ABBA - The Long Evolution Of "Voulez-Vous" (1978-79)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2024
- This year, it’s 45 years since ABBA’s sixth studio album "Voulez-Vous" was released. ABBA worked hard on this album for over one year, and they skipped as many recordings as never before. Let’s talk about the fascinating recording process, the outtakes and songs that could have been. ABBA basically could have gone a different road and create an entirely different album. Let’s dive into the evolution of "Voulez-Vous".
0:00 Intro
0:49 Before "Voulez-Vous"
2:16 Autumn Days
4:32 Bumble Bee
5:35 The 1978 Sessions
8:04 The "Lost" 1978 Album
8:50 Miami & "Voulez-Vous"
10:19 After "Voulez-Vous"
11:26 The Final Concerts
12:32 Outro
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Written, narrated, recorded & edited by Bobby’s Brother.
Music by Europaweite Aussichten: • Europaweite Aussichten...
Bobby's Brother on Instagram: / bobbysbrother72
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I am a hard-core ABBA fan. You are the one with all this incredible information, so naturally I think what you think :). But seriously, hearing about all these different versions, I WISH ABBA would release another album with those other versions. There are so many of us, who appreciate every unfinished piece and definitely would appreciate all of their "rejects". I know they have high standards and are not going to release anything like that, but wouldn't it be nice?
SO AM I!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤
Agreed. It would add to their not vast music output. You can see why fans have tried to make full songs out of the bootleg demos over the years, how else could we get other songs-or old completed (so to speak) ones. But the 2 Gemini albums should be enjoyed as ABBA albums too, which they virtually are, as long as you take off the appallingly bad track 9 from their 1987 album and put 'The Arbiter' from CHESS over it. And remember the extra 2 1985 tracks when the 1985 album played, when B&B played their old trick and wouldn't close the album with 'When I Close My Eyes' for the inane and wrong analysis it resembled another song on there too much (it doesn't!), and 'Copy Love'-at least made a vinyl B-side but the old 'Just Like That' moan that "verses and choruses don't fit". Wrong again! B&B are idiots. I also play the CHESS songs that sound most like ABBA songs and were made singles to complete their 1982 album "Opus 10"
Voulez-vous is a masterpiece but it sure would be nice to have a double LP set including all the unreleased tracks I would buy it in a second😊
Double CD set.
Kisses of fire and if it wasn't for the nights two of my favorite songs and the king has lost his crown 👑
I adore KOF/IIWFTN.Could have both been singles but i also liked over the years TKHLHC.Frida's lead and whole song had a sophisticated dash ,was a fine recording and to my ears it hinted a rich 'Bee Gees vibed' instrumentation.
As I understand it, the song Angeleyes caused the group to go back to the drawing board many times. They finally cracked it just before they were about to give up on it. Many of us have loved it for years, but it seemed to receive a huge surge in popularity following the release of Voyage. People were exploring ABBA’s catalogue and like a jewel tucked into a corner, it was there waiting to be discovered.
Interesting- I find Angeleyes almost 'over produced'..it is too polished and perfect. It is a song with no soul. Maybe they played with it too much.
'Angeleyes' had a double come back.One was in the 2nd MM movie.But it also got a huge boost when youngsters discovered it and went viral on Tik tok.Same went for 'Chiquitita's outro a couple of years back and of course for GGG which is already the 2nd most viewed Abba video after DQ since a longtime ago..Also let's not forget 'Slipping through my fingers" got a new popularity after the first movie.Maybe Abba's GOLD II tracklist should be renewed after all these imo plus we got 'FAITH/SHUT" , 2 new classics.
@@garrywallace1007 Angeleyes is definitely overproduced. It's barely listenable. The shrillness of the vocals rivals I Do, I Do, I Do.
@@grantc61 Garbage. If it is, so is EVERYTHING ABBA did, not least 'Dancing Queen;. And as for the @hole decision to make 'Thank You For The Music' a single to live outside its album-in the 80s no less-and to B-side with 'Our Last Summer'-appalling decision made on every front, and their PR needed firing.
@@garrywallace1007 Then so's everything they ever did too polished and over-produced. No, cos the Beatles would never make a mistake, would they? Nor Led Zeppelin I suppose. And Bee Gees ARE a mistake-at least together, ditto Eagles.
This is one of my favorite albums. I like the different sounds on it . I remember seeing them on Abba in Switzerland
Such a variety and diversity but still all kinds clicked fine imo.
That snippet of Agnetha and Frida slow dancing is the greatest! LOL..I absolutely adore "Summer Night City." And I heard it for the very first time at their concert in Radio City Music Hall in NYC. I had never heard it before and just thought it was so creative, especially with that long intro. And that clip of the song live was EXACTLY how they did it when I saw them. It was spectacular!!!!
