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Post by Rick Henry on Feb 18, 2007 11:19:38 GMT -5
Hi all... I thought it would be fun to have a thread going on ABBA.
Let's talk about some of our favorite tunes by ABBA (and maybe our not so favorite also - just to spice things up a bit).
I have several favorites by them - though just as with Carpenters my favorite tunes are not generally the big ones that have been overplayed decade after decade. Such as "Dancing Queen" - fun as it is I just do not care for the song - though there are many I love.
To start one of my ultimate favorite songs by ABBA (and really one of my all-time favorite songs all together) is "Fernando". This is such a movingly emotional song with poignant lyrics. Best of all the vocals are absolutely beautiful. I can listen to this song any time any day.
I'll come back with more ABBA favorites.
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Post by wisejester7 on Feb 18, 2007 12:58:54 GMT -5
"Fernando" is the first song I thought of ... followed by "The Winner Takes It All".
Both songs are powerful.
"Fernando" is soft and beautiful, the story/lyrics beautiful.
"The Winner Takes It All" is very dramatic in both lyrical message and vocal presentation.
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Post by ps11932 on Feb 18, 2007 14:48:25 GMT -5
This is an interesting time for this topic to be introduced; I am not very familiar with Abba, and it has been brought to my attention a few times recently that this is a group that not only had a great style of their own but had a lot of influence on popular music in general. If any of you have thoughts on what Abba collection would be a good introduction for a Carpenters fan, I am all ears. I am familiar with 2 of their songs and like them both, one being "Dancing Queen" and the other was called "Waterloo."
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Post by wisejester7 on Feb 18, 2007 18:45:30 GMT -5
"Waterloo" was the first ABBA song I ever heard. They were singing in English, but their accents made it perfectly clear it wasn't their native language. Nevertheless, "Waterloo" was a perfect vehicle to start them on the road to really big success as a group.
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Post by Rick Henry on Feb 18, 2007 21:20:36 GMT -5
I'm not quite sure which ABBA song I heard first - but most likely it was "Waterloo". This is definitely a favorite. It's a perfect pop tune which I never tire of. Great song.
Another ABBA favorite (and I have many so I will come back and add to this thread several more times) is "I Have A Dream". This is a shimmeringly beautiful song. Again as with "Fernando" and "The Winner Takes It All" I love the lyrics. There is much meaning in this song. "I Have A Dream" always brings me around to looking at the "good" in life.
I Have A Dream I have a dream, a song to sing To help me cope with anything If you see the wonder of a fairy tale You can take the future even if you fail I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dreamI have a dream, a fantasy To help me through reality And my destination makes it worth the while Pushing through the darkness still another mile I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dream Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
I have a dream, a song to sing To help me cope with anything If you see the wonder of a fairy tale You can take the future even if you fail I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dream Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
"I Have A Dream" is within my favorites of all-time.
Earlier Wisejester7 mentioned "The Winner Takes It All" - this is also a wonderful favorite.
Before I move on the song which made me start buying ABBA's albums was in 1976 when I first heard "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do". That was such a great song, it was so catchy. It caught my attention and there was no going back. For the next few years I bought everything ABBA released.
By the time "I Do, I Do, I Do..." was on the charts I was familiar with ABBA having heard and enjoyed "S.O.S." just a year earlier - somehow tjhough that song didn't quite capture me and I forgot about ABBA until "I Do..." became a hit. Now I consider "S.O.S." to be a big favorite also.
Will come back with more...
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Post by wisejester7 on Feb 19, 2007 11:53:43 GMT -5
Thanks for posting the lyrics to "I Have A Dream". I haven't thought about this song in a long time, though I like it a lot. I guess I'll have to break out my ABBA albums and see what else I've forgotten. ;-)
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Feb 19, 2007 21:40:45 GMT -5
"Waterloo" was probably their first successful American single. I remember it from 1974. It came out at about the same time as the Watergate scandal was dominating the headlines, and one morning DJ in Columbus "borrowed" "Waterloo" and turned it into "Watergate". It was funny because he recorded it while imitating Nixon's voice.
But my favorite would be "Fernando". All of the construction workers I worked with in El Sauz, Mexico had heard it, and they liked me because I was semi-knowledgeable about Mexican holidays and customs.
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Post by enigma on Feb 26, 2007 5:47:14 GMT -5
I can't say I am a huge ABBA fan but I do appreciate the talents of Byorn and Benny as arrangers and Agnetha and Anni-Frid as singers and I do like some of thier stuff but unlike Rick it will be the well known stuff.
My favorites include I Have A Dream, Fernando, Knowing Me Knowing You, Dancing Queen, Take A Chance On Me and Chiquitita among others Yes these hits are played to death but I always find them to be a pleasant listen nonetheless. Now and then I have to pop in the greatest hits package I own and I like most of the songs still to this day.
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Post by Rick Henry on Feb 27, 2007 10:24:37 GMT -5
I'm not quite sure which ABBA song I heard first - but most likely it was "Waterloo". This is definitely a favorite. It's a perfect pop tune which I never tire of. Great song.
