ABBA Voyage.

Reminds me of that black mirror episode. This is just priming the people Of this planet for holographic realism to be accepted/normalised. How long until the president is a hologram, if he isn’t already
 
I'm going to come clean. These tracks have really grown on me. It's a weird cocktail of amazement and happiness they still sound like Abba at their age, the typically impressive production, pure nostalgia, and the movie-type plot of a band coming back together for a final, glorious (to me) burst of creativity. It's as exciting as when Pink Floyd got back together... albeit without the crappy singing. And it's led me to watch a lot of YouTube footage of old documentaries (and get thoroughly grumpy about ad inflation that seems to match gas price inflation these days!)

I was only ever aware of the music (ok, and the girls); never took an interest in the back story, so I didn't even know Agnetha & Bjorn had very young children during the peak of their fame. No wonder things fell apart, because that's a heck of a cocktail of responsibilities and emotions to manage; I'm amazed they lasted as long as they did.

Anyway, none of that was enough to justify posting here again. But although I knew B&B created the songs before the girls were brought in to put down the vocals and ad their twist to that, what has just completely blown my mind is that B&B finished the melody and arrangement first before Bjorn wrote the lyrics. I've tried linking to the right time, but the embed doesn't work. 4 mins 14s into this...


Ok, in this he says 'nowadays' and they're talking about the Super Trouper album, so maybe some of the earlier stuff wasn't written like that, but it's how Winner Takes It All was written, and it's hard to imagine the background track being built without knowing what lyrics would be attached. Kind of mind-blowing for a small time "legend in his own living room" type songwriter like me. Their songs seem so simple, which is why they're so memorable, but they're really nothing like simple, and for there to be no organic melody/lyric work just seems insane.

I guess it's a very successful kind of insanity!

Anyway, Abba... less than a month to go until we're find out if the rest of the album's up to snuff. Must admit I can't wait for the buzz around that... though I'm annoyed that even if the Christmas song on it's any good, it won't stand a chance in the charts because Ed Sheeran's got one coming out with Elton John. The Sheeranites will have it topping the chart til about Easter. Pesky kids! :->
 
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If its old hits then why bother going when you can just listen at home. Might have been worth going if it was all new songs performed using these digitial versions of themselves but meh just stick utube on if u wana see them do old hits.

Personally, not a huge fan of em tho kinda liked the first mamma mia film with the songs in tho not all.
 
SkeeterUK said:
If its old hits then why bother going when you can just listen at home.
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I've never been much of a concert-goer, but even I can appreciate that half the story with a concert is the shared experience... like difference between seeing movies at home and in a cinema. So, given how much effort's going into the live show, with real musicians as support to the virtual act, and a light show customised to the venue -- which possibly adds a lot to the experience -- I'd be tempted to book too if my circumstances were different.

However, the last concert I saw was Rush at the NEC in 1984. The sound was lousy (unless you like LOUD), the stage was about three miles away, and it left me unimpressed with the reward/effort ratio. So I'm not sure I'm the target audience, despite my Bjorn again fervour.

Edit: for potential sweary... pre-modding myself!
 
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SexyGreyFox said:
I was there but it wasn't loud enough
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Andrew_McP said:
I'm annoyed that even if the Christmas song on it's any good, it won't stand a chance in the charts because Ed Sheeran's got one coming out with Elton John.
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The key words there are "even if". It's all yours boys, take it away! I'll be the one sat in the corner humming Slade, Wizard and Jona Lewie though.

I have a very, very long history of being disappointed by albums. You know the released singles are always the highlights of the album... the music equivalent of modern movie trailers, which spare you all the trouble of actually going to see the film. There may be a couple of growers on this album, after all I disliked 'Just a Notion' until I heard it on the radio in rotation with modern stuff, where it does have a stand-out, uplifting Abba feel. But.... Ah, what the heck, today the 70's knocked on the door and I let them in as long as they didn't bring my childhood asthma and Paul Morris with them... don't want to see either of them ever again. (But if Rebecca Plant's available, that'd be great!)

