Why are ABBA so popular?

[Hornbein]

My girlfriend said I was extravagant for having three (cheap) keyboards. I showed her a guy who toured with 36. That seemed to quiet her down.

 

[DennisN]

My girlfriend said I was extravegant for having three (cheap) keyboards. I showed her a guy who toured with 36. That seemed to quiet her down.

Very funny!
Which keyboards are those three? It would be interesting to hear.
I've got five at home, three Midi keyboards, the JX8P and a darn heavy Kurzweil rompler in the basement (I got it for free). Total overkill, I've got to get rid of at least two keyboards, I think.

Them: The Korg.....( numbers and letters) Was great at (xyz) but not quite as good as the Roland (numbers and letters) but that had (ABC) issue.

I had Korg synths early on, but I never quite liked them, compared to Roland.

The Rhodes obviously best for

... Riders on the storm.

 

[Hornbein]

He didn't list them. He said they filled an entire semi truck trailer, which I cannot believe.

 

[DennisN]

He didn't list them. He said they filled an entire semi truck trailer, which I cannot believe.

No, I meant your three keyboards.

 

[Hornbein]

No, I meant your three keyboards.

Oh why not. Yamaha PSR 373 (unused) and 473, Roland go:keys 3 (sounds great for some things but user interface so terrible it's an insult. I can't wait to get rid of it.). I don't like expensive electronic keyboards because they are mostly about duplicating obsolete keyboards of the past, which I don't do. That's the market.

Lately it's common for bands to play along with recordings of keyboards. Sometimes the recording is better than the band. Maybe rock bands don't like the personalities of keyboard players.

 

[Hornbein]

You would like our vocalist and key board player. They speak in a different language.

Them: The Korg.....( numbers and letters) Was great at (xyz) but not quite as good as the Roland (numbers and letters) but that had (ABC) issue.

The Rhodes obviously best for (.....)

Me: (wakes up) Randy Rhodes? I liked his technique but the shredding....

Everyone else: Sh.

Yep, that's exactly how it goes.

 

[DennisN]

Another marvellous song by ABBA, I Have A Dream:
(a fun thing is that they used an electric sitar in this song)



This song sounds simple and is pretty simple, but it doesn't need anything more.
It is so powerful in its simplicity.

What I mean is it is a pretty simple composition, but the production is not simple; e.g. the final chorus was sung by 28 children.

 

[jack action]

I couldn't think of a better thread than this one to post this (please don't hate me!):

​

(I know, I know, there is actually more piano than this in the original song)

 

[Hornbein]

I couldn't think of a better thread than this one to post this (please don't hate me!):

​

(I know, I know, there is actually more piano than this in the original song)

European classical art has a big emphasis on difficulty for its own sake. Simplicity that sounds good has a lot going for it.

 

[pinball1970]

European classical art has a big emphasis on difficulty for its own sake. Simplicity that sounds good has a lot going for it.

That is very funny but you can hear the background keys when he is feigning being bored.
EDIT: SOS has some great keyboards, its central infact.

 

[rcgldr]

I rarely heard ABBA, not on the radio much in the early 1970's, and I started going to discos in Los Angeles | Orange County in 1975, and those discos never played any ABBA songs. My impression was ABBA was popular in Europe, but not in USA,or at least not in the Los Angeles | Orange County area. Fleetwood Mac was able to break disco's hold on music in 1976. In the mid-1980's I was also listening to smooth jazz on the radio (KJLH at night (radio vision), KTWV), and the music heard on Miami Vice at that time was popular. In 2012 my wife and I had passes to Disneyland and we started swing dancing with the big bands on Saturday nights, but that shut down during Covid. I now listen to a lot of types of music, but not ABBA. I'm an intermediate guitar player, but that is just one the types of music I like.

 

[pinball1970]

I rarely heard ABBA, not on the radio much in the early 1970's, and I started going to discos in Los Angeles | Orange County in 1975, and those discos never played any ABBA songs. My impression was ABBA was popular in Europe, but not in USA,or at least not in the Los Angeles | Orange County area. Fleetwood Mac was able to break disco's hold on music in 1976. In the mid-1980's I was also listening to smooth jazz on the radio (KJLH at night (radio vision), KTWV), and the music heard on Miami Vice at that time was popular. In 2012 my wife and I had passes to Disneyland and we started swing dancing with the big bands on Saturday nights, but that shut down during Covid. I now listen to a lot of types of music, but not ABBA. I'm an intermediate guitar player, but that is just one the types of music I like.

ABBA are not disco, they just used it like Blondie and Kiss.

If I was going to try and convert an anti ABBA person of your age I would not recommend one of those tracks.

I would go for:

The name of the game.
The Eagle.
When I kissed the teacher.