It's so good!
Fantastic album!No music like that anymore.Lots of todays "smash hits" couldn't even stand as an Abba b side track.
😨🙏 I want subtitles in Spanish
well said
@@kempro Álbum fantástico.! Ya no existe música así. La mayoría de los "éxitos" actuales no tendrían la oportunidad de ser ni siquiera una canción de ABBA de segunda clase en aquel entonces.
Please. ALL of today's smash shits (and from 1990 onwards is a long long today) couldn't even hope to rival a Bananarama B--side or a Wham! one.
@@kyachdistent1301 hmmm,well u got a point!So i can't really disagree.Imo, sadly there were only some countable exceptions in the '90s and ever after but not countless.As the decades were passing by things were getting worse for me. Personally ,even though i was always keeping my eyes on the musicscene, i had already started loosing a big amount of passion and interest about it around 1990.In the '70s/'80s i could buy 3-4 good records a week/fortnight and had managed a huge vynil collection.In the '90s it was diminished in 1-2 per year.
Loved this album since release day. So much variety yet feels so cohesive. So expansive yet so intimate.
Because Benny and Björn were musically curious, as you put it, they could try out a song in many different styles. But they were also very aware that they were working in pop music, and that this brings its own limitations. The Voulez Vous album that we were presented with is wonderfully cohesive, but those songs that were rejected show that ABBA were always looking to try out new ideas, but that not all were right for the project that they were working on. Thanks for a fascinating history here, Bobby's Brother. I always learn so much about the ABBA albums we have, but also the albums that could have been! Sending great 45th anniversary Voulez Vous vibes in your direction. 💙
Thanks 💙🍀
Good Album, it’s different. If It Wasn’t For The Nights great track.
I love the LP „Voulez-Vous“.
Given its history, I think there's scope for a box-set/double album "anthology" version, where the second disc gathers the unreleased demos and alternate mixes to show how the album was created, and how hard they worked at getting it right. Ideally Netflix or MTV or Apple TV could create a series around the development of ABBA's albums, with the focus zoomed tight on the music.
I approve!!!
HAMLET III is a wonderful, tenderly beatiful Abba rarity.I shiver to the sound of the stripped version and its nice, plain, kinda poetic lyrics.
“The king has lost his crown” is one of my favorite songs on that album. It has the disco strings that were reprised for voyage, “keep an eye on Dan.”
No Abba album was similar to its previous.Abba's music progression was always multicolourful and never monochromatic.
I remember my great grandmother went to their concert and wen I was born in 1986 I was named anni-frid because my parents loved abba
@@sigridscholz4893 what?
I particularly love the just a notion which was recorded around this time. I'm pleased we got it on voyage. It must have been hard for Bjorn and agnetha going through their divorce
"Burning my bridges" is an absolute gem!
Love this album angel eyes is one of my favourite songs and probably my second favourite abba song after dancing queen
My favourite Abba album..Thanks for the info...Take care..
The album Voulez Vous is my favourite by ABBA: The beautiful album cover, the great songs, and the different arrangements of the songs.... Only the song "if it wasn't for the nights" I think it is a little bit too long with same repeated melodies.
It's a shame that the song "under my sun" wasn't released. It puts you in a good mood.
My all-time favorite album out of the catalogue. First memory was seeing this in my father's record collection, as a toddler.
Another brilliant video. Thank you BB. I think they got the final version of the “Voulez-Vous” album pretty much spot on. My only change would have been to swap out the song “I Have A Dream” with “Lovelight”. Aside from that the album tracks are perfect. The album definitely has my favorite opening track of all the ABBA albums with “As Good As New” which is a perfect lead off track as far as conveying the energy and the spirit of the overall album.
AGAN was a no1 single in some Latin American country,Mexico i think.I would have possibly switched IHAD on side B3 with Chiquitita on side A3 or possibly diminished the kids choir.I love the stripped Live version of IHAD from their '79 tour.It's less polished and warmer,works better for me.More acoustic. Frida does it so fine in her lead live delivery and love the bit on which Agnetha joins in.The presence of them all together around Benny's piano is such a moment of comfort.
@@alexioverdo5225 you are 💯 correct regarding the live concert version of “IHAD”, it’s Frida at one of her finest, I love Frida’s voice and her stage presence, she loved every minute of performing, interesting in that it was almost the opposite with Agnetha, but, for personal reasons of being away from her very young children. Frida was not in that stage in life and was fully loving the huge popularity and performing, she fully comes to life in performing and thrives on it. ABBA had such chemistry, and it was composed of four strong individuals in their own rights. It’s amazing they blazed around a 9 to 11 year period of ever increasing levels of global popularity in much the same way the Beatles blazed a relatively short 8 to 10 year of global pop dominance, but, abruptly ended in similar reasons of personal relationships within the framework of still being a creative songwriting band without personal feelings and experiences within the confines of that cocoon exhibiting itself in the ever increased adult themes of loss, breakup, regret, sorrow and pain particularly on the stunning final album (prior “Voyage”) “The Visitors”. That is a perfect example of rapid musical maturity from just like 7 years earlier when they broke with “Waterloo”. Remarkable legacy!
