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  • The words I have been dreading since te 80s have been uttered eurovisision shite mongers abba have released a new album or whatever they are called these days!!! 🙄🤮

  • Heero Yuy September 3, 2021 at 10:04 AM

    Changed the title of the thread from “God no!” to “God no! (ABBA)”.
  • Ron, I've amended the thread title to include ABBA to make it more relevant.

    AFAIK they're still under that name though they're using motion capture suits to make the younger versions of themsleves perform.

    History is much like an Endless Waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever.

    4312-gwban-gif

  • I’m not that keen on ABBA, but they do have a decent following and I’m sure this re-launch will be a success.

    Will I be watching or listening to it? Not by choice, but my wife will!

  • I can't stand them, the songs are awful.

    I was once privy to a conversation about abba and was asked by someone what my favourite abba song was and when I said none of them, the person seemed quite offended which I found amusing and started laughing and they accused me of taking the piss which of course amused me more which didn't help. 🤣🤣

  • I have to disagree Ron, I think their songs are of the highest order. I absolutely love them and unlike many fans, have continued to listen to their songs throughout the ages.

  • AFAIK they're still under that name though they're using motion capture suits to make the younger versions of themsleves perform.

    Yes... not sure about that. If they don't want to perform, then they should just stay away, rather than do this virtual nonsense.

  • There does seem to be the notion that every body likes abba and therefore has a favourite abba song, well I am the excerption I cant stand them and any of their songs, but I do understand that there are differing musical tastes, but when someone gets offended because I say I don't like a particular music act then I find that bizarre to say the least. :D

  • I don't mind ABBA but they are not a go to group I would listen to for pleasure. They are talented and make good music but it's more pop and the kind of music that would get put on at a party or wedding reception where everyone can join in. It's more like stage music. There is some superb music that comes out of Scandinavian countries once you get past the death metal that some of them like in places like Norway. I like Norwegian and Icelandic music and there's some good jazz singers in Sweden. Helios and Heilung in Norway are superb, Anders Jormin in Sweden, Kiasmos, Olafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm and Sigur Ros in Iceland.

    Right this minute I am listening to Vanessa Fernandez - Use Me (2014)

  • I have to disagree Ron, I think their songs are of the highest order. I absolutely love them and unlike many fans, have continued to listen to their songs throughout the ages.

    A guilty secret of mine. Almost blushing to confess it.

    Celebrate it, Anticipate it, Yesterday's faded, Nothing can change it, Life's what you make it

  • No need for blushing, they're brilliant. Look at the crap pumped out by modern groups compared to them, there is no comparison.

  • I'd rather have Abba than that awful rap music kids seem to like these days.

    Mind you I really like 70's progressive rock and KLF* / Blackbox house.

    *Kings of the Low Frequency. You need a seriously good Hi-Fi to appreciate them.

    History is much like an Endless Waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever.

    4312-gwban-gif

  • Look at the crap pumped out by modern groups compared to them, there is no comparison.

    Yes and no. Yes there is lot of crap but there was also a lot of crap years ago. You only have to look at the top 10 for the years past by and question what has survived and you possibly still listen too now. The problem well...not so much a problem but it makes it difficult, is the abundance of choice we have now with every man, woman and their cat able to sit at home and make a tune in a home studio and upload it online. There's a lot to sift threw before you find the good stuff and the streaming companies don't help matters assuming what peoples tastes are.

    I'm now listening to Maria Muldaur.

  • *Kings of the Low Frequency. You need a seriously good Hi-Fi to appreciate them.

    Yep try listening to some Bass Mekanik LOL I am a self confessed audiophile and have a reasonable system, my speakers cost ÂŁ2000 and I have more than enough power coming from my amp to drive them. I have a 5.1 system that runs through a big AVR and has a bypass mode for audio if I want to bypass all the video electronics side. More importantly is your room and the source material you listen to. I only ever play flac (mostly hi res) and DSD (dsf) files. I can't play MP3's as my system shows all the imperfections and I can mostly hear the difference. Rap is one of the few genre's I can't listen too especially gangsta rap but there are the odd rap tunes I can bare to listen too especially if they tend to fall more towards the hip hop side.

  • The best Swedish music group were Roxette way better than abba. 8o

    I liked Roxette a lot; I was always playing their music videos on TV in the 1990s.

    Marie Fredriksson’s voice was stunning but Per Gessie was a bit lightweight in comparison!

  • ABBA had mass appeal in the day. They were entertaining, musically versatile (up to a point) and produced a string of catchy, three minute middle of the road pop songs that sat comfortably with the mainstream market.

    In my opinion, sales alone don't make for greatness, but perhaps a better indicator of what is considered "great" is whether or not future generations enjoy them.

    Popular music doesn't stand still. It moves on. Many people of my generation hear the Beatles and can't see what all the fuss was about. Speaking for myself, I am astounded at what the Fab Four achieved and the influence their innovations have had on the development of popular music. They truly were the greatest. But that's just me.

    ABBA have shown through their Mamma Mia musical stage show and movies that their songs have endured..... have crossed the generation gap and for that reason they are still relevant. I don't blame them for making a comeback. I like the idea of the Abbatars. If they can appeal to this generation with new material then good luck to them I say.

    Roxette..... Hmmm..... "It Must Have Been Love" was a good number, although a little laboured for my liking. Musically it isn't that special and Marie's voice was probably pitched in Contralto or Alto.... hence her inability to really "hit" high notes...... Something that was often commented on in her stage performances. Both Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agneta Faltskog are Mezzo-Soprano (my vocal pitch, incidentally) and they have a vocal range comfortably in two octaves. I don't think Fredriksson's range could have been more than one and half octaves (at best).

    It was a shame she died so tragically. It's never nice when a popular performer dies relatively young. She was only 61.

    ABBA's comeback...? Take a chance on them.

  • Bands are very rarely ever the same when they make a come back in later life. Everyone holds onto what a band once was but in reality all they are doing is coming back to top up their pension fund. They've had their time and the greatness has past. It's possible they will attract the attention of younger folk with all the marketing surrounding their come back but for those that where around the first time around it will most likely leave them with a bad taste in their mouth. But here's the thing. With ABBA it's a sing along so if they do their older hits again then they may capture some interest for parents to talk about them and have a sing along with the kids.

  • Bands are very rarely ever the same when they make a come back in later life. Everyone holds onto what a band once was but in reality all they are doing is coming back to top up their pension fund. They've had their time and the greatness has past. It's possible they will attract the attention of younger folk with all the marketing surrounding their come back but for those that where around the first time around it will most likely leave them with a bad taste in their mouth. But here's the thing. With ABBA it's a sing along so if they do their older hits again then they may capture some interest for parents to talk about them and have a sing along with the kids.

    Yeah, there is that. But the comeback album is, apparently, all new material so there doesn't appear to be any falling back on former glories in this instance.

    It's the voices that are going to be a problem, particularly in live performances. They're all in their 70's now and just the plain simple fact of gerontic advance will have an effect.

    For the reasons of vocal restriction alone, I don't think they'll be trying to attempt a lot of their old material, if any at all. I'd expect that the new material has been written with the physical restrictions of their age in mind.

    We shall see.

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