Another ABBA favorite (and I have many so I will come back and add to this thread several more times) is "I Have A Dream". This is a shimmeringly beautiful song. Again as with "Fernando" and "The Winner Takes It All" I love the lyrics. There is much meaning in this song. "I Have A Dream" always brings me around to looking at the "good" in life.
I Have A Dream I have a dream, a song to sing To help me cope with anything If you see the wonder of a fairy tale You can take the future even if you fail I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dreamI have a dream, a fantasy To help me through reality And my destination makes it worth the while Pushing through the darkness still another mile I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dream Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
I have a dream, a song to sing To help me cope with anything If you see the wonder of a fairy tale You can take the future even if you fail I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dream Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
"I Have A Dream" is within my favorites of all-time.
Earlier Wisejester7 mentioned "The Winner Takes It All" - this is also a wonderful favorite.
Before I move on the song which made me start buying ABBA's albums was in 1976 when I first heard "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do". That was such a great song, it was so catchy. It caught my attention and there was no going back. For the next few years I bought everything ABBA released.
By the time "I Do, I Do, I Do..." was on the charts I was familiar with ABBA having heard and enjoyed "S.O.S." just a year earlier - somehow though that song didn't quite capture me and I forgot about ABBA until "I Do..." became a hit. Now I consider "S.O.S." to be a big favorite also.
Will come back with more... After "I Do, I Do, I Do..." came "Mama Mia". It wasn't as big of a hit but did manage to make the top 40. I liked "Mama Mia" even more than "I Do, I Do, I Do...". To this day "Mama Mia" remains in my top favorites by Abba.
Next was "Fernando" which was a huge hit - almost made the top ten and received tons of airplay. At that point in time I only liked the song - I was not in love with it. Now, though, I consider "Fernando" to be classic and one of ABBA's finest works. I love this song.
There's more to come - my most favorite ABBA songs are just right around the corner.
Will be back soon.
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 10, 2007 0:48:36 GMT -5
Continuing in my history of ABBA favorites.
Early in this thread i mentioned my favorites by ABBA are generally not the songs which have been overplayed. Though, still I do love those overplayed songs and the next song to chart for ABBA (after "Fernando") is their most played hit of all-time - that would be "Dancing Queen". Let me tell you when that one came out I went out right away to my local music store and bought the single (at this point I still hadn't bought an ABBA album - but "Dancing Queen" was the 4th consecutive single I bought by them). Once I had "Dancing Queen" in my possession I played that record like crazy. I played and played it for years. I played it so much back then, that nowadays it's really not a favorite anymore - though I still thinks it's a great song.
As much as I loved "Dancing Queen" in 1977 the next single was an even bigger favorite - that was "Knowing Me Knowing You" - what a great song the vocal arrangement is outstanding - in my mind one of ABBA's very best vocal arrangements. I love the guitar work and somewhat dark drive about the song. I still love this one tremendously to this day and is one of my top favorites by ABBA.
ABBA was on a roll... song after song was outstanding. I seemed to like each song better than the previous one. This continued with "Money, Money, Money". for about six months "Knowing Me Knowing You" was my favorite ABBA song - but "Money, Money, Money" took the crown right away - this remained my favorite ABBA song for the next year and a half. The song had a certain feel to it that I really liked. it was upbeat, it had a sort of circus sound in it. I don't know what it was but I found this song irresistible - I played this one even more than "Dancing Queen". "Money, Money, Money" is still one I chose to play when I listen to my ABBA CD's.
Will come back there's still much more to come.
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Post by merlinjones on Mar 18, 2007 12:58:55 GMT -5
Waterloo I am a big fan of Little Richard and the song: "Waterloo" reminds me of Little Richard in the nicest possible way. When I first heard the song: "Waterloo" I was amazed that a band (from Sweden) could process and really just run with Little Richard's general style of rock and roll in such an uplifting and lovely way. I have heard this song, maybe, a gazillion times, and it never fails to make me smile. On a more somber note, kinda When I was but a wee girl, "Fernando" really moved me. I thought that song was just soo dramatic! Gosh darn, the arrangement is what did me in. I remember wondering what happened to: "Fernando" and thinking him to be an actual fellow. At any rate, I think that ABBA is a wonderful group. They are all just too talented, eh? Ultimately, fine musicianship wins out over most anything else.
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sunnybunny
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Post by sunnybunny on Mar 23, 2007 13:36:52 GMT -5
I like Waterloo,Dancing Queen,Take a Chance on Me,and The Winner Takes it All.I've liked ABBA since I was 5 and I'm 13 now.I only have the 20th Centuary Masters album though and my mom has the Gold cd.