45 years! And still as fresh as yesterday. In 1979 I had this on vinyl and cassette which we would play incessantly on our car 'stereo' in our little Peugeot 104. Hamlet III is gorgeous. A bit of a precursor in terms of feel for Our Last Summer. And even at this time, 5 years after their Waterloo success, the album sleeve noted who was the lead singer.
Merci pour la petite histoire de cet excellent album Voulez - Vous que j'aime beaucoup . Ma chanson préférée est Chiquitita . Le duo Agnetha , Frida est magnifique . Je l'ai decouvert dans le show télévisé pour l'UNICEF et je l'ai adoré . Merci Bobby d'avoir partagé cette vidéo . C'est toujours fascinant et interssant toutes ces histoires des albums ABBA ❤️
In my standard favest ABBA albums no matter my changing moods.Such a lush production all sparkled with Abba's seductive silvery -blue stardust .Both VV and ST in my top 3.
Voulez-Vous is my personal definition of THE pop bible. Every song is crafted to perfection and the arrangements are experimental in nature, but the mix of upbeat production with melancholy lyrics paved the way for many others today. I too, have always adored the demo for 'Hamlet III" and wish it could be released as a proper ABBA song!
50 years ago ᗅᗺᗷᗅ won ESC with "Waterloo"
April 6 1974 also the same day
"Hooked on a Feeling"
First #1 on Billboard from Sweden
🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪 🇸🇪
40 years ago won
"Diggi loo diggi ley" Herreys (3 brothers)
25 years ago won
"Take Me to Your Heaven" Charlotte Perrelli (née Nilsson)
Bobby's brother love you ❤❤😊😊😊😊😊🙌
Thank you!! I love you, too ❤️
Oh wow, Lovelight is one of the best Abba songs ever and Hamlet lll as well! Oh I wish they’d release everything they’ve kept back. Fantastic video!
I remember listening to an ABBA BBC radio interview from mid 1979(must have been May) while doing promotion for the VV album.One of the guys said that they wanted an Abba album with 10 potential singles and they did their best.Also the DJ commented on DYMK that the girl's backing vocals sounded intentionally sped up but they responded there wasn't a sped up technique used.And one of the guys (Benny i think) confirmed that these girls could make it sound whatever you wanted them to.(Wow!)'Chiquitita''s Spanish version was also presented in the Uk audience with the DJ stating that after its success in the UK single's chart,it's now on a new hit race aince it's getting big in Latin America.
A fascinating interview.Heard it first time via utube.Very informative,very fun,nice to hear their youngish voices esp,the girls,nice to hear their thoughts about other artists of their time and totally takes you back to that eras atmosphere.Great sense of humour (Frida nailed it)and fine interviewer too.
Voulez-Vous was one of THE albums to own in 1979, along with Bad Girls, Discovery, Breakfast In America, Wet, Spirits Having Flown... Summer Night City was an attempt at a Paul Jabara-style disco song with a ballad intro, and Kisses of Fire was a nod to the super-long held notes in the Summer/Streisand style.
True,(though actually 'No more tears" was out after KOF).But all these album's you've mentioned i remember being suggested to me by older teens as a good pick to buy.Bee Gees SHF was my 1st foreign album ever.Abba's The Album was one of the next ones which i didn't like at first listen thinking"oh my all that noise for them,meh"lol!Little did i know.By the end of 1979 i 'breathed out' Abba.I was infected by their virus and this love is solid and permanent since then.
'Crying over you' sounds a bit like Supertramp and 'Free as a bumblebee" was kinda Beatlesque.Abba never bored even in their outakes.
The outtakes, unreleased songs were a bit out of sync with the album that became Voulez Vous. They were kind of random and experimental, but very interesting and left me with a taste for more!. Benny and Bjorn are great pop song writers, but they were realizing that their music required expansion into different areas. The fact that they didn't let go of these ideas in future songwriting sessions, is a testament to their belief in the non-pop songwriting foray. But as a pop album, listenable and fun.....with the lyrics and music maturing as well, Voulez Vous holds up as a great ABBA album!
Hi there dude.
Well i'm personally satisfied with the final tracklist.All songs fit perfectly all others that were 'excluded" didn't fit the album despite being very interesting and some of them great ones.(Hamlet III/Dreamworld).JAN didn't fit this album's mood despite it kinda being insipred by the Grease '50s hype imo.I also love the reggaea vibed demos of Under my Sun.
