ABBA

[shazzy]

Hi everyone!!

Wow ABBA!! I remember to my mum when I was a child that She always was with them on the radio and I dancing and singing "Waterloo" ,"Mamma mia" and my song "Chiquitita".Wow I love them!!

One question,the song Mamma Mia was singing by The Corrs,wasn´t it?

well,kisses friend!!

[SingleTunePoet]

A cute story:
One of Katha´s sining students asked her whether she could learn how to sing an ABBA song to sing it at the next concert (Katha usually organises concerts for her students twice a year.) When the other students heard about that all of them (individually) told her how much they like ABBA and that they´ve got their CDs and would like to sing their songs. I was amazed for those students are aged 12-18. ABBA mania´s still going on.

[snookyjojo]

yeah! that´s right! The music of ABBA is THE kind of music that´s timeless...ever -green ;D
i just don´t understand why many people don´t want to admit that they actually LIKE their music...you know? sometimes it feels as if some people feel ashamed...especially young people...isn´t that strange?

[lindaj]

Actually, Shazzy.. The Corrs covered "The Winner Takes It All", quite some time ago now.. & not very well, I might add.. They made it sound awful.. ABBA's original version is way better.. So, stick with that.. The Corrs have never sang "Mamma Mia" ..Can't even imagine how that would turn out.. LoL!!! ;D

Thanks for your comments, guys.. Yes, ABBA's music is timeless, & still hugely popular.. 280,000,000 record sales to date can't be wrong!! ;D

[shazzy]

HI!!!!

OOOOWWWWWW!!! Thanks LindaJ,hehe,I believed that The Corrs made a version of "Mamma Mia",sorry,yes,I´ve got one version of the song "Mamma Mia" and the people told me... " they are the corrs, they are the corrs!"hehe.Thank you Lindaj
Bye

[DazedOblivion]

Sept 10, 2008 17:20:01 GMT 1 @lindaj said:

Actually, Shazzy.. The Corrs covered "The Winner Takes It All", quite some time ago now.. & not very well, I might add.. They made it sound awful..

Yes, Shazzy, I agree with Linda about this song. I STILL doubt in my mind that it's a legitimate Corrs performance. After listening to it many times, here's how I imagine the ABBA Mania recording studio dialog:

Producer: Andrina, you're late.

Andrea: It's Andrea! And I'm the first one here! That NEVER happens.

Producer: Are we ready? Is Andrea's mic live?

Andrea: But Caroline, Sharon and Jim aren't here yet! I thought...Who are THEY?

Producer: Those are your background singers. Pianists! Get ready!

Andrea: Four pianos? That's IT? No guitars? What about the others, and what about our sound? You know, Sharon's violin, and Caroline's bodh...

Producer: Don't worry! We have a synthesizer too and later we''ll add a killer dance beat too.

Andrea: I can't do this!

Producer: You're the lead singer of the Coors, right?

Andrea: Well...

Producer: Fine! Okay play the intro, guys!

Andrea: Those pianos sound like giant toy pianos!

Producer: We like the effect. Besides we can't change it now. We have S Club 7 out there waiting to record "Dancing Queen" and Hannah and Rachel are growing impatient.

Andrea: This music is in the key of D. That's a bit low for me. ABBA did the song in the key of G flat. Can't I sing it...

Producer: Don't worry. This will work, Andrina.

Andrea: It's Andrea!

.... and so on! That's why I don't really consider it a Corrs song, and it is a terribly produced track. After hearing Michael Tretow's work with ABBA, this is really bad in comparison.

[cw]

If you were growing up in the 70's, ABBA was considered the antithesis of "cool". It wasn't till 20 years later that I really started to do a retrospective on some of the "shunned" 70's acts (ABBA, Bee Gees, Carpenters) that I was really gobsmacked with their quality. Benny & Bjorn were musicians and songwriters of the highest class and I'm not sure there has ever been a more perject melding of 2 female voices than Anna & Frida.

Re Winner Takes It All; possibly the "heaviest" and most certainly the most powerful song they ever did and to my mind their very best number.

Interesting comments re the Corrs rendition which I largely agree with. Do agree with regards to the production as it seems it was rushed and unsure as "how to play it" which is definitely NOT the Corrs way !! Almost a case of being in 2 minds ...... do we play it straight down the line (and be accused of just apeing the original) OR put a different spin. As a result, it comes across rather untidy especially towards the end and I agree on that dance beat in the latter half. Would be VERY curious to hear what input they actually had with this effort as their record (otherwise) with covers is that of high quality, well-thought out versions that are respectful of the original whilst putting their individual touch.

What WAS interesting was Andrea's vocal. This is actually a v good number for her as I think her voice can be a very emotive instrument and hits a tone very reminiscent of Agnetha's. Something says to me that I 'd actually liked to hear her (and the rest of the crew) go and have a PROPER go at this song.

[DazedOblivion]

Very well expressed, CW... all of it.

I had a "retrospective appreciation" for the Carpenters, ABBA and The Bee Gees, too. I agree - they all produced superb music. Some of the earliest music of ABBA does not stand the test of time, but shortly afterwards they "clicked" and, from that point forward, the consistent quality of their output was marvelous.

(*singing J-J-J-Jive talkin'*) By the way, I heard that the rhythm for "Jive Talkin'" came from the sound the Gibbs heard of a train on which they were riding as it passed over some worn out tracks. I've always been amazed by that fact.

[cynthia]

Haha we now have the Abba sing star on our play station... Some songs are quite "easy" with my voice but some are almost impossible to reach....
Still, I think even the grandchildren that still need to be born will know about ABBA...
Their music keeps on living on. Why not? It is VERY VERY VERY good

[The One & Only Official *MIP*]

ABBA will live on & on, for a very long time, and I'm not the only one who thinks that, as this thread clearly shows.

[cw]

As stated earlier in the thread, my appreciation for ABBA has been much belated. Both the guys WERE master songwriters and Anna & Frida were the ideal vehicles to showcase their music. If their has ever been a better female harmony combination in the history of popular music, I 'd like to hear it and each on their own had marvellous voices.

To bear this point out, I actually happened upon this clip recently and thought it might interest a few people. It dates back to pre-ABBA days ( I suspect late 60's) and features Frida singing on a Swedish TV show. The songs are Cole Porter's " Just One of Those Things" and the jazz standard "Mad About The Boy". Given, she later attained greater English facility, but to my mind, it illustrates her talents and that she may well have found success in some other musical fields.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GPkKnDAASs

[DazedOblivion]

Wow!! Great find, Wombat! I hadn't seen that one.

I love Frida's pre-ABBA music. She has an amazing voice. We hear that she is working with Jon Lord again. It should be interesting if she makes another album all these years later after that performance seen in the YouTube above.

I happened to be looking at the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) Top 100 Albums in Ireland for the week ending February 12, 2009. There are THREE albums of ABBA music in the Top 100. Really unbelievable for a band that broke up in the early 1980's. The Mamma Mia! film is simply a vehicle to acquaint a whole new batch of fans to this music. What's the magic? I think it's what you mentioned, CW: melodic and interesting songs by Benny and Bjorn, sung magnificently by Frida and Agnetha. The "wall of sound" techniques of producer Michael Tretow added to the magic of the records, but the songs, as deconstructed for the musical, are still finding new fans.

Frida and Agnetha were together not long ago to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award! (LindaJ told me about this!):

HQ