest figures according to Mediatraffic.de show that 'Voyage' had sold 1,749,000 copies. Germany and the UK account for over 40% of the total. Last time I looked, both had over 400k sales with Germany out in front.
Had me wondering for a bit too. But it's the former. Photo looks like it was taken through the big windows of Pudding Mill Lane DLR station and there's quite a bit of reflection off the glass.
hehe Yeah I think it's the reflection too... I think it'll look as good as the concept art when it's all lit up, gives me Epcot Horizons vibes lol, remember that? ...hmm, Looks like Adele could use an Avatar of her own What's going on with all that I wonder?
Well...my ABBA mania, yet to be sated, continues. Over Christmas in to January I finished the Agnetha biography The Girl With The Golden Hair, then Abba Bright Lights Dark Shadows. Then...lord help me...I received my copy of the ABBA Scrap Book by Jean-Marie Potiez (it's great!) Figuring I had exhausted all things ABBA...I forgot that I'd ordered the Blu Ray of ABBA The Movie, which arrived a couple days ago. I watched it last night in all it's wide-screen glory on my big projection screen. Wow! I really wasn't expecting much at all. Especially with the cheesy "reporter trying to get an interview" story thrown in to weave it together. And, yeah, those parts where mostly useless, though not always because they used the device to include interviews of the Australian fans, the memorabilia explosion, (and that ridiculous dream sequence for Name Of the Game). etc. But mostly it was edited at a very sprite and entertaining pace! Loved seeing all the behind the scenes with the band, and the concert footage was shot in an exciting manner, the widescreen lens was used wonderfully (and looked amazing on blu ray!) and the sound was fantastic! Not to mention the performances (though I know they polished up the performances later in the studio, it was clear that a bunch of the vocals were from the concert, and even those done in the studio were new and not the original recordings, which kept a fresh sound). I'd thought I'd seen all the Agnetha footage there was, but boy there was plenty in this movie I hadn't seen. Highly recommended for any ABBA obsessives who haven't seen it.
I'm sure it'll be great when completed since ABBA is involved. Right now though, the first thing I thought of is that it's the framework for a McDonalds Quarter Pounder carton.
