| 
Liner notes, part 1
Introduction
Theoretically,
anyone completely uninterested in popular music between 1974 and 1982, could very
well have missed out on the worldwide pop phenomenon that was the Swedish group
ABBA. Or in the case of those too young way back then, perhaps not even born,
it is unlikely if not impossible that the extraordinarily successful revival of
the 1990s also passed them by. How, then, to explain to such a person that some
two decades after they went their separate ways, there are still several million
people out there who care about the music made by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn
Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad?
The
37 tracks contained in this collection ought to make a convincing case for the
group and their music. Here you will find, for the first time exclusively collected
in one package, each and every single as conceived and released by ABBA and their
record company Polar Music between 1972 and 1982. In addition, a few significant
tracks selected as singles during this period by licensing record companies outside
Scandinavia have been included.
Note: In fact, not all the singles conceived
by Polar were released in ABBA's home country since Swedish radio didn't give
much airplay to pop music in the 1970s. If the songs weren't going to be played,
reasoned Polar, why release them in the first place? Also, the albums received
extremely healthy domestic sales as it was, so the promotional value of extracting
singles from albums was fairly limited. However, every single on the Polar label
was released in at least one of the Scandinavian countries.
In strictly
commercial terms, most of those singles were highly successful. Like all true
hit factories (a term the ABBA members dislike, but used here as sincere praise),
from Phil Spector and Motown in the 1960s, to Stock/Aitken/Waterman in the 1980s
and Swedish turn-of-the-century tunesmiths such as Max Martin, ABBA were a dominating
presence on the singles charts during their heyday. The statistics speak for themselves:
19 UK Top Ten hits out of which 9 were number one, 15 Australian Top Ten hits
including 6 number ones, 12 Top Three hits in Sweden out of a total of 15 charting
singles, 11 consecutive Top Ten hits in Japan, including four number ones, 23
Top Five Singles in the Netherlands - 8 of which were number ones - and 9 number
one singles included in the 21 Top Ten hits notched up by the group in West Germany.
The one well-known comparative glitch in this staggering success story was
the United States. However, for a Swedish group to achieve 10 Top Twenty hits,
including one number one, on the American charts - seemingly impenetrable for
anyone outside the English-speaking world during the 1970s - was undoubtedly an
impressive feat.
Polar Music used to collaborate with a small group of
trusted associates from other record labels to figure out which tracks should
be released as singles. Quite simply, the chosen songs were usually those that
received the most votes.
But chart statistics and hit potentials aside,
the true mark of ABBA's longevity and significance is, of course, that after being
mercilessly beaten by those "in-the-know" and violently squeezed through
the Test-Of-Time machine, the majority of the songs included in this package have
won through and have now taken their rightful place on the shelf marked Timeless.
These are the kind of songs where the mere mention of titles will provoke instant
humming, the kind of songs used by movie producers to evoke a certain mood or
a memory shared by their intended audience.
From self-confessed clever
imitators to finger-on-the-pulse hit makers and purveyors of mature melodrama,
these songs are, in a way, the true ABBA story - and it all began in the early
1970s...
People
Need Love
In the early 1970s there was a recurrent theme to much
of the music produced within the lighter side of popular music. It was a more
hummable version of the late 1960s hippiedom message of peace, love and understanding,
which manifested itself in songs like 'I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing' by
the UK group New Seekers.
It was not so strange, then, that Björn
& Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid, all four at that time working in the Swedish
middle-of-the-road field, would conclude that "people need love" on
their very first single release in 1972. This was also the first attempt for a
while by the Andersson/Ulvaeus team to write a contemporary pop hit in English.
The direct inspiration for making a record featuring a shift between male and
female vocals came from the UK-based group Blue Mink, whose main repertoire also
consisted of pleas for global harmony.
Indeed, this was the theme for
many of the Swedish songs released by the recording act Björn & Benny
during the preceding years. On quite a few of those, their respective fiancées
Agnetha Fältskog (married to Björn in 1971) and Anni-Frid Lyngstad,
recording artists in their own right, had contributed uncredited backing vocals.
The combination of the four voices made for a very attractive sound, so in March
1972 the decision was made to cut a record where all four were featured artists.
