abba

Not. Thread locked. Move on.

(Kidding...)

Not.

I`m sure there are things to be said against them. However, I`d like to say a few things in their favour -

They wrote their own songs.

Agnetha and Annifrid can both sing very well. As soloists they are very good and together they sound magnificent when they hit those high `C` notes.

They haven`t got back together. I mean that as a serious good point. I believe they realise that despite several other groups re-uniting it would probably be a bad idea for them.

They are more than a singles band. Although I wouldn`t rate any of their albums as 10 out of 10 most of them are a pretty steady 8 out of 10.

During the height of their fame they didn`t milk it regarding the release of singles. They only released two in 1977 and the same number in 1978.

They came back from the brink of oblivion 18 months after `Waterloo` had left the charts to prove many doubters wrong.

They held the top two spots in the album chart in 1976. Don`t think that`s been done too many times since.

They had nine number one singles in an era when you had to sell a few copies to actually get to the top spot.

They seem to have influenced many acts and have received praise from a number of their peers.

They made it big during a time of great variety and competition within the music business.

I believe many people would be a little suprised to hear one or two slightly rockier tracks from their early albums. This was before the modern synthesizer began to dominate their sound too much.

I suspect that in 50 to 100 years time they will be one of a handful of bands from the last 50 years who will still be popular and selling well. Time of course will tell on that one.

In all my time of talking to people regarding music I would say they are the band who have been most put down by people who actually own one or two of their records. Goodness knows how many times the conversation has gone "Abba, they`re rubbish!" "Well o.k". I`d say. "So do you have any or their records?" "Well, yeah. I`ve got their Greatest Hits". "Ah" I`d say. "That rubbish then."

One last thing. I know every group has their own distinct sound but I do remember hearing two of Abba`s singles on the radio when they were first released and it took me awhile to realise it was them. The two singles were `Name Of The Game` and `Gimme, Gimme, Gimme`. Being so familiar now that might seem strange but it really did take me a little time. That doesn`t happen to me often with a big band like that. Not a major thing but I feel it`s to their credit.

Can`t think of anything else at the moment.

timwileman:

rubbish or not?

JohnDuncan:

timwileman:

rubbish or not?

No, their songs are classics. Imagine Knowing Me, Knowing You done in the style of Thin Lizzy, complete with twin harmony guitars. We do that

Wouldn`t mind hearing that.

Just quickly a couple of things I forgot to mention...

`Mamma Mia` was the song which finally knocked `Bohemian Rhapsody` off the top spot. Surely the only time that two consecutive number ones have had the words Mamma Mia in them!

Agnetha does a mean impression of Doris Day. She`s actually not a bad songwriter but naturally left that to Benny and Bjorn when she joined the band.(Though she does have a writing credit on the first album)

I have autographs of two of the bands members which I got in person. (This means nothing except it`s a great chance for me to name drop!)

i fully agree, i have always really liked their songs, dancing queen is played so much that its a tad annoying at times but still a disco must dance!

anyway what prompted this was not just watching mama mia the film but my little neice on hearing 'I have a dream' she said....oh this is Abba their really good... so timeless songs that IMO stand the test of time as they already have.

abba sounds the same even if it spelled backward.

Very nice song. Natural sound. Very good for HiFi. But avoid listening too frequently.

Their music seems to span generations of listeners,and still sounds as fresh today as when it was fist released.

My daughters love their music along with all the club music etc that they listen to.

As was remarked earlier in the post the music will probably still be being played in 50 years time. A true super group/band.

And Abba Gold is back at No1 in the album charts this week (thanks to Mamma Mia film) - that's longevity for you.

It's certainly not high art, but who cares - Abba is a fine slice of pop with both above-average songs and performance (in a pre Pro-Tools voice-correction era).

And it's fun - well, apart from The Day Before You Came, which is deeply odd, in a compellingly syncopated way....

 

Clare Newsome:

It's certainly not high art, but who cares - Abba is a fine slice of pop with both above-average songs and performance (in a pre Pro-Tools voice-correction era).

Quite so. If anyone dares accuse Abba of being rubbish, I'm outa here.

Andy Clough:

Clare Newsome:

It's certainly not high art, but who cares - Abba is a fine slice of pop with both above-average songs and performance (in a pre Pro-Tools voice-correction era).

Quite so. If anyone dares accuse Abba of being rubbish, I'm outa here.

You can't go, you work here !!

Abba are 'Bostin' (as they say in  the Black Country) 

andyb190:

Andy Clough:

Clare Newsome:

It's certainly not high art, but who cares - Abba is a fine slice of pop with both above-average songs and performance (in a pre Pro-Tools voice-correction era).

Quite so. If anyone dares accuse Abba of being rubbish, I'm outa here.

You can't go, you work here !!

Abba are 'Bostin' (as they say in  the Black Country) 

Excellent.

andyb190:

Excellent.

So much so, I've changed a little to honour them 

andyb190:

andyb190:

Excellent.

So much so, I've changed a little to honour them 

And my platforms ! Not really as it hard to find size 13s and they take me above door height which is too painful.

Go no Tim, choose your fav ABBA lyrics for your signature.