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Post by abbafanusa on Mar 27, 2007 21:20:16 GMT -5
I just saw this topic (how could I have missed it :0) I'm probably the biggest ABBA fan/collector here. For me, it started when I was 10 and "Dancing Queen" came out. It's been a love affair ever since. I currently have one of the largest ABBA collections around. Which includes over 1000 singles from all over the world, 150+ posters, 500+ albums, 500+ CD's countless magazines, articles, pictures and memorabilia. I've met Björn, Benny & Frida and have many autographs from them. My dream is to meet Agnetha, but that's easier said than done. Pretty much the only way to do that is to go to Sweden and hunt her down. Some of my collection of picture sleeves have even been featured in the booklets of the solo CD remasters and my posters in the international deluxe version of the DVD 'ABBA-The Movie'
Back to the topic, My top 5 favorite songs are probably: Lay All Your Love On Me The Visitors (Crackin' Up) As Good As New The Winner Takes It All Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Like Carpenters, there are a million compilation CD's out on the market, but the best one by far is 'ABBA GOLD'. Every big hit is on it and it flows very well. They only released 8 studio albums, so you really can't go wrong checking any one of them out.
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 27, 2007 22:32:26 GMT -5
You finally found it PEPE... I was hoping you'd join in on this discussion - as I believe you are the biggest ABBA fan on this board.
You are personally responsible for getting me to listen to ABBA again. I hadn't played any of their music in about 3 years - though now in the past month I've played "gold", "More Gold", "The Album", "Oro" and "Mas Oro".
Like you I have a top five - maybe top ten list of favorite ABBA songs - but I will come back with that after I've finished my year by year love of ABBA's music in the 70's and early 80's.
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 30, 2007 0:22:11 GMT -5
I'm not quite sure which ABBA song I heard first - but most likely it was "Waterloo". This is definitely a favorite. It's a perfect pop tune which I never tire of. Great song.
Another ABBA favorite (and I have many so I will come back and add to this thread several more times) is "I Have A Dream". This is a shimmeringly beautiful song. Again as with "Fernando" and "The Winner Takes It All" I love the lyrics. There is much meaning in this song. "I Have A Dream" always brings me around to looking at the "good" in life.
I Have A Dream I have a dream, a song to sing To help me cope with anything If you see the wonder of a fairy tale You can take the future even if you fail I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dreamI have a dream, a fantasy To help me through reality And my destination makes it worth the while Pushing through the darkness still another mile I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dream Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
I have a dream, a song to sing To help me cope with anything If you see the wonder of a fairy tale You can take the future even if you fail I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me Ill cross the stream - I have a dream Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
"I Have A Dream" is within my favorites of all-time.
Earlier Wisejester7 mentioned "The Winner Takes It All" - this is also a wonderful favorite.
Before I move on the song which made me start buying ABBA's albums was in 1976 when I first heard "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do". That was such a great song, it was so catchy. It caught my attention and there was no going back. For the next few years I bought everything ABBA released.
By the time "I Do, I Do, I Do..." was on the charts I was familiar with ABBA having heard and enjoyed "S.O.S." just a year earlier - somehow though that song didn't quite capture me and I forgot about ABBA until "I Do..." became a hit. Now I consider "S.O.S." to be a big favorite also.
Will come back with more... After "I Do, I Do, I Do..." came "Mama Mia". It wasn't as big of a hit but did manage to make the top 40. I liked "Mama Mia" even more than "I Do, I Do, I Do...". To this day "Mama Mia" remains in my top favorites by Abba.
Next was "Fernando" which was a huge hit - almost made the top ten and received tons of airplay. At that point in time I only liked the song - I was not in love with it. Now, though, I consider "Fernando" to be classic and one of ABBA's finest works. I love this song.
There's more to come - my most favorite ABBA songs are just right around the corner.
Will be back soon. Continuing with my year by year ABBA favorites...
After "Money, Money, Money" Abba released "The Name Of The Game" again another winner. I went out and bought this single right away - this was now the 7th consecutive ABBA single added to my collection. I liked this one quite a bit but it never became a huge favorite for me.
Next came "Take A Chance On Me"... this was their biggest hit since "Dancing Queen". And like the others I went out and bought "Take A Chance On Me" right after hearing it. This is one of those songs that I played countless times over - I have even used this in several of my homemade compilations - I used quite a few times in the early 80's on my cassette comps. Though, as much as I loved "Take A chance On me" it was "Money, Money, Money" that still kept finding it's way back to my turntable more than any other ABBA song.
1979 came around and it was another banner year for ABBA... the hits kept coming. Now were inching into a period where some of my ultimate favorites by ABBA were released. This time their newest single featured the lead vocals of Benny the song was called "Does your Mother Know". At first I was not taken with this song as it did not feautre the lead vocals of Frida or Agnetha. But the song was just so catchy that I did eventually come around to loving it - and i finally bought the single. I loved this song so much that this one was now my favorite ABBA song. I played this one like crazy - and it was my song of choice almost always for the better part of the year.
Stay tunes... there's more to come...
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Post by abbafanusa on Apr 1, 2007 18:00:52 GMT -5
Shame, shame, Rick. Björn sings lead on "DYMK" not Benny. The only ABBA song released where Benny sang lead was "Suzy-Hang-Around" on the Waterloo LP.
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Post by Rick Henry on Apr 1, 2007 22:03:37 GMT -5
Shame, shame, Rick. Björn sings lead on "DYMK" not Benny. The only ABBA song released where Benny sang lead was "Suzy-Hang-Around" on the Waterloo LP. Thank you PEPE for the correction. I knew that, but I guess I remembered wrong as I typed my post.
I will be back in a day or two with more of my ABBA timeline.
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