Music Why are ABBA so popular?

[pinball1970]

I get it now, popular in the UK. On somewhat of a twist, the Beatles Revolver didn't initially do that well in the US, took a while for it to catch on. Now many consider it their best album, but due to the studio effect,they could not do live performances of most of those songs until years later with sampling keyboards.

Summer Night City - I like that one the most of the ABBA songs here. It would have helped to have a better studio setup. Not as much dynamics or variations in how they recorded instruments or the number of instruments as used studios in Europe and USA (sometimes including full orchestras). I set the link to the bridge part of the song, which is enough to get an idea:

Cerrone - Je Suis Music

Studios like Capital kept their master tapes (including the isolated tracks). Example from 1965. Capital studios - full orchestra.

Frank Sinatra - It Was A Very Good Year

These days, people can have high quality setups at home. For this video, Josh set up two guitar amps on the far side of the room behind the camera, used microphones to capture the sound from the amps, and blankets over the amps to prevent them from interfering with the recording. Everything feeds into a computer for effects and recording:

Mary Spender & Josh Turner - Sultans of Swing

In this video, Josh used a reel to reel half-inch 8 track tape deck just as an effect (it's recording, but the sound just goes into it, then back out to the computer).

Allison Young & Josh Turner - The Best Is Yet To Come

That Josh Turner is fantastic, I stuck him on the cover thread, he does "And your bird can sing" with his mates in the park sat on a picnic blanket.
Not only does he get that authentic sound he plays both lines on the guitar section which is not easy to do at all.

"It was a very good year" probably one of my favourite Sinatra tracks.

 

[pinball1970]

Allison Young & Josh Turner - The Best Is Yet To Come

These two together are pure magic.

 

[pinball1970]

I get it now, popular in the UK.

And other countries

 

[DennisN]

After listening to the ABBA songs listed here, none of them have impressed me as much as other songs. As random examples of songs I like better

It's all a matter of taste, of course (so it's subjective).
For me, ABBA has a very, very special place, together with The Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), since they are three bands that are at the core of my musical beginnings (along with some US 50s music). The first record I ever bought was ABBA:s Waterloo .

ABBA is also special to Swedes in a particular way; they are a national treasure to many Swedes, probably like The Beatles are to British people and Elvis is to Americans.
I actually don't listen very often to those three bands nowadays (Beatles, ABBA, ELO), I don't need to, I have them in my blood .

I've went through many different phases, bands and styles of music afterwards during the years; new wave, synth (UK), rock, funk, shoegaze/britpop (UK), trip hop (UK), electro (with many different subgenres)). Even some grunge and industrial music too. And classical music, of course.

Edit: I also have a weird liking for some latin music genres like bossa nova (e.g. Antônio Carlos Jobim), Cuban music (e.g. Buena Vista Social Club) and calypso. I don't really know why, I just like the casual, laid-back style of this music .

Fleetwood Mac was/is (?) a great band.
"Go You Own Way" is such a fantastic song, it gives me goosebumps :
(the lyrics are so good, and the toms in the verse, wow!)

Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (Official Audio)


I have to give credit to the Norwegian singer Sigrid here, since I discovered the song via her cover of it.

 

[DennisN]

@pinball1970 , have you seen the Peter Jackson documentary on The Beatles (Get Back), by the way?
I've only seen two episodes of three (it's pretty long).
Pretty interesting to see how they were working, e.g. you get a good feeling how the song Get Back got done. They were obviously very playful when working, though there seem to have been tensions at the end of the band.

Edit: I'll post the trailer too:

 

[rcgldr]

Regarding the Beatles, there was a special about the making of Revolver including interviews with George Martin and the band members, but it's not on youtube (at least not anymore). There are videos with George Martin's son Giles Martin, but I haven't found the original anywhere. I saved a key part of that video, but it's very low resolution. It includes an early take on Tomorrow Never Knows (truly one chord and different drum pattern.

Making of Tommorow Never Knows - clip

 

[pinball1970]

@pinball1970 , have you seen the Peter Jackson documentary on The Beatles (Get Back), by the way?
I've only seen two episodes of three (it's pretty long).
Pretty interesting to see how they were working, e.g. you get a good feeling how the song Get Back got done. They were obviously very playful when working, though there seem to have been tensions at the end of the band.

Edit: I'll post the trailer too:

I didn't like the film "Let it be" it was like watching a band implode in front of you.
I have not watched "Get back" yet but I will.

 

[pinball1970]

Regarding the Beatles, there was a special about the making of Revolver including interviews with George Martin and the band members, but it's not on youtube (at least not anymore). There are videos with George Martin's son Giles Martin, but I haven't found the original anywhere. I saved a key part of that video, but it's very low resolution. It includes an early take on Tomorrow Never Knows (truly one chord and different drum pattern.