It was fun catching up, but I hope they don't plan on staying too long... says the man who spent yesterday learning Waterloo on guitar. My excuse is that I can sing a lot of Abba stuff to a tolerable standard because I appear to be a pretty comfortable octave down from the girls in most songs.

Right, back to Spotify to see if I'm being unfair. I was looking for a hidden banger first time through, but how many bangers do most songwriters get in a lifetime? Most seem to build a career on one or two, and Abba have had more than their fair share. As Benny & Bjorn say in their very well adjusted interviews (god preserve us from earnest musicians!) what have they got to lose? Fans will be happy and nothing can detract from the songs everyone already knows, whether they like the fact they know them or not. :-)
 
Andrew_McP said:
says the man who spent yesterday learning Waterloo on guitar
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On Tuesday we were working a new guitarist into the band and we've played Waterloo for over 3 years.
Nobody had picked up (except him) that straight after the first chorus there is a bar of harmony before the 2nd verse comes in :)
Incidentally the guitarist plays a lot of the sax parts on stage.
It is also 148 bpm and not 160 :)

I also have the album but not listened yet.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
I also have the album but not listened yet.
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Having listened properly now, belted out on the CD player & Hi-Fi rather than through decent headphones on a digitally suspect tablet while browsing Twitter, I'm starting to thaw.

There are some clumsy lyrics, but taken as what it is... a kind of retrospective look over their working and 'retired' lives, it's growing on me. No Doubt About It is definitely one my foot appreciates before I do, and I like a song with a nice abrupt end, so it ticks a lot of boxes. And the final track felt a bit forced and clumsy at first, but... well, it could also be incredibly moving if you're in the right frame of mind.

When push comes to shove, it's Abba and I'm already up to four songs that I really enjoy. I've bought far worse albums!
SexyGreyFox said:
Nobody had picked up (except him) that straight after the first chorus there is a bar of harmony before the 2nd verse comes in
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Some things in life become so familiar that we don't notice what they're actually like. I've always had this problem... my brain remembers songs very differently to how they actually are when I try to play or sing along. Takes a lot of breaking out of 40+ year old habits!

Edit: I've watched many interviews recently, most covering the same ground. This, with just Bjorn overlaps a lot of that, but is also genuinely inciteful (IMO)
 
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Are they sold out -
Bjorn said I can be sitting at home whilst the concert is happening - it's just a cynical money grab -

watching live streaming of real people events at theatre/opera(met did it) ... even Glastonbury ? on a big screen I can just about understand at cinema entry prices,
or if Kraftwek/Daft-Punk did a digital show.
 
jpaul said:
Are they sold out -
Bjorn said I can be sitting at home whilst the concert is happening - it's just a cynical money grab -
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If idiots want to pay money let them do it, some would argue Benny & Bjorn 'sold out' when they did Waterloo :)
People paid a vast amount to watch a holograph of Ronnie james Dio and I believe Michael Jackson.
My band have just added our 3rd ABBA song - Does Your Mother Know.
 
Not quite a thread necro, but here goes

Saw ABBA Voyage tonight, and it was fabulous. I’m not their biggest fan, but the O/H was very much into them

I was stunned by the realism…you could almost believe…The lighting effects were brilliant

Was a strange mixture of nostalgia (lots of the female audience members had wet faces) and nasty reality - expensive tickets, and more than a few middle aged people who couldn’t enjoy a night out without getting plastered, spending the concert going back and forth to the bar. Oh, and the fact I had to give my England/NZ tickets to my sons ’cos I’d double booked :mad:

Whatever, if you or your spouse/partner ever liked ABBA, 100% recommended

@SexyGreyFox , yes I am an idiot (proved by the rugby ticket fiasco) but kudos for adding my favourite, Does Your Mother Know

Tbh, I don’t understand the dislike/snobbery of pop music, yes it’s ephemeral, and forgettable, but it’s not holding itself out to be anything else. Irony in this case is it’s neither!
 
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