PS i would have definitely included SNC in the VV album btw.That was a song i really missed from the list.
@@alexioverdo5225 What? You are not first again???
@@alexioverdo5225 I agree the long version of Summernight City should of been the first track on the B-side of the record! But B&B know best! :)
@@johnadam5179 ha!haaaa!No i wasn't.I was busy baking some cinammon cookies again😊
SNC could have been a fine b side opener imo but i guess theyt wanted to disconect it from being the lead single off the album since it was just a top 5 Uk hit and not the no1 they got used to at the time..
Hamlet ||| - what a fascinating gorgeous song that is ❤ wish someday they rediscover it and release it as a complete song 😊
I hope and Pray that ABBA. Would come Together, and give there Fans. New Songs, and show Up for the King and Queen .
Queen Queen
I have never heard a bad note from this group of people. I would love to hear all those songs and little pieces of songs they never finished. But I also love all the albums exactly the way they are. Like Voulez-Vous album: I love every song individually and the album as a whole. Thank you for reminding me of Hamlet. Immediately went and listened to every version I could find.
One of my favourite albums ~ the crystal clear production and arrangements and (at times, complicated harmony) vocals. The first track "As Good As New" shimmers with grand anticipation in the shape of the vibey strings intro/ the title track leaves one begging for more stomping and restless disco/ "Lovers (Live...)" has an alluring mystery to it/ "If It Wasn't For The Nights" was apparently considered as the lead single/ the ethereal "I Have A Dream" still resonates to this day with different generations/ parts of "Dream World" (notably the bridge, I believe ) were used in "Does Your Mother Know?"/ Brilliant melodramatic production on "The King Has Lost..." & the melancholic "Chiquitita" that ends with such energetic optimism!
Thank you Bobby's B ~ your in depth research took me straight back to when I would listen to this album for hours and hours... I turned 10 yrs old in April '79! ❤🎉
J'adore cet album ❤ je l'avais acheté à Frankfurt , j'adore les titres Angeleyes et Kisses of Fire 💞 bises de Suisse
My goodness when you look back it’s incredible how much they developed in such a short time. It’s hard to believe that it was only 5 years from Waterloo to Voulez Vous. The difference in quality and sophistication is astounding.
All of those other songs in this period are great in their own way but they certainly selected the best for the album. I just wish that they had used them for b-sides.
I’ve often wondered if the full length version of Summer Night City would have been the opening song if it had made it to the album.
Another fantastic presentation. Bobbys brother does a lot of hard work to collect all information. Appreciated.
Fascinating video BB, thank you for the wealth of information. So much I didn’t know.. I also feel that all of the different mixes could make for a fascinating series of albums. My favourites on the album are If It Wasn’t For The Nights, Kisses Of Fire & Does Your Mother Know. Re outtakes I like Hamlet 111 & the long version of Summer Night City, also didn’t mind Dream World. I’ve got to say I never got ‘Lovers Live A Little Longer’, one song I skip playing on Voulez-Vous. It’s screechy, too much going on (just my opinion..) Benny & Bjorn say there’s nothing more to release but clearly edited/extended versions would be fascinating, here’s hoping they might be released in the future with Abbas continuing popularity & talk there will no more future new music. Great video BB…
I have seen against the odds. I found it very informative. Hope you do too... ❤
ABBA Gold: Alternate Hits (please)
This album could bring together various songs from the two Gold albums (favouring the tracklisting of the first) and could have alternate versions (either entirely different, or different mixes). The DVD could use the unused video footage and splice it all with the Alternate audio.
ABBA -THE ALBUM was the 1st Abba lp we had bought together with my cousin back in early 1979.Imagine the opener 'Eagle" and then the change of sound to the opener in VV.Such a fascinating course.We thought it was another band.We too loved VV.Btw i think that AGAN is Agnetha's most vibrant kinda 'nasty" lead ever.Agnetha's solo delivery here is in full speed accelarating power with her sounding more 'demanding' and 'stretched' than ever. ..And what about those lyrics....
''I'll never know why I had to go
Why I had to put up such a lousy rotten show
Boy, I was tough, packing all my stuff
Saying I don't need you anymore, I've had enough
And now, look at me standing here again 'cause I found out that ma my life is here
Gotta have you near.''....
And then...
'Feel like a creep/never felt so cheap/never had a notion that ma love would be so deep/'how could i make/such a damn mistake"....' /But plz baby i beg you to forgive.../'i thought that our love was at an end but here i am agaiiiiiiin"...boom!
Bjorn u lovely lil "creep"....
I'm sure those were the words you wanted to hear from her saying these to you at the time,ha!ha!
I know what you mean. Agnetha really 'powered it'.
@@damothepianist Absolutely.Such a fox!
