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arcane-beautiful View Drop Down
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Points: 310 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Abba's The Visitors
    Posted: December 06 2010 at 04:58
I've heard this album a few weeks ago, and does anyone else think it's quite Neo Prog?
 
I'm not saying their prog in anyway, but this is just left up to interpretation.
 
It's quite experimental compared to other ABBA albums, and everyone didn't like it, and was also leading to thier break up.
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Points: 785 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 06 2010 at 13:50
I am familiar with this record. If not Neo Prog, it at least pointed to a more experimental direction with odd detours like "Head Over Heels", Like an Angel Passing Through My Room", and "Two For the Price of One". I would have been interested in how the next album would have balanced pop and experimental. Alas, it was not meant to be.
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lucas View Drop Down
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Points: 8138 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 06 2010 at 16:27
not prog, but certainly a good albums, like many others by ABBA.
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Points: 9869 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2010 at 11:10
The title track hints at something proggy and I Let The Music Speak is quite elaborate for a POP song.  Something interesting going on in Soldiers too. I consider it their best album, it's a real shame they couldn't go on after that.  ABBA are much scorned in rock circles generally but on Visitors, I hear a very original and fresh set of songs which, for the first and last time in their career, also manage to hit the bulls eye emotionally. The s/t, Arrival, The Album and Super Trouper all have their moments but Visitors was a cut above everything else ABBA did.   By the way, the remaster has Should I Laugh or Cry and Under Attack. Should I Laugh or Cry already sports U2-like delay (the album came out in 1981) and Under Attack strongly evokes the modern prog band ACT (from Sweden, so no surprises there). Big smile  

Edited by rogerthat - December 08 2010 at 11:11
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arcane-beautiful View Drop Down
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Points: 310 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 09 2010 at 04:50
even though its quite experimental, I still think their best album is Voulez Vous, its flawless
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Points: 26136 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 09 2010 at 15:33
Abba must be the most secretely liked but no one dare admit it band there has ever been.
Big smile
I can't add anything specifically to the subject of this topic as I've never heard this particular album but it doesn't suprise me in the least that they were capable of doing something experimental.
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arcane-beautiful View Drop Down
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Points: 310 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2010 at 06:11
You have to admit, Benny & Bjorn are amazing songwriters, and I've played and seen other Abba songs played by different people, and they'll admit their is some tricky sections and odd musical decorations and structures in their songs. Not prog, but should be deeply respected.
 
Both the girls also are amazing vocalists, and their relationship with each other, even though turbulent, musically is amazing, proudcing some of the nicest vocal harmonies I have ever heard.
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Points: 9869 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2010 at 21:40
Voulez Vouz is actually the one I could never get into.   Some nice grooves, but I like ABBA more for their melodies. Super Trouper is still dance oriented but songs like Lay All Your Love on Me and Elaine still have strong melodies.  
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Points: 310 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 11 2010 at 13:05
their was some weak moments on Super Trooper for me, and I don't know why you couldn't get into Voulez Vous, maybe it's the disco sound haha
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Points: 9869 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 11 2010 at 21:03
Well, I don't know, I do like Off The Wall for instance, which is sort of disco soul.  There is a certain schizophrenic quality in the way ABBA melodies morph from bright to dark, it's their trademark. I can hear it in Super Trouper in songs like Gimme Gimme Gimme, Elaine, Lay All Your Love on Me but don't remember that on Voulez Vouz. Maybe I should investigate again, I don't know, but I remember feeling that the songs were too bland and too dependent on the grooves whereas ABBA typically had overall good arrangements. 

EDIT:  Hmm, I am listening to Voulez Vouz now. Well, what do I know, so far this sounds like just another good ABBA album Confused LOL.   Superb arrangements on Angel Eyes in particular. Thanks for the head up LOL, gotta give this some more spins now.  And I swear I had actually listened to several times long back when I made my original comment, I wasn't just quoting reviews. LOL


Edited by rogerthat - December 11 2010 at 23:04
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arcane-beautiful View Drop Down
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Points: 310 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2010 at 04:58

Yes, I got someone to understand Voulez Vous, I think what made me like it was their was in my opinion on fillers, and every song could easily be signles. I also love the vocal harmonies throughout.

Also, Gimme Gimme Gimme wasn't on Super Trooper, but it was released as a single before the album was released, so theirs a similar sound. And I think Lay All Your Love On Me is on The Visitors I think
 
Talking about love for Abba on a prog forum, could this be considered treason?
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Points: 16130 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2010 at 05:09
Originally posted by arcane-beautiful arcane-beautiful wrote:

You have to admit, Benny & Bjorn are amazing songwriters, and I've played and seen other Abba songs played by different people, and they'll admit their is some tricky sections and odd musical decorations and structures in their songs. Not prog, but should be deeply respected.
 

Both the girls also are amazing vocalists, and their relationship with each other, even though turbulent, musically is amazing, proudcing some of the nicest vocal harmonies I have ever heard.


This. I was just about to post something about their amazing harmonies. Abba was the first pop group I was exposed to as a kid. My parents used to play their records alot and I remember from a very early age, really liking the melodies and the warm feel of the music.

SOS was always my favorite Abba tune..
Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!
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EGE YURTUM View Drop Down
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Points: 47 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 15 2010 at 08:46
THE VISITORS is definitely the most complex in terms of structure Abba got without their music becoming something else entirely and beyond the realms of what might be loosely termed pop music and probably the reason why it wasn't a massive commercial success in terms of their other albums ( it was number 1 in 8 countries - a disaster for Abba then, a smash hit album of a generation now!! ).  Abba touched on very manystyles - Folk, funk, glam, soul, disco, and even a couple of hard rockers throughout their catalogue.... THE VISITORS employs technology the most... synth arrangements, digital recording ( a very early example of this ) and in terms of progression, there's definite leanings towards what Bjorn and Benny went on to do afterwards with their musicals etc... THE VISITORS is definitely my favourite ABBA album ( although why they put the awful 2 FOR THE PRICE OF 1 on the album and left the wonderful CASSANDRA as a B side I'll never know - CASSANDRA's an extra on the CD )... 

A couple of years back I wrote an article for a fanzine about ABBA - it's archived here http://wretchfalafel.blogspot.com/2009/02/forthoseabouttopop-we-saluteyou.html
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arcane-beautiful View Drop Down
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Points: 310 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 16 2010 at 05:08
Originally posted by EGE YURTUM EGE YURTUM wrote:

THE VISITORS is definitely the most complex in terms of structure Abba got without their music becoming something else entirely and beyond the realms of what might be loosely termed pop music and probably the reason why it wasn't a massive commercial success in terms of their other albums ( it was number 1 in 8 countries - a disaster for Abba then, a smash hit album of a generation now!! ).  Abba touched on very manystyles - Folk, funk, glam, soul, disco, and even a couple of hard rockers throughout their catalogue.... THE VISITORS employs technology the most... synth arrangements, digital recording ( a very early example of this ) and in terms of progression, there's definite leanings towards what Bjorn and Benny went on to do afterwards with their musicals etc... THE VISITORS is definitely my favourite ABBA album ( although why they put the awful 2 FOR THE PRICE OF 1 on the album and left the wonderful CASSANDRA as a B side I'll never know - CASSANDRA's an extra on the CD )... 

A couple of years back I wrote an article for a fanzine about ABBA - it's archived here http://wretchfalafel.blogspot.com/2009/02/forthoseabouttopop-we-saluteyou.html
 
Apparently the reason behind the increase in technicality is due to Benny & Bjorns influence from musicals, and when they split up, they wrote Chess
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