 

[rcgldr]

ABBA are not disco, they just used it like Blondie and Kiss. anti ABBA person

I'm not anti-ABBA, I had just never heard of them, even before discos (1975). The first time I heard of them was some TV show (PBS?) that played a video of Dancing Queen almost 20 years later around 1996, which ironically is too slow of a tempo for dancing. As I commented before, due to my history, a wider spectrum than most: classic and modern rock, disco (funk and non-funk (Cerrone, Voyage, ...)), funk, swing, some dance|pop songs, some motown, some country. It's what I hear played by cover bands at the venues my wife and I go to. Dancing Queen was 1976, when Billboard top 100 was dominated by disco except for Fleetwood Mac Rumours.

Due to random chance, I have found some one hit wonder songs from European groups, like the Dutch band Within Temptation (good singer):

Within Temptation - Faster

 

[DaveC426913]

... played a video of Dancing Queen ...

Don't know why this has to be their defining song. I agree, it's too slow.
I prefer Mama Mia and Take a Chance on Me.

 

[rcgldr]

ABBA - Dancing Queen - don't know why this has to be their defining song.

Back to the original post, why is ABBA so popular, I would ask where and when they were|are popular and how popular compared to other bands.

 

[pinball1970]

Back to the original post, why is ABBA so popular, I would ask where and when they were|are popular and how popular compared to other bands.

Europe in the mid 1970s. Huge.

From Wiki.

"ABBA were the first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Republic of Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.[14] They are the best-selling Swedish band of all time[15] and the best-selling band originating in continental Europe. ABBA had eight consecutive number-one albums in the UK."

"To date, ABBA have sold more than 150 million records worldwide becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history."

 

[DennisN]

Don't know why this has to be their defining song.

Dancing Queen was their only number one hit in the US, and it was actually inspired by US disco; "Andersson and Ulvaeus have cited George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby" as a source of inspiration for the style of the song." (quote from Wikipedia).

I think it is a very good song (particularly the composition and the groove, it's very groovy), but it's not their defining song for me. Actually I can't choose one defining song, since they did so many styles of music. I would have to make a list of five or ten songs to display their versatility in music.

By the way, I saw another enjoyable video recently:

RARE ABBA INTERVIEW: Band members on songs, Mamma Mia and world tour (7NEWS Spotlight)

 

[pinball1970]

Dancing Queen was their only number one hit in the US, and it was actually inspired by US disco; "Andersson and Ulvaeus have cited George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby" as a source of inspiration for the style of the song." (quote from Wikipedia).

I think it is a very good song (particularly the composition and the groove, it's very groovy), but it's not their defining song for me. Actually I can't choose one defining song, since they did so many styles of music. I would have to make a list of five or ten songs to display their versatility in music.

By the way, I saw another enjoyable video recently:

RARE ABBA INTERVIEW: Band members on songs, Mamma Mia and world tour (7NEWS Spotlight)

Yep, like the Beatles, what is your favourite song? It's not possible, it's difficult to pick a best from each Album from 1965 onwards let alone all those albums.

 

[DennisN]

Actually I can't choose one defining song, since they did so many styles of music. I would have to make a list of five or ten songs to display their versatility in music.

Ok, I did such a list just for fun.
The list is not intended as a list of their best songs, it's a list of my own favorites, so it's very subjective of course. I'll also put a note on why I like the song so much (note: I could pick more, but I narrowed it down to ten, so if you are an ABBA fan and one song is not on the list, remember it's very subjective ).

Also, if I did such a list when I was younger, it would be different (e.g. probably songs like Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Take A Chance On Me would be on it. But not nowadays. )

• The Winner Takes It All
  - a masterpiece, a great composition which is very emotional and heart-wrenching.
  The US youtuber Professor of Rock who wasn't an ABBA fan changed his mind when he heard the song; a recent video from him here about the story behind the song, very well researched by him.
  
  
• Knowing Me, Knowing You
  - amazing composition, arrangement and production. Another song with a dark theme which they turned into a masterpiece.
  
  
• Lay All Your Love On Me
  - ah, I just love it. It's got such a dark theme (jealousy), the bridge is superb (listen to the synth arpeggios in it, they are amazing) and the chorus is almost like a hymn (choir). One analysis here.
  
  
• Eagle
  - just magnificent. So dreamy and uplifting. "Is it true I'm an eagle? Is It true I can spread my wings?".
  
  
• S.O.S.
  - a killer pop song.
  
  
• 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 ).
  
  
• Fernando
  - holy cr*p, it's a lovely composition.
  
  
• The Name of the Game
  - a masterful mix of genres, and a genius composition.
  
  
• The Visitors
  - futuristic for its time. Synthesizers are in the foreground, which was very unusual for ABBA. And it's eerie and dark, more than usual for ABBA. I remember I thought the song was about alien visitors or ghosts when I was young, but it's not, it's about
  Spoiler

  Political dissidents in the Soviet Union being visited by agents.
  
  
• Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)
  - I could write an essay on how much I adore this song , but I'll narrow it down to a couple of lines...
  