Interesting theories regarding a possible “ different “ direction for ABBA in 1979.
Of course, I would love to hear all those unreleased Voulez Vous recordings in their entirety.
However, Björn and Benny and the Girls made the right decision releasing the Voulez Vous album as we know it.
It’s an incredibly modern, dynamic album with an incredibly tight cohesive musical landscape.
I remember the first time I put it on the record player and the burst of that crisp sound made me jump.
And that energy is still there in those songs today.
..'I remember the first time I put it on the record player and the burst of that crisp sound made me jump.
And that energy is still there in those songs today".....
Oh boy,Excactly how i had felt at the time /i still feel today about it.
ps.Imagine it having both SNC/GGG in the track list.Could have been a Greatest Hits album on its own if not already been.
@@christianoazzuro6711 or a double album aka, Saturday Night Fever …
They really discarded too many. great songs in 1978-79.
Maybe it came with the luxury they might have experienced having their own studio….
VV had a polished sexy Disco-funkyness plus,and that was clear even from its vibrant opener AGAN.Totally different compared to THE ALBUM's American-ish prog rock sophisticated flavour,which also differed from ARRIVAL's earcandy perfection.VV 's follower 'Super Trouper' was Abba's honeyfied maturity and The Visitors was Abba's winter dark charm.Such an exciting Juke-box diversity.
Love the descriptions!
Dankeschön 🎉Natürlich hatte ich mir damals diese LP gekauft❤ kam dann Super Trouper oder The Visitors?..na ja, bräuchte eh nur nachsehen😉😊
I think Hamlet would have been perfect for the Souper Trouper album.
I think yes.Or maybe even 'Voyage?Has such a nostalgic flavour.
Excellent ❤
Great album.Beautifull cover with stunning look of the girls.IIWFTN is one of my very favorite ABBAS songs also SUMMER NIGHT CITY witch I think is very like VV album style and it is a shame its not in it.Also Im very agree with F rida that TKHLHC is a great song.Thank you from my part to BB for everything you bring us.
I got a possibly deceptive sense that Voulez-Vouz, was a more Agnetha - dominant album,while 'The Visitors' was more ''Frida scented",while on ST/Arrival/The Album both were equally and beautifully prominent in my mind's musicscape.And of course nothing's wrong with that. ...just my own silly perception.
Could have enough beautiful superb songs to make a special double album, how fantastic would that have been.
I would replace I Have a Dream with Hamlet and have the alternate version of Does Your Mother Know, the long intro version of Summer Night City and include Under My Sun which I think is a great song. It is a great album as it is and has my favourite song Chiquitita. I think ABBA felt things were changing in pop music, and kept to songs they were more sure about than releasing ones that may not fit the current trend in music. Today those unreleased and alternate versions would make a great new album ABBA Jewels
I strongly agree with you on summer Night City. I love that song. I especially love the live Wembley version.
@@toby9999 Me too I wish that version was the one they had used on all the releases.
It was a very slick album which spawned 4 hit singles in the UK and l suspect bar (the very short ) Kisses Of Fire the remaining tracks could of been just as successful as singles in their own right .
It was a departure into a new sound and in many ways a more mature ‘Arrival ‘ in my opinion.
As for the material that was put aside l feel it was for good reason . It made commercial sense to continue working on the project even though they had enough in the bag so to speak -better it all stays in the archives .
Dreamworld should've made that album for sure. It was strong enough to have been a single release on its own,but then does you're mother know would've been very different.
The King has lost his crown is one of my least favorite songs of theirs. Nonetheless, their albums are brilliant. I've been an Abba fanatic since 1978. Take a Chance on Me hook me in. It played constantly throughout that Spring and Summer here in the USA. Shawdow Dancing and Bakers Street kept it out of the #1. Such awesome music we had back then.
It was the first album ABBA recorded in their own studio. So there were no time limits. They could try different styles and worked extensively on the arrangements. String arrangements were provided by Anders Eljas who later was part of the Chess musical. By the way the partner of Norwegian singer Wencke Myhre. With Chiquitita and I have a dream gererally being the best known songs it's still a Dance album. Great to enjoy the rich arrangements over headphones. And it all became even better the following year with Super Trouper.
Voulez Vous is an amazing album that defies categorization. Right from the beginning with the string quartet on Good as New the incredible dance pop of Voulez Vous , If it wasn’t for the Nights and Kisses of Fire Then Rockers like Does Your Mother Know and Summer Night City it’s incredible. I don’t even know what to call The King has lost his Crown. It starts out sounding R and B or almost electric jazz. And one of my favorites is Lovers live a Little Longer. A rocker but kind of bluesy I don’t know. Powerful vocals by Frida. Then ... we have the incredible Chiquititta what is is an aria from an opera? With that powerful folksy piano dance thing at the end? It’s so uplifting . I love the whole album. My cd version has 13 songs with Gimme Gimme at the end. It’s just a powerhouse of songwriting .