Making of Tommorow Never Knows - clip

Ian Paice used that rhythm for "The mule."

The Album version of "Tomorrow Never Knows" seems to slide to Bb in places, for a bar then back to C.
So much going on though it is hard to tell.

 

[pinball1970]

Reminded me of:
Altered Images - I Could Be Happy

Ok I think I know where you're coming from, I have listened to the track and got the chords out.
The tune comes down from F# to E then D and lands on a C# each first line of the verse.
This is over a D chord so we end on a Maj 7th, I liked that as a kid it caught my ear (not the scales or anything I was just learning chords then)
Tiger does similar at the beginning but starts on the fifth, "the city is a jungle."
Chordify says it's in Db, who writes in Db!?

I will check but the only thing I can think of is that the girls needed a hand with last note.

 

[DennisN]

The Way Old Friends Do
- definitely not your usual pop song . It's a wonderful composition, majestic and with Swedish folk music as a foundation. When I hear it I sometimes think of Irish or Scottish folk music; I think it could be well done with Irish/Scottish folk music sound too, e.g. bagpipes (I am serious ).

One more note on folk music and ABBA, and diversity in music...

Folk music: I know people sometimes notice there seems to be some classical underpinnings in ABBA:s music when they hear it and analyze it, but what I don't think people often talk about is the folk music underpinning.

You can hear the folk music foundation clearly in the song I posted above, The Way Old Friends Do, and you can also hear it clearly in this instrumental track on the album "Arrival":

ABBA - Arrival (instrumental)
(again, sounding quite close to Scottish/Irish traditional music, but it's Swedish folk music)


...and you can hear the classical inspiration in this rather weird/unusual instrumental piece on the album called "ABBA":

ABBA - Intermezzo No. 1


"Another working title for the song was Bach-låten (The Bach Tune)"
"Carl Magnus Palm describes it as a "showcase of Benny's classical music influences"
(quote from Wikipedia)

A funny thing is that Intermezzo No. 1 sounds a bit like something Electric Light Orchestra could have done (they also mixed classical music with rock/pop); "Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography." (quote from Wikipedia)

Also, the four members had different musical origins which probably added to the diversity of their musical output:

• Björn Ulvaues: folk music
• Benny Andersson: pop-rock
• Agneta Fältskog: dansband (a Swedish term meaning "dance band") which is a mix of danceable music, sort of danceable "evergreens"
• Annifrid Lyngstad: jazz, schlager & dansband

(Source: ABBA - member origins and collaboration (Wikipedia))

 

[DennisN]

Pretty interesting to see how they were working, e.g. you get a good feeling how the song Get Back got done. They were obviously very playful when working

I didn't like the film "Let it be" it was like watching a band implode in front of you.
I have not watched "Get back" yet but I will.

A little sidenote if I may, regarding music composition and creative atmosphere...

I saw a great little clip some time ago, it's pure gold for musicians and creative artists in general...

The wonderful short story about how the legendary producer Brian Eno got U2 unstuck and into the creative mode (they were close to breaking up during this period since they were unsure of their musical direction at that time ((I am a big fan of U2 also ):

How Brian Eno got U2 unstuck: The kitchen vs. the restaurant


And a great clip on how U2 made their hit "One" (it came from experimenting on how to complete the song "Mysterious Ways"):

U2 the birth of ONE in Hansa Studios, Berlin Achtung Baby
(the song is about division and union through acceptance of difference of personalities, well, at least I think so*)


*Edit:

"There was melancholy about it but there was also strength. One is not about oneness, it's about difference. It's not the old hippie idea of 'let's all live together.' It is a much more punk rock concept. It's anti-romantic: 'we are one but not the same. We get to carry each other.' It's a reminder that we have no choice. I'm still disappointed when people hear the chorus line as 'got to' rather than 'we get to carry each other.' Like it or not, the only way out of here is if I give you a leg up the wall and you pull me after you. There's something very unromantic about that.

—Bono, on the recording of "One"

Source: One (U2 song) (Wikipedia)

Edit 2:

Another fun clip where the legendary producer Daniel Lanois talks about the musical development of U2, and music production in general:

Daniel Lanois Discusses the Differences Between The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby (Rick Beato)

 

[rcgldr]

The Album version of "Tomorrow Never Knows" seems to slide to Bb in places, for a bar then back to C.

I don't recall if it was George Martin or the band itself that decided to change from just C to also including Bb/C, so unlike what Paul mentioned in that clip I posted, it's not a one chord song. If playing Bb/C on guitar, the frets are 1 1 3 3 1 1, bar chord on fret 1 with two fingers on fret 3.