This did not mean the formation of a permanent group, however, for Agnetha
and Frida had careers of their own and were both signed to other labels. As the
somewhat clumsy credit "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid"
suggested, the two girls were in effect guesting on the new Björn & Benny
single, certain to be included on the boys' next album. When released in June
1972, the 'People Need Love' single reached number 17 on the combined singles
and albums chart used in Sweden at the time. Take away all the albums from the
chart on its peak date, and you have a number seven single hit for 'People Need
Love' - a promising start and an indication that it may be worth trying the foursome
concept again.
He Is Your Brother
Continuing on the lyrical theme of reaching out to your fellow man,
'He Is Your Brother' became the second Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid
single, released in November 1972. By this time it had been decided that the group
should record an album together. 'He Is Your Brother' did not enter the Swedish
sales chart but was a big radio hit. Later, it was the sole survivor from the
group's first album in ABBA's live set when they toured Europe and Australia in
1977.
Ring Ring
In
the autumn of 1972, Björn, Benny and lyricist/manager Stig Anderson were
invited to submit a composition for the Swedish selections for the 1973 Eurovision
Song Contest. When they completed 'Ring Ring', they were certain they had a song
that would win the Swedish part of the contest.
The previous two singles
had been strong indications that there was potential magic waiting to be extracted
from working as a group of four. The recording of 'Ring Ring' in January 1973
was the first major step toward the combination of wall-of-sound arrangements,
studio wizardry and the blending of Agnetha and Frida's voices that resulted in
the famed "ABBA Sound".
Invaluable ABBA engineer Michael B. Tretow
had recently read about the multi-overdub techniques with which legendary American
producer Phil Spector achieved the bombastic sound on his records. Tretow now
suggested that this method should be tried for the recording of 'Ring Ring'. All
concerned were amazed by the result.
When the time came for the contest
selection, the jury was less convinced about the merits of 'Ring Ring', however,
and the group was placed at number three. Whatever disappointment they may have
felt was quickly brushed aside when the Swedish and English single versions and
the album of the same name battled it out for the top three positions on the sales
chart. It was on the back of this success that the group decided that this was
where their future lay. But it would actually take a further three years before
Björn and Benny finally gave up their commitments as producers for other
artists, and Agnetha and Frida put their solo careers on hold.
Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)
With
Anni-Frid abandoning her Christian name as a recording artist, the fourth ABBA
single was both the first and last on Polar to be exclusively issued under the
name 'Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida'. Although many copies of the
'Ring Ring' single had also featured this slightly amended name, it was originally
released with Frida billed as Anni-Frid.
Other variations on this name
over the world included the ludicrous 'Björn & Benny with Svenska Flicka'
("Swedish Girl") and 'Björn & Benny, Anna & Frida' (sometimes
with the last name spelt "Frieda"). Indeed, the simplification of Agnetha's
name into "Anna" would be
used in many countries for the duration
of ABBA's career. In Mexico a more drastic solution was used - for a short period
the group was simply called 'Los Suecos' ("The Swedes").
'Love
Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)', released in June, was one of the last
songs to be recorded for the Ring Ring album. It was a brief throwback to the
shift between male and female lead vocals, very seldom heard on subsequent single
releases.
Waterloo
A
year after 'Ring Ring', Björn, Benny and Stig were once again invited to
submit an entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. When Björn and Benny had
finished writing the catchy melody it was Stig's task to write the lyrics, and
he started by trying to find the right title. Having abandoned his first idea,
'Honey-Pie', he found the title 'Waterloo' in a book of familiar quotations.
Recorded in December 1973 during sessions for what was to become the Waterloo
album, the song faced some "competition" from another brand new track,
the Agnetha-sung mid-tempo ballad 'Hasta Mañana'. But 'Waterloo' was ultimately
chosen, precisely because it broke with that tradition and also because the song
focused on both Frida and Agnetha as lead vocalists, which was a better way of
introducing the group to the world.
In February 1974, 'Waterloo' won
the Swedish selections, and on April 6 it came out the victor in the contest in
Brighton - the first Swedish winner ever, and perhaps the most famous image-defining
moment in the whole ABBA story. The four members singing an upbeat, hummable tune,
dressed in otrageously glittery costumes, somehow became the eternal perception
of ABBA by the general public. 'Waterloo' soon reached number one on the charts
in England, Ireland, West Germany, Norway and Belgium, and was a Top Five hit
most everywhere else (number six in the US). ABBA were on their way to worldwide
success, even if the road would be slightly rocky over the next 18 months.