'Lovers" is such a tricky production.Listening to it carefully i observed it had the funky-soul early disco vibe of 1975 Silver Convention's 'Fly Robin Fly".Just the strings and the pace and then suddenly explodes a rockage chorus.Abba's kitchen had such genius talented 'cooks'.
Yeah, it’s a way cool song with a great vibe and really roots based vocals. I don’t know why it wasn’t a huge hit. Not quite as disco as some of the others. I’ll have to check out fly robin fly to see what you mean.
ABBA played two versions of Does Your Mother Know. The version featured on VValbum and other played in two or three TV programs.
Fantastic album - Abba at their most sexy and sassy!!
I love Hamlet!! I don’t know why they didn’t included I Voyage!! I think that is one of most popular unrealized ABBA’s songs!!
"Lovelight" too has a shorter intro and a longer intro before the girls start to sing. I found that out by mistake when I bought the 12 inch single of it (the one with the different colors)
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Cet album aurait pu être un double album. Et je reste entièrement frustré de quelques titres manquants surtout Rubber ball man, Crying over you. This album could have been a double album. And I remain completely frustrated with some missing tracks especially Rubber ball man, Crying over you.
Hi Bobby's Brother! Enjoy your upcoming vacation. I'm at Voyage next week again, unfortunately not on the same night as the Q&A session with Benny and Björn, so if you could ask them just ONE question, what would it be? 😃
I really wish Hamlet had been finished as a song. Perhaps they could have slowed a tad (not much). I believe it is one of Benny’s best ever melodies. He did record it as an instrumental. But even that doesn’t seem quite polished, not quite developed to its potential. IMHO
Edit: The lyrics are excellent even though also a fragment.
Second Edit: I was at ABBA’s concert in Seattle on their one and only - alas - North American Tour. I was too young to drive from Olympia where I lived and my twin and I had get tickets for our older brother and his girlfriend so that we could get there. To this day, he says it’s the best concert he ever attended.
'ABBA Against the odds" ....despite its rare material gathered in there it had some kind of omissions and breathed out some negative kinda 'inaccurate' and overdramatic hints.Especially in Abba in the USA chapter.You, B'sb could have made it far better and more punctual.The authors should have took some advice from your directory and edit skills.he!he!
Bobby: What do you think of eventual album "Voulez-Vous"?
Their 1st career-one for me, I was suddenly realising I was playing it more than all the others, and it remained their career-best until it was finally and necessarily equalled twice with "Opus 10" (the six 1982 songs finished off with the 4 CHESS ABBA-lite singles-'Nobody's Side', 'One Night In Bangkok', 'Heaven Help My Heart' and 'I Know Him So Well'-lyrically and sonically it's so easy to do this and tell exactly what girl would be singing what, and that 'Bangkok' would likely be Bjorn's sung contribution, with the girls doing the chorus or maybe more. Finally I add the Gemini album to this from 1985, with 'When I Close My Eyes' added to the album as intended, giving it 10 tracks, as it is clear that this is where ABBA would have gone on from had they gone on. And both Gemini albums are far more ABBA-sounding than the overall albums the girls had out in the 80s, though some ABBA like sounds do pop up here and there, often on the strongest, though Gemini's 'Slowly' far far outstrips Frida's version.
"Voulez-Vous" is ABBA at their best and utterly owning the disco sound which only infuses already great songs and is not prevalent all over, anyway the lyrical and sung content, the melodies and unique constructions go far beyond the disco tag. Their follow-up albums were real quality to this, but it was only by 1982 they potentially were matching it then gave up! To sum up below:
If "RING RING" is 7/10, "WATERLOO is 8/10, "LIMO LIFE", "70s NON-ALBUMED COLLECTION" of 12 songs, "80s NON-ALBUMED COLLECTION" of 11 songs (some of which not A&A sung) & "VOYAGER" is 9/10, "ARRIVAL", "THE ALBUM" & "GEMINISM" is 10/10, then "SUPER TROUPER" & "THE VISITORS" is 15/10, then "VOULEZ-VOUS", "OPUS 10" & "GEMINI" are 20/10-the tops!