A popular one chord one riff song:

Police - Demolition Man (cover of a Grace Jones song)

There is a video, but sound quality not as good.

I play a bit of guitar. My "studio" consists of a blue tooth speaker behind an ottoman, and a propped up cell phone to record, so the audio is not that great. I have the TV on screen saver for lighting effects:

Play along cover of Guinnevere

Audio got over-modulated on this one (cell phone auto-gain), turn down the sound a bit.

Play along cover of My All

To avoid ads, I use Edge for physics forums, copy links and play them on Chrome incognito mode (with ad blocker).

 

[DennisN]

Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)
- I could write an essay on how much I adore this song

Haha, I just saw a fun reaction video regarding this song, and from another culture outside of Europe.
What does a Pakistani heavy metal fan think about the song? Well, he concludes that ABBA were geniuses.

Small Town Metalhead Reacts: ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)


Edit: And another fun one from a US musician (southern US, I think, judging from the dialect) who gets wide-eyed. I am also impressed that he picked up on the versatility of the band by just listening to two songs.

FIRST TIME Hearing ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) || Now I'm Hooked!!

 

[DennisN]

Regarding the original question by @pinball1970 , "Why are ABBA so popular?", i just read a short but accurate comment on an ABBA song on youtube:

One of the reasons why ABBA is such an impossibly-good band is they were so versatile. Out of any subject material they could make an excellent song. Heck, they could write a masterpiece just about walking down the street to get a coffee. They could make songs like these [Super Trouper, my note] which just make you happy and radiate cuteness, or they could punch your heart repeatedly and make you cry. These four are legends.

(my bolding)

I fully agree with that comment .

Personally, I liked Super Trouper more when I was younger. Today, it's a little bit too cute for me (the sound). But regardless of this, I still have to admit it's a great composition, and the chorus is very cleverly done with the vocals, backing vocals and synth arpeggio. Pretty unusual also; in upbeat pop songs you often write a more softer and mellow verse and then go more "full on" in the chorus. In Super Trouper, ABBA does it the other way around; in the chorus they instead turn down the power so to say, and let the vocals, backing vocals and the synth arpeggio do the work. And it works. (the power difference between verse and chorus is most noticeable in the third chorus)

 

[pinball1970]

Regarding the original question by @pinball1970 , "Why are ABBA so popular?", i just read a short but accurate comment on an ABBA song on youtube:


(my bolding)

I fully agree with that comment .

Personally, I liked Super Trouper more when I was younger. Today, it's a little bit too cute for me (the sound). But regardless of this, I still have to admit it's a great composition, and the chorus is very cleverly done with the vocals, backing vocals and synth arpeggio. Pretty unusual also; in upbeat pop songs you often write a more softer and mellow verse and then go more "full on" in the chorus. In Super Trouper, ABBA does it the other way around; in the chorus they instead turn down the power so to say, and let the vocals, backing vocals and the synth arpeggio do the work. And it works. (the power difference between verse and chorus is most noticeable in the third chorus)

They were good lyricists (from my very limited expertise) but that was not it for me.
Most of the songs are about love and love and relationships failing because they were drawing on their own experience at the time. Two marriages and two divorces in the band.

I could write a lot about Super Trouper as the lead up to Christmas 1980 was big for me as a teenager.
Suffice to say I did not like it much, today it just sounds like a Christmas song.
The words make sense today at least, we did not have Google then to check lyrics!

 

[pinball1970]

I thought this was funny when it was aired, from " not the 9 o clock news."
If they would have picked "The name of the Game" or " The Eagle" I probably would have not been impressed but this was a clever parody. Note the "three tunes" in one song line. The writer understands ABBA!

 

[pinball1970]

One more note on folk music and ABBA, and diversity in music...

Folk music: I know people sometimes notice there seems to be some classical underpinnings in ABBA:s music when they hear it and analyze it, but what I don't think people often talk about is the folk music underpinning.

You can hear the folk music foundation clearly in the song I posted above, The Way Old Friends Do, and you can also hear it clearly in this instrumental track on the album "Arrival":

ABBA - Arrival (instrumental)
(again, sounding quite close to Scottish/Irish traditional music, but it's Swedish folk music)

I hated this track! Mum used to play it full blast as it was her favourite on the album but I just did not get it.
The tune is short, really short, just one phrase repeat, something else similar then back and repeat with no words.
It sounded like bag pipes!

My excuse at the time was I was ten (1976) and had not been exposed to much traditional folk music.

