ABBA-cadabra, the 70's Live On

This CD collection by ABBA was actually given to me by a blind date about two years ago, something that I admit helped heighten my romantic interest (alas, only temporarily). However, my infatuation with ABBA, their sound, the female vocals in particular, and some crafty songwriting has not dimmed in the least.

I play this collection regularly though I certainly favor Discs 2 and 3 over the other two. Maybe it's just me, but when you have several hours of music all by one artist with that one sound, you really do notice the blemishes a lot more than if you just hear their hit single here and there. The same is true of ABBA. Their hits were monster hits, but some of the B side stuff is just that - very B, especially when the guys in the band try to do front vocals. No offense intended to Bjorn and Benny, but they do best when they do they contribute their infamous vocal doubling/unison with their female counterparts, Agnetha and Frida, or sing under them. All bands know what their weak points are and I'm sure ABBA realized the ladies had the vocal chops and the gentlemen had the beat so, for the majority of their tunes, they let this shine through.

Those of you seeking that little extra something besides just ABBA hits will enjoy this collection because it includes a pretty cool booklet within it that chronicles ABBA's personal histories, the story behind some of the songs and did I mention that each CD is autographed by one of the members? That's sharp marketing but also makes for quite a collector's item. I know this is on E-bay for a modest $100 or so but give it time - it will someday be one of those "hard to find" Deals that collectors will pay some big bucks for, especially if ABBA ever does decide to reunite and do a long awaited tour.


The strongest tunes ABBA has here are almost all Top 40 hits, the obvious ones like:
Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me, Knowing You,
Take A Chance On Me, S.O.S., Fernando,
I Do, I Do, I Do (by the way, this is a terrific tune taken from the sountrack of a terrific sleeper of a movie, "Muriel's Wedding" which is a DO NOT MISS video if you are an ABBA addict! It features a young, unpopular, overweight woman who fantasizes about marrying the perfect man while also being completely obsessed with ABBA).

The unfortunate part of such a large collection, as I have referred to several times, is that, if you take away the meaty hits listed above and others I haven't mentioned, you are left with quite a bit of "filler". For a devoted ABBA fan, this is of little consequence because you just enjoy hearing their sound, their familiar vocal layering and breezy catchy phrases, but, for others, it might prove to be too much of a semi-good thing. I'm looking at the list of tunes now, a whopping total of 66 in all (getting tired yet?), and, out of this total, I count no more than perhaps 20 the average listener will have an immediate recollection of. Again, it's all in the eye of the beholder. If you like ABBA so much, you want to hear every pore of their being being expressed for about four hours, this is definitely for you. For others, it could amount to overkill and a lot of Remote Rage (using the ole remote control with irritation and frustration to skip tracks when one of the boys steps up to the mike instead of one of the gals!).

Personal Favorites (some of which are from my old days as a singer in a Boston band and we covered a lot of these tunes):
Winner Takes It All
Waterloo (hands-down crowd favorite)
Dancing Queen (which has had some serious legs since it is STILL begin covered by the more modern bands, including U2)
Name of the Game
Souper Trouper

It's a real nostalgic trip flipping through the pages of the booklet while listening to these CDs because, for every single song, they listed a recording date and, where applicable, what kind of mood the band was in (for example, it is noted that Take A Chance was recorded August 3, 1977 "A lot of hard work went into this great song. This is only one of several attempts to find the right feel. It was never found...that day.")

Lastly, for those of you who want the fully rounded ABBA experience, they do include a few numbers in French and Swedish, including a reprisal of Waterloo and Ring, Ring. This CD originates in Germany so it has a very authentic flair and feel to it, but, as I have always experienced and believed, music transcends language and time and ABBA surely will live on through collections such as this one. Put all four CDs in your changer, invite some friends over (who, ahem, are probably my age - mid 40's, so you don't get the obnoxious statement "ABBA who??" from anyone), fire up the grill, and talk about the good old days. They really were good, you know, especially if you add a musical backdrop of ABBA hits.