It IS shocking to think that the old folk ditty 'Free As A Bumblebee' and twangy MOR countrified 'Burning My Bridges" could be made as late as this, both of them sounding utterly out of time with ABBA quality 1975 onwards, never mind the ABBA of '79. The songs being what they are I take in a well-done upload, but I put them were sound-wise they seem to belong-'Free As A Bumblebee' basically sounds like something from their debut! but I make a concession and add it to the "Waterloo" album, the only other album it's old sound makes sense, yet that still makes it the oldest sounding thing on there, but it works. As for 'Burning My Bridges', I grudgingly shove it in between 'Tiger' and 'Money, Money, Money' to end side 1, mainly because Bjorn does not have an almost full song on the album, but this album is as far as I'd put it, and that was stretching it enough. 'Crazy World', basically, sounds more recent to me, and even 'Folk Medley', though not 'Santa Rosa'. As for 'Crying Over You' that sound the worst thing B&B ever tired creating and should best be forgotten as 1973 sounds too modern for it even!
Thanks, it's reflections like yours, I would have liked much more of in 'ABBA - Against the Odds', which in my opinion reduces the analyses of their music to reflections on the developments of their interpersonal relationships. It proclaims that it's interested in the music, but the analyses of the music rarely transgress the biographical sphere. The enormous creativity, experiments and variety in musical genres etc so characteristic of ABBA is hardly mentioned. And the enormous turn that ABBA takes with The Visitors isn't mentioned at all. It's better than many other documentaries - there are som many bad out there - but it doesn't provide any new insight or knowledge of their music, I'm sorry to say.
I have never been that keen on the album "Voulez Vous". There is too much disco music on it and disco tracks like "Voulez Vous" or "If it wasn't for the nights" sound out of place on an album with classic ABBA masterpieces like "Chiquitita" and the rocky tongue in cheek "Does your mother know". "I have a dream" would have been a masterpiece if it hadn't been for the children's choir which has always been a bit cringy for me. It could have been a much stronger album, with songs like "Gimme, gimme, gimme", which is a much stronger song than "Voulez Vous", and the legendary "Claus von Hamlet" as a folk song.
Bobby: What do you think an alternate album would have been like, collecting all these outtakes from 1978 and 1979?
Moi: A haphazard one that threatens to be beneath both preceding albums in overall quality, and actually, taking the 3 dodgiest things into consideration (the dated 60s flower-power hippy-vibe folk of 'Free As A Bumblebee', dated dippy countrified twang of 'Burning My Bridges' and the downright awful and ghastly 'Crying Over You' debacle-a song so bad it doesn't even deserve consideration as a "Ring Ring" era B-side-who'd have thought something could make 'Santa Rosa' sound like gold?!), this would have been an album of worrying lows that no ABBA album beforehand would ever have, not even "Waterloo"!
Granted leaving the songs finished product "Voulez-Vous" out of the equation, you have the top quality: 'Lovelight', 'Summer Night City', 'Dream World' and 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!', then you have the competent middle-ground showings 'Hamlet III' and 'Just A Notion', 'I'm Still Alive' and 'Under My Sun'-which is definitely better worded than 'Rubber Ball Man'-if still incomplete, than you have the lowest ones 'Free As' and 'Burning Bridges' which are not any stronger than "Ring Ring" albums least workable moments-mainly half of Side 2, leaving out 'Love Isn't Easy', 'He Is Your Brother', and 'Rock'N'Roll Band, which are as fine as Side 1's offerings-if 'Santa Rosa' was on here it would be so meant for weakest Side 2, whereas 'Merry-Go-Round' more Side 1.
But worst of all, had the utterly risible 'Crying Over You' ever progressed to make this album, it would be the one and only time I would ever do what I never thought possible-I would delete it from the album and act like it wasn't there and play anything I could find by them instead of it to fit-likely something from the CHESS album. They've only ever matched this hell once more-when Bjorn helped co-write the equally horrendous and ghastly 'Wild About That Girl' from "Geminism"-they even made it a single, proof that Bjorn can be as thick as you-know-what at times, his views and treatment of 'Get On The Carousel' and 'Just Like That' a perfect example, yet he okays this and the recording of 'Crying Over You'!
Even regarding the passable low-grade-ish 'Free As Bee' and 'Burning Bridges'-both sounding weirdly far more ancient and less-hip than 'Man In The Middle', Bang-A-Boomerang', 'I Do', 'Rikky'Rock'N'Roller' on best early-period ABBA LP, and almost anything on "Waterloo" bar 'King Kong Song', and basically just above the lowest lights on "Ring Ring" LP and 'Santa Rosa' B-side. Oh and 'Crazy World', 'Merry-Go-Round' and 'Folk Medley' much hipper too. so there we go. But you did ask!
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Bobby: What do you think of the sessions leading to the finished "Voulez-Vous" album?