Now it is a very special song to me. I remember buying mum a CD player and a few CDs a few years ago.
They stopped making affordable record players in the 80/90s and replacement styluses, so she could not play her records anymore.
She is partially sighted so any new tech is a nightmare.
I set it up put Arrival on and she burst into tears.
She had not heard it for 30 years or so.

 

[DennisN]

Hmm... maybe I've just come to a new musical understanding...
I have often read in comments under ABBA songs that metal/heavy metal fans often admit they have a special, deep appreciation of ABBA, which is pretty strange to me.

I am myself not into metal/heavy metal, and I've never been, though I don't particularly dislike the genre; I guess it might be a personality thing in my case. I am a sucker for styles like deeply emotional music, laidback, groovy, "cool", funky, psychedelic or dark music (so it's obvious why I adore The Beatles and ABBA, since they fill in all those moods for me) but metal is a bit too aggressive for my taste.

So I haven't quite figured out why metalheads often adore ABBA.

But maybe I've made a breakthrough here; could it be perhaps that the intersecting union of ABBA and metal is that they both seem to often have classical music as one of the underpinnings in some songs? Metal can often be "classical" in the style they play the instruments, that is e.g. strange, unusual chord progressions and a symphonic style in the guitar playing, you know arpeggiolike guitar playing (like string arpeggios in classical music).

And ABBA does it too; strange chord progressions, unusual turns, small pieces that sometimes break the static 4/4 in a song, and sometimes fast synth or piano arpeggios.

Hmmm... is that the connection, I wonder? Any metalheads present here? :)

And here are two metal covers of ABBA:

(by the way, I am deeply impressed by this cover; this guy is obviously a very good musician, great playing and a fantastically powerful, good voice)

 

[pinball1970]

Hmm... maybe I've just come to a new musical understanding...
I have often read in comments under ABBA songs that metal/heavy metal fans often admit they have a special, deep appreciation of ABBA, which is pretty strange to me.

I am myself not into metal/heavy metal, and I've never been, though I don't particularly dislike the genre; I guess it might be a personality thing in my case. I am a sucker for styles like deeply emotional music, laidback, groovy, "cool", funky, psychedelic or dark music (so it's obvious why I adore The Beatles and ABBA, since they fill in all those moods for me) but metal is a bit too aggressive for my taste.

So I haven't quite figured out why metalheads often adore ABBA.

But maybe I've made a breakthrough here; could it be perhaps that the intersecting union of ABBA and metal is that they both seem to often have classical music as one of the underpinnings in some songs? Metal can often be "classical" in the style they play the instruments, that is e.g. strange, unusual chord progressions and a symphonic style in the guitar playing, you know arpeggiolike guitar playing (like string arpeggios in classical music).

And ABBA does it to; strange chord progressions, unusual turns, small pieces that sometimes break the static 4/4 in a song, and sometimes fast synth or piano arpeggios.

Hmmm... is that the connection, I wonder? Any metalheads present here? :)

And here are two metal covers of ABBA:

(by the way, I am deeply impressed by this cover; this guy is obviously a very good musician, great playing and a fantastically powerful, good voice)

That certainly works!

 

[jack action]

This is the most "purely heavy metal" ABBA song I could find: Voulez-vous by Morgana Lefay. I can't imagine a disco version of this song was played in nightclubs!

​

If you want to be brought entirely somewhere else - on the darker gothic side - with Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, this version from Beseech is amazing:

​

 

[DennisN]

(by the way, I am deeply impressed by this cover; this guy is obviously a very good musician, great playing and a fantastically powerful, good voice)

Clarification: It was the musicianship that impressed me. The cover not that much, because it's FAR from my style of music .

 

[DennisN]

If you want to be brought entirely somewhere else - on the darker gothic side - with Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, this version from Beseech is amazing:

Holy cr-p, that is truly, truly dark. It's scary. And emotional.

 

[DennisN]

Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)
- I could write an essay on how much I adore this song

I read an interesting article on this song:

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) — from Abba to Madonna (FT)
The story behind the Swedish group’s most sexually liberated song
https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/gimme-gimme-gimme.html

Apparently there is a thread of sexual liberation (which Scandinavia is known for) also that runs through ABBA:s catalogue;

But Abba were not above feeding those fantasies too. The theme of sexual liberation runs through their music, from the 17-year-old “teaser” in “Dancing Queen”to the absurd schoolroom seduction played out in “When I Kissed the Teacher”.

...

“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”is the most liberated of their songs, a masterpiece of Scandinavian frankness.

I have actually never thought about this, that is ABBA and sexual liberation, but it is true.

But I'd say to me the most obvious ABBA song regarding sexual liberation is Voulez-Vous:
(even though they obscure it somewhat by expressing it in French)




And a fun little clip about ABBA and Madonna:

Which iconic pop star did ABBA make an exception for?​

 

[DennisN]

Voulez-Vous

Ah, I really liked this analysis/reaction!

A female musician analyses the song Voulez-Vous:
(and she obviously gets pulled into it )

 

[DennisN]

By the way, you guys...
...you know that ABBA:s breakthrough song was Waterloo, right?

But do you know that the original was composed and performed in Swedish?

Here is the original entry in the Swedish Melodifestival 1974, in Swedish:

ABBA Waterloo - Swedish version


But in Brighton during EuroVision 1974 they performed it in English, and the conductor was dressed as Napoleon Bonaparte :

ABBA - Waterloo (Eurovision Song Contest 1974 First Performance)


EDIT:

And here is the studio version of the original Waterloo in Swedish:

Waterloo (Swedish Version)


Sorry, guys, I won't translate it, but the lyrics are almost like the English version, but not quite.

 

[DennisN]

Sorry, guys, I won't translate it, but the lyrics are almost like the English version, but not quite.

Heck, I did a direct translation. Maybe this has never been done before .
You are lucky I am Swedish and interested in music and history.
So this is for the history books...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waterloo - English lyrics (performed in Brighton, EuroVision 1974):

My, my, at Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender
Oh, yeah, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo, Promise to love you forevermore
Waterloo, Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo, Knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo
Finally facing my Waterloo

My, my, I tried to hold you back, but you were stronger
Oh, yeah, And now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo, Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo, Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo, Knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, Finally facing my Waterloo

So how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose

Waterloo, Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo, Knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, Finally facing my Waterloo
Ooh-ooh, Waterloo, Knowing my fate is to be with you
Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo, Finally facing my Waterloo
Ooh-ooh, Waterloo...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waterloo - Swedish lyrics:
The original Swedish lyrics, directly translated to English by me, so note that it won't rhyme

Well, well, at Waterloo Napoleon had to surrender
But, but, your destiny can be met in so many different ways
I feel since I met you, history is repeating itself

Waterloo – I am defeated, now I give up
Waterloo – promise me the pleasure of loving you
Waterloo – everything feels right, and it is my belief
Waterloo – you are my destiny, my Waterloo
Wa wa wa wa Waterloo – you are my destiny, my Waterloo

Well, well, you fight it off and keep fencing a long time
But, but, against feelings the gods fight in vain, it has been said

It is like I heard a song
I think there is love coming on

Waterloo – so I have found my superior
Waterloo – powerful, mighty and strong he is
Waterloo – everything feels right, and it is my belief
Waterloo – you are my destiny, my Waterloo
Wa wa wa wa Waterloo – you are my destiny, my Waterloo

It is like a heard a song
I think there is love going on

Waterloo – everything feels right, and it is my belief
Waterloo – you are my destiny, my Waterloo
Wa wa wa wa Waterloo – you are my destiny, my Waterloo

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And after listening to the Swedish version of Waterloo, I have to say that the lyrics are better in Swedish.
But if you don't know the Swedish language you will never be able to understand it, sorry.

 

[DennisN]

A fun, short history clip about that night in Brighton that started ABBA:s career...
...told by Englishmen who were there and met ABBA... including a cab driver :

50th Anniversary Of ABBA’s Eurovision Win With Waterloo On The One Show

 

[DennisN]

Wow, I just saw this clip...
...here ABBA:s original bass player Rutger Gunnarsson shows how to play the basslines in Dancing Queen... the basslines are really sophisticated and much more complex than I thought :

Legendary bassplayer Rutger Gunnarsson plays Dancing Queen by Abba


I would not be able to play that on my bass. This is bass mastery and I am a mere dabbler .

Just for the record. I hadn´t told Rutger in advance that I wanted him to play along with any song. So we were digging out a white Fender Jazz and a similar Precision from the deep of a cabin in his apartement. And this was the the bass he had played in the session as well. This was the first take. He hadn´t played Dancing queen for ages. Probably over 10 years since the last time.

 

[DennisN]

Pure magic...

Benny Andersson plays his favourite Abba song

 

[Hornbein]

Wow, I just saw this clip...
...here ABBA:s original bass player Rutger Gunnarsson shows how to play the basslines in Dancing Queen... the basslines are really sophisticated and much more complex than I thought :

Legendary bassplayer Rutger Gunnarsson plays Dancing Queen by Abba


I would not be able to play that on my bass. This is bass mastery and I am a mere dabbler .

That's Jamie Jamerson of Motown style, which I learned to do. Not that well though, he's really good at it.