  I wouldn't change a thing in the composition and arrangement, I think it is such a banger. And it's a bit weird mixture of things: it's categorized as disco, but there's also very cool synthesizers and a bit of "classical" arrangement underneath, turning it into a very groovy piece (particularly the long break where there are no vocals.) And there's also a vocal variation in the second chorus (2:33 - 2:52) in which the two girls voices are amazingly blended, it's just a jaw-droppingly cool arrangement).
  
  And the lyrics speak particularly well to me as a Scandinavian; it paints a picture of loneliness and gloom during the dark parts of autumn/winter (in fact, it's exactly like that right now over here ) which is a key ingredient of Scandinavia, but it's dressed up as a cool, danceable tune. One good analysis of the song here.

 

[rcgldr]

"ABBA were the first group from a non-English-speaking ...

I wasn't considering only bands from non-English speaking countries singing in English. Also from Wiki, world wide sales, I'm not sure about the difference between claimed sales and certified | reputed sales. ABBA is around #33 on claimed sales:

Wiki - best selling music artists

Again, living in Southern California, and my personal history of venues, such as discos from 1975 to 1992, I never heard of ABBA until some PBS like special around 1996.

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:

Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain (harmony similar to Crosby Stills & Nash)

I also like would I would classify as niche market songs:
Chris Rea - Looking For The Summer

Autograph - Turn Up The Radio

Ochestral cover of On A Good Day

These are just random examplea. I'm not going to go through 50+ years of the type of music I've listened to.

 

[DennisN]

A fun clip I saw yesterday, I'll post it for fun for drummers like @pinball1970 ....
An Indonesian drummer who performs to the ABBA song Gimme Gimme Gimme...

Sidenote for music nerds: She seems to have a quite impressive drum set; I count four toms and two smaller drums which I think are timbales (I personally love timbales) (and @pinball1970 may correct me if I'm wrong ). And she's got a ridiculous amount of cymbals of all sizes and types .

I particularly like her drumming between 3:40 and 3:51, slowly building up with a couple of cool small tom fills, then a larger tom fill and then ending with a nice snare build right before the chorus.

ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) || Drum Cover by KALONICA NICX

 

[pinball1970]

Sidenote for music nerds: She seems to have a quite impressive drum set; I count four toms and two smaller drums which I think are timbales (I personally love timbales) (and @pinball1970 may correct me if I'm wrong ). And she's got a ridiculous amount of cymbals of all sizes and types .

Yes (to me) that is a lot. I use hi hats, ride and one crash. Bass drum, snare, bass drum tom and floor tom that's it.

 

[DennisN]

one crash

One crash? Very minimalistic . Ringo Starr would have been impressed, I think.

 

[pinball1970]

I wasn't considering only bands from non-English speaking countries singing in English. Also from Wiki, world wide sales, I'm not sure about the difference between claimed sales and certified | reputed sales. ABBA is around #33 on claimed sales:

Wiki - best selling music artists

Again, living in Southern California, and my personal history of venues, such as discos from 1975 to 1992, I never heard of ABBA until some PBS like special around 1996.

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:

Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain (harmony similar to Crosby Stills & Nash)

I also like would I would classify as niche market songs:
Chris Rea - Looking For The Summer

Autograph - Turn Up The Radio

Ochestral cover of On A Good Day

These are just random examplea. I'm not going to go through 50+ years of the type of music I've listened to.

Ok,from the Title it is my job and other ABBAphiles to guide you to what we think are tracks that make them special.

Can I tempt you with, " the tiger?"

 

[rcgldr]

Can I tempt you with, " the tiger?"

Reminded me of:
Altered Images - I Could Be Happy

Not that I like either song that much, but I Could Be Happy got a lot of air time during the MTV era.

I don't hate the songs, I just don't like them as much as other songs. I like specific songs as opposed to bands or genre, in some cases, it may be just one song from a particular band that I like.

Note - I post url links if a youtube media link here just switches to watch on youtube (due to embedded setting turned off for a video).

 

[pinball1970]

Reminded me of:
Altered Images - I Could Be Happy

Wow, that really brought back memories for me, not heard it for decades possibly.
I was not keen on the majority of music from 1981 onwards in the charts but there was the odd track like that, that caught my ear.

I like the tune, the guitar mimics it a little. Not that Tigerish to me though.

The middle 8 in Tiger caught my ear immediately.

 

[pinball1970]

Note - I post url links if a youtube media link here just switches to watch on youtube (due to embedded setting turned off for a video).

I like seeing the image of the video. It's just another click to get to yt

 

[pinball1970]

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:

This is one of my favourite songs by them

 

[pinball1970]

I wasn't considering only bands from non-English speaking countries singing in English. Also from Wiki, world wide sales, I'm not sure about the difference between claimed sales and certified | reputed sales. ABBA is around #33 on claimed sales

They had only has four hits in the US and did one tour in 1979.

In the UK at least the were among the biggest sellers in terms of Albums in the 70s.

Three in the top 20 including compilation albums, "Rumours" was 13th.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_of_the_1970s_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

[rcgldr]

Top 20 ... Summer Night City

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