Moi: Fascinating and alternately horrifying (see in a bit). Finally but glad they're generally intact final decision on what they wanted and needed was totally on the ball. Granted the appalling 'Crying Over You'-a song so damnably awful and ancient it sounds too tragically bad even for consideration for their least ABBA-sounding album-the debut "Ring Ring". Nothing ABBA ever did that I know of-even regarding 'Santa Rosa', 'Me And Bobby And Bro', 'She's My Kind Of Girl' and 'I Am Just A Girl' sound this woefully inept and childishly toe-curling ick, goofy and stupid and wrong! And to think they created in 1978...AFTER the classy stuff that made up the last 3 albums! The dump the immature but cutesy 'Rikky Rock'N'Roller' and rousing 'Get On The Carousel' as nothing but waste time creating the like of this in 1978...for what would become a career best album. Oh my God, the sonner I chainsaw this horror from the memory the better!
While far beyond the ghastly 'Crying Over You' in terms of quality and worth, 'Free As A Bumblebee' is still an old folky 60s flower-power thing that actually DOES sound like it belongs on the "Ring Ring" album, but I'd be kind and give it to "Waterloo" album, as it's the last album with a number of older styles on it, but it does not fit any further down the line. Neither for that matter, does the old countrified rockabilly daffy 'Burning My Bridges', but as Bjorn has 2 leads on what I term the "Limo Life" album (album 3), it has to go on "Arrival"-a concession I can just live with. The fact the girls are absent does harm the song even further, but I'll still keep it.
About the others, 'Hamlet III' is a charmer than can find a place on a 70s non-album collection, 'Lovelight' is a killer song that should have been made a single itself or double-A with 'Chiquitita'-they were crazy to do this, but I'm not surprised. They were wrong also to keep 'Dream World' in oblivion for ages, but at least released 'Summer Night City' as a single, but in actual fact, those these 3 songs, plus the later 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' are brilliant, they didn't need to be on the finished album at all, of which the final product is too full of goodies. And, for me, their 1st career-best album, which remained above all the others, until I realised I could finish "Opus 10"'s 6 songs with the 4 singles most ABBA like from CHESS CD. And then a 3rd career-best (only not A&A sung) but the 2 Gemini albums are virtually ABBA in all but voice, though even then the singing style much like ABBA's. So the 1st Gemini album from 1985 is their 3rd career-best-as long as 'When I Close My Eyes' added to end as intended. 'Summer Night City', 'Dream World', 'Lovelight' and 'Gimme!' heavily infuse a 70s non-album collection, alongside 'Fernando' with the best songs it could have-and 'Lovelight' the best of the lot. And of course 'Just A Notion' is now part of a newer collection, even if overall, "Voyager" does not sound as of the minute of many of ABBA's albums did on their release-and ahead of their time even.
I appreciate BB's enthusiasm, but VV is my least favourite mature ABBA album (disregarding Ring Ring and Waterloo). At the time of its release it seemed to confirm ABBA were totally behind the curve, as disco was ready to implode. I can remember being fed up with the cheesy commercialism of disco 78-79, as entire radio station programming was devoted to disco and the style was inescapable. People who didn't live through the era don't realise how ubiquitously bad disco became, as record companies jumped on the bandwagon and pumped out some of the worst music ever recorded. It really was wretched - and there was ABBA, releasing a disco album. Or kind of.
VV is almost schizophrenic in its disjointedness, stumbling from limp disco to maudlin ballads. The songs in isolation aren't bad at all, but as a single listening experience it's a deeply weird concoction. Apart from the fact it's not a great album, I've always thought ABBA were quite lost at the time. The variety of songs suggests a lack of musical direction rather than a willingness to experiment. Regardless, they righted themselves with Super Trouper, a far more cohesive album of mature pop united by Benny's synths.
"Kisses Of Fire" is the weakest song on the album and should have been replaced with "Summer Night City" with the extended intro.
Really? Even with the existence of "I Have A Dream"?
@@AkakiMoiseich - I'm not a fan of "I Have A Dream", but it is a song that has proven to be very popular. So that's why I left it on.
I love both SNC especially the full version and KOF.Would have kept them both in this fabulous album.
I agree,
I would have possibly exchanged it with "Lovers" if there wasn't enough 'vynil-space' (and placed 'Lovers' as a 7 inch c/w side ) cause the chorus hits way more punchy to me at times but Frida's kinky delivery is magnificent on the verses before it. Generally VV is for me a fabulous album.
Just a notion should have stayed in the bin.
As much as it pains me to say this but I agree 100%.
It just doesn't sound like ABBA.
Bjorn's lyrics are very poor.
Should never have been used on Voyage and certainly not the 3rd single.
For me It was a grower after listening to the full track and would have also included both this and JLT in the Voyage.But tastes are bound to differ so this is subjective too anyway .
Dreamworld should've made that album for sure. It was strong enough to have been a single release on its own,but then does you're mother know would've been very different.
i think Dreamworld could have also perfectly fit to the mini musical of The Album right after I Wonder.I love the 'carousel" sound in the intro plus the vocals in the chorus explode like fireworks.So crispy and shiny.