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Digger reviews Abba's two albums, Voulez-Vous
(1979) and Super Trouper (1980), two releases which signified the
end of the 70s and the start of the 80s for a group who dominated
these two decades.
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express permission.
The combined talents of four Scandinavian musicians who had already
long-established themselves in their native lands represented the
powerhouse of musicality and creativity that was Abba. Defying the
first and second unwritten laws of pop that a) no good popular music
ever comes out of anywhere apart from America and Britain (and certainly
not from Europe) and that b) success in the Eurovision
Song Contest spells instant death to any future chance of a career,
the quartet created, performed and produced some of the greatest
pop music of all time. Not since The Beatles had a band been so
internationally popular in terms of singles and albums chart success
as well as in the lucrative areas of merchandising and live concerts.
Only America failed to fully fall for Abba's charms, this being
a marketing error rather than any inherent flaw with the band itself.
Speaking to Abba fan Sid Bernstein, the man who brought The Beatles
to America a decade before Abba's 'birth', Sid told me: "They
weren't big in America, because they didn't spend enough time here,
that's the reason. Stig Anderson wanted them to be The Beatles -
wanted them to come in with two to four number one records in a
row. They never got that, they got one possibly two. He kept them
away too long. But they were wonderful people. I just fell that
Stig made the wrong decision in keeping them away too long."
Much-maligned over the years for their lack of cool by the popular
music snobs (who secretly admired and even indulged in their offerings),
they were celebrated by classically-trained scholars and musicians
who saw elements of their compositions as reminiscent of Handel
and Bach. Certainly, there is a trademark baroque quality to the
piano and keyboard flourishes that are to be found in tracks like
Angel Eyes and The Winner Takes It All. The songwriting was consistently
excellent. Beautiful melodies and sharp, often autobiographical
and very personal, lyrical observations. The characteristic driving
beat of the drums and clash of the cymbals and the high-hat on their
up-tempo numbers is almost in danger of drowning the vocals and
other instrumentation. Ambitious, yet effective, use of counter-harmonies
by the two ladies is another stock-in-trade, as is the imperfect
but attractive English pronunciation.
Today, Abba are championed by Pete Townshend who counts Dancing
Queen as his favourite single of all time and by Rolling Stones
manager Andrew Loog Oldham who told me "Knowing Me, Knowing
You is my favourite Abba single. Layers and innuendo are a major
part of their writing craft, plus the ear to pick up on a nuance
and non-words like 'Uh-hu-huh' from 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' and
placing it in a space that made it a breathing hook in a national
anthem. The use of 'Voulez-Vous' is as brilliant as Kennedy starting
off a speech with 'Ich bin einer Berliner'. 'Chiquitita' is another
gem; word-play as in Euro-understanding untempered by the restrictions
of one language was one of their major abilities. Abba are the true
musical definition of the common market."
In these two albums we see the group at the pinnacle
of its success, creative flair and confidence.
Super Trouper
1. Super trouper
2. Winner takes it all
3. On and on and on
4. Andante Andante
5. Me and I
6. Happy New Year
7. Our last summer
8. Piper
9. Lay all your love on me
10. Way old friends do
11. Elaine (bonus track)
12. Put on your white sombrero (bonus track)
Voulez Vous
1. As good as new
2. Voulez vous
3. I have a dream
4. Angel eyes
5. King has lost his crown
6. Does your mother know
7. If it wasn't for the nights
8. Chiquitita
9. Lovers (live a little longer)
10. Kisses of fire
11. Summer night city (bonus track)
12. Lovelight (bonus track)
13. Gimme gimme gimme (a man after midnight) (bonus track)
This article is the intellectual property
of www.retrosellers.com
and cannot be reproduced without express permission.
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