Fifty cents' worth!

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 9:25 am

I was at a huge community rummage sale a couple of weeks ago, and was absolutely delighted to find an "ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits" CD for 50 cents..... I had been contemplating buying this CD before for full price, but have always stopped myself because my hubby HATES Abba. Anyway, with hubby out of town, I have been dancing around the house belting out the songs I know by heart from my days as a pre-teen! Funny how something can make you so happy for fifty cents!

Mind you, I certainly couldn't live on a steady diet of ABBA music--but the trip down memory lane is certainly fun.... It might be kind of fun to work up my own version of "Take a Chance On Me" with my jangly 325, though!

rob · Post by **rob** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 10:11 am

At least when your husband finds it and throws it out, you're not out all that much money!

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 10:17 am

Oh, he wouldn't dare throw it out.... He's okay with it as long as he doesn't have to listen to it!

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 10:23 am

.....But if I start trying to figure out how to play it (on my guitar that is), he might have to put up with it! But he might not immediately recognize it as an ABBA tune, either--I think it's the cheesy keyboards and disco-style beat that drive him up the wall.

wints · Post by **wints** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:57 am

Brilliant pop from a group, who are for many, THE definitive 70's group.

Benny and Bjorn were the Lennon and McCartney of the 70's. They wrote some, if not the, best pop songs of the period and took production and arrangements to heights that no one matched in that period. Their state of the art Polar studio had people like Led Zeppelin queuing up to record there.

Excluding the US, nothing came close from 74 until the close of the decade in terms of their popularity. (Over 300+ million units sold, second only to the Beatles)
Today, they still have an absolutely huge following in both Europe and Australia.

With a soprano and mezzo-soprano, both Agnetha and Frida could really sing and the harmonies are some of the best from this period. Bass player Rutger Gunnarsson melodic lines, especially on songs like "Knowing me, Knowing You" are a delight as are his string arrangements.

"Dancing Queen" is probably for the majority, the most instantly recognizable pop song in the world.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 12:11 pm

Oh I agree, Wints! I don't think about them all that often (until the past week, LOL!), but their tunes were undeniably catchy, and I have often found myself singing their songs aloud when no one else is listening--their songs are right in my range....

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 2:40 pm

A great buy at 50 cents, Melissa. Get yourself a set of cordless headphones and hubby will never know!!

I always cringe when I hear "Fernando" or "Dancing Queen", but the rest of it is all good, light 70s pop stuff.

Angnetha and Frida always combined beautifully, both musically and photographically!!

(IMO)

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 4:26 pm

"Get yourself a set of cordless headphones and hubby will never know!!"

.....Unless I spontaneously start singing, "Gimme, gimme, gimme," LOL!

I always thought "Money, Money, Money" would be a fun song to perform--totally tongue-in-cheek, of course!

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 4:31 pm

Now that would be a dead givaway!! You're own arrangement of "M,M,M" would be fun!

octagon · Post by **octagon** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 10:07 pm

Great score Melissa,ABBA rule!I used collect all their albums including all their pre Abba stuff including albums by Benny's garage rock band the Hep Stars(awesome!)Bjorn's folk group(forgot the name)and solo albums by Agnetha and Annifried.Abba were really a much more influencial group then most people realize.Just ask Elvis Costello who nicked his piano intro to "Olivers Army" from The ABBA hit "Dancing Queen".

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 9:25 am

Last night I went with a friend to a performance called "Divas Assisting Would-be Goddesses," put on by some of our talented local ladies (our community is a big supporter of the performing arts and artists)--the program was laid out as a six-step support group for women who want to become the divas they always knew they were!

They did all kinds of songs from pop, broadway, and country that reflected the essential qualities of being a diva....

....This was the perfect "girls' night out" for me, with hubby gone! Anyway, "M, M, M" