A couple of years ago my wife and I were invited to a friends surprise 70th birthday weekend at a hotel down on the coast. Unbeknown to me it turned out to be a tribute weekend and yes you guessed it the headline "act" were an Abba tribute band. Now if there is anything worse than Abba it is a Abba tribute band.
I had a few drinks and stayed there for about 15 mins just to be polite then made my excuses and wandered off to the lounge bar in the hotel.
There was the barman me and a lone piano player who not having an audience was tinkering away on the keyboard just playing stuff that he was into and enjoying not having to churn out the usual musak crap. Turned out he liked amongst others, Billy Joel, Tom Waites, Rufus Wainright and last but not least Bruce.
Ended up me the barman and the piano player doing a bottle of scotch whilst he played track after classic track. Mary came to find me an hour or so later just as the piano player was stood on his stool banging out Jerry Lee Lewis.
I'm also not a fan. But admire them anyway for their professionalism, dedication, and the success they have gained. I watched a documentary not a while ago and loved the idea of them escaping to an island where they wrote music in the total Scandinavian wilderness.
The private story, both marriages falling apart while they were still on top... Must have been very hard..
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My favorite song is probably also The Winner Takes It All. As a kid, maybe 10 years old, I couldn't make the connection between Chiquitita the song, and Chiquita bananas. It was a mystery...🙂
I don't know how many people here like dancing, but ABBA always draws people to the dance floor.
Doesn't get any better than Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie ...... One of the best rock disco songs from that era...Maybe not as good as Hot Stuff ..... but I sure like it better than "Miss You".....
Am I the only one who absolutely hates ABBA. I never liked them from the first time I saw a sequined jump suit. If their music is played on a radio I instantly reach to turn it to another station.
I like a handful of their hits, but overall they fairly suck. Their best is really good pop and i think The Winner Takes It All is brilliant, but most of their songs are irritating.
ABBA was a big part of the music I grew up with. My dad and mum were 7 years apart age wise, in terms of music taste add at least another 5 years each way. But they seemed to converge on the melodies and pop smarts of ABBA.
For me, some of it is now overdone, some is played for nostalgia, but some is truly still enjoyable in a non ironic way. This is a great song, from the hushed start, to the next bit, then the chorus, then the musical uplift part. Someone musical maybe can explain why my ears still salivate over this banger.
This won't answer your question really .... But because they made incredible records !!!! I am now convinced that Benny is the swedish Paul McCartney .....They worked very hard at writing and in the studio. And it was our lucky fate that these people ....who were all working musicians on their own.... found each other .....
Here is a song Benny and Bjorn wrote in the 21st Century ....I didnt realize they still worked together ....But this song was apparently number 1 for like a year in Sweden .... The english words are incredibly trite .... But the swedish version absolutely blew me away
@Early North Jersey Agreed, it's a great book. I want to visit the museum and do the tour in Stockholm some time. Wasn't on way back last time I was there.
I have every album, but they never get played. I do occasionally play a few of my favorite songs; The Name Of The Game, Dancing Queen, Super Trouper, Take A Chance On Me. The one ABBA song I play the most is their greatest song and probably one of the best ballads of the 80s, The Winner Takes It All. My favorite ABBA song, though, isn't even an ABBA song.
I tend towards the bubble gum side of things so i do love some of the early stuff...Ring Ring,Mamma Mia and of course Waterloo .... But in their case i do adore some of the ballads...One Man One Woman, Andante Andante and I've Been Waiting For You are almost unbearably beautiful .....
And of course i owned that Frida song although the format escapes me ....i seem to remember a cassingle ....but it seems to early for that format..... Produced by Phil Collins .....I see it was written by Russ Ballard which i didnt know. who wrote one of my all time favorites "Since You've Been Gone".
I will tell you my Abba story.
A couple of years ago my wife and I were invited to a friends surprise 70th birthday weekend at a hotel down on the coast. Unbeknown to me it turned out to be a tribute weekend and yes you guessed it the headline "act" were an Abba tribute band. Now if there is anything worse than Abba it is a Abba tribute band.
I had a few drinks and stayed there for about 15 mins just to be polite then made my excuses and wandered off to the lounge bar in the hotel.
There was the barman me and a lone piano player who not having an audience was tinkering away on the keyboard just playing stuff that he was into and enjoying not having to churn out the usual musak crap. Turned out he liked amongst others, Billy Joel, Tom Waites, Rufus Wainright and last but not least Bruce.
Ended up me the barman and the piano player doing a bottle of scotch whilst he played track after classic track. Mary came to find me an hour or so later just as the piano player was stood on his stool banging out Jerry Lee Lewis.
Turned out to be a great weekend!
Not remotely my bag, but -
1) I like "The day before you came"; and
2) I fancied the ladies like crazy as a youngster.
I'm also not a fan. But admire them anyway for their professionalism, dedication, and the success they have gained. I watched a documentary not a while ago and loved the idea of them escaping to an island where they wrote music in the total Scandinavian wilderness.
The private story, both marriages falling apart while they were still on top... Must have been very hard..
.
My favorite song is probably also The Winner Takes It All. As a kid, maybe 10 years old, I couldn't make the connection between Chiquitita the song, and Chiquita bananas. It was a mystery...🙂
I don't know how many people here like dancing, but ABBA always draws people to the dance floor.
Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight...
Am I the only one who absolutely hates ABBA. I never liked them from the first time I saw a sequined jump suit. If their music is played on a radio I instantly reach to turn it to another station.
It's nice to hear them and the new songs sound great, but the digital avatar concert just sounds creepy.
ABBA was a big part of the music I grew up with. My dad and mum were 7 years apart age wise, in terms of music taste add at least another 5 years each way. But they seemed to converge on the melodies and pop smarts of ABBA.
For me, some of it is now overdone, some is played for nostalgia, but some is truly still enjoyable in a non ironic way. This is a great song, from the hushed start, to the next bit, then the chorus, then the musical uplift part. Someone musical maybe can explain why my ears still salivate over this banger.
@Early North Jersey Is the book this one? Certainly it's the best account I've read about ABBA.
If I'm going to listen to ABBA, it tends to be the later albums, particularly the Visitors.
I have every album, but they never get played. I do occasionally play a few of my favorite songs; The Name Of The Game, Dancing Queen, Super Trouper, Take A Chance On Me. The one ABBA song I play the most is their greatest song and probably one of the best ballads of the 80s, The Winner Takes It All. My favorite ABBA song, though, isn't even an ABBA song.