With the release of the 'Waterloo' single in March 1974, a third variation
of the group name was used. Having reached the conclusion that Björn &
Benny, Agnetha & Frida was a much too clumsy name, Stig Anderson had taken
to referring to the group as ABBA, based on the first letters of their Christian
names. In fact, as early as the spring of 1973, this name had started appearing
in newspaper articles about the group. However, to ensure a smooth transition,
the Waterloo album and singles - the Swedish and English versions were released
on two different singles in Sweden - featured the group billed as 'ABBA (Björn,
Benny, Agnetha & Frida)'. It was not until the next single that they became
simply ABBA and nothing else, at least on their Polar singles.
Honey, Honey
The difficult question of
how to follow a Eurovision Song Contest winner was answered differently depending
on which ABBA-releasing record company you asked. (Stig Anderson had arranged
it so that different record companies in different countries licensed the rights
to release ABBA's records. That way, he ensured that they ended up with the labels
that worked the hardest on marketing and promoting.) Polar themselves opted for
the Waterloo album track 'Honey, Honey', released in April, and many of the labels
who followed their example were rewarded with a sizeable hit.
So Long
The spring and summer of 1974 had
seen ABBA travelling all over Europe promoting their 'Waterloo' single and planning
subsequent follow-ups. By the end of August the group were back in the studio
again recording tracks for what was to become their next album, simply titled
ABBA.
The very first track to be recorded was also their next single:
'So Long' was released in November 1974. Far from the strongest of the tracks
they had finished by that time, it nevertheless had the same uptempo beat as 'Waterloo',
and therefore was considered having hit potential. In Sweden and West Germany
it was thumbs up from the record buying public, but most other countries shunned
it - in the UK it did not even chart. The lesson learned? That singles should
always be the best songs, whatever their style.
I
Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
One of the last songs to be recorded
for the ABBA album was this romantic song, heavily influenced by the European
schlager music of the 1950s and something of a tribute to the saxophone sound
of orchestra leader Billy Vaughn. Released just before the ABBA album in April
1975, 'I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do' was a major hit in several countries, still
with the notable exception of the UK.
SOS
Is 'SOS' ABBA's first truly classic pop single? Some people would
certainly argue so. The song was firmly rooted in the English and American pop
tradition, but featured clever countermelodies, layers of Swedish melancholy,
and Agnetha's plaintive lead vocal as uniquely personal distinguishing marks.
The release of the 'SOS' single seems to mark the moment when all suspicion that
ABBA were just another Eurovision one-hit wonder was erased. During the late summer
and autumn of 1975 it became a Top Three hit in several countries. It reached
number 15 in the US, and also hit the number six position in the UK, marking the
start of a consecutive run of 18 Top Ten hits in that territory.
Mamma Mia
The very last song to be recorded
for the ABBA album in March 1975, and the fourth and last worldwide single to
be taken off the album, 'Mamma Mia' has also become the symbol for ABBA's breakthrough
in Australia in 1975. Promotional films had been made for four tracks off the
ABBA album, and when the clips for 'I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do' and 'Mamma Mia'
were shown on the Australian TV show Countdown, the whole country went ABBA crazy,
with the peak of their frenzy occurring during the group's tour there in March
1977. Certainly one of ABBA's catchiest singles, 'Mamma Mia' reached the number
one position on the Australian charts - it stayed on top for ten weeks - a feat
also achieved in the UK, Ireland and West Germany.
Fernando
After a short summer tour of Sweden, by early August 1975 ABBA were
back in the studio, recording two songs that were to rank among their biggest
hits. However, it would take several months before both recordings were completed.
The first of the two to be released was 'Fernando', originally written and recorded
in Swedish for Frida's solo album Frida ensam (Frida Alone). Björn, Benny
and Stig Anderson saw its potential to become a worldwide hit, and the decision
was made to record an English language vocal and release it as an ABBA single
in March 1976. 'Fernando' was a number one or number two chart hit most everywhere
it was released - in Australia, along with The Beatles' 'Hey Jude', it still holds
the record for the most weeks spent at the top of the charts: 14 weeks.
Dancing Queen
If 'Waterloo' is the song
that will forever be linked to the most famous moment in ABBA's history, 'Dancing
Queen' is surely their most famous song altogether, and certainly their all-time
biggest hit. With a rhythm track slightly influenced by George McCrae's groundbreaking
1974 disco hit, 'Rock Your Baby', it was recorded around the same time as 'Fernando'.
'Dancing Queen' was the first single off the Arrival album and is also notable
for being ABBA's only US number one. Indeed, it seemed the single topped the charts
almost everywhere that records were released.
Money,
Money, Money
As ABBA were struggling to keep up with all the promotional
activities that followed with the success of the 'SOS', 'Mamma Mia', and 'Fernando'
singles during the end of 1975 and early months of 1976, recording sessions for
their next album were put on hold. By the end of March, however, the group found
time to start recording sessions proper for what was to become the Arrival album.
The cabaret-tinged 'Money, Money, Money' was recorded in May, at one time sporting
the working title 'Gypsy Girl'. Released as a single in November 1976, the song
showcased a dramatic Frida lead vocal and followed the previous few singles to
the top regions of charts the world over.
Knowing
Me, Knowing You
'Knowing Me, Knowing You' was the last single
to be released from the Arrival album. The record reached shops in February 1977
just as ABBA were busy touring Europe, with live concerts in Australia following
in March.
'Knowing Me, Knowing You' could perhaps be said to be the first
ABBA song to genuinely reflect the fact that the members were four grown-ups,
creating a sense of true melancholy while still remaining a catchy pop song -
yet another of those qualities that seemed to separate ABBA from most every other
pop artist at the time. Incidentally, one of the working titles for the song had
been 'Number One, Number One' - if that was a prediction for the single's chart
success it certainly was fullfilled in the UK, Ireland, West Germany, Mexico and
South Africa.
The Name Of The Game
The European and Australian tour over and done with, on May 31, 1977
ABBA started work on their fifth album, ABBA - The Album. The unusually complex
song they recorded that day, evolving from the starting-point of the opening bass
and synthesizer riff, was to be released as the first single from the sessions
later in the year. 'The Name Of The Game' also marked one of the very last times
Stig Anderson helped Björn and Benny with the lyrics for one of their compositions
- his commitments as manager and head of Polar meant that he had very little time
for any wordsmithery. By 1977 his contributions were limited to titles only, but
as Björn and Benny have acknowledged, he knew how to make them catchy: 'SOS',
'Dancing Queen', 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' - they were all his.
Take A Chance On Me
Like all good pop lyricists,
Björn always maintained that the sound of the words were equal in importance
to their meaning - often even more important. 'Take A Chance On Me' is a prime
example of this philosophy. The idea for the title started out with the combination
of the sounds "t-k-ch" that lodged themselves in Björn's brain
and were transformed into the phrase "take a chance". One of ABBA's
bounciest, bubblegummiest singles, 'Take A Chance On Me' was released in January
1978. It was ABBA's second biggest US hit, reaching number three.
Eagle
The third and last official single
from ABBA -- The Album was recorded early during the album sessions under the
working title 'High, High', and was released in May 1978 in an edited version.
Not all countries chose to release the 'Eagle' single, the UK and the US being
notable exceptions. It did, however, reach the Top Ten in countries as diverse
as West Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.
Summer Night City
In the midst of promotional
activities for ABBA - The Album during the spring of 1978, ABBA started recording
tracks for what was to become their Voulez-Vous album. In May, their own Polar
Music Studios was officially opened, and one of the first songs to be completed
there was the Bee Gees-influenced 'Summer Night City'. It was also the first single
to be released from the album sessions, although it ultimately never appeared
on Voulez-Vous, an LP that took a full year to complete. Released in September
1978, 'Summer Night City' turned out to be ABBA's last chart-topping single in
their native Sweden. Incidentally, October 6, the day it hit number one, was also
the day that Frida and Benny finally got married, 9 1/2 years after they first
met.
Chiquitita
A
song about a former lover who now prefers to be "in the arms of Rosalita"?
Well, that was the theme of the lyrics to the original version of this song, committed
to tape in December 1978. A revised version, somewhat influenced by the sound
of the song 'El Condor Pasa' as made famous by Simon and Garfunkel, was soon recorded,
and 'Chiquitita' was released as a single in January 1979. Famously premièred
at the all-star UNICEF gala A Gift Of Song in New York, it was a Top Five hit
most everywhere. To this day, all the proceeds of the song goes to UNICEF in recognition
of the United Nations' "International Year Of The Child" in 1979.
Does Your Mother Know
Released as a single
around the same time as the Voulez-Vous album in late April 1979, 'Does Your Mother
Know' was the first and last of ABBA's singles to focus solely on Björn as
lead vocalist. Although in hindsight Björn himself feels the group would
have enjoyed a bigger hit with female lead vocals on the recording, it did in
fact reach the Top Ten in several countries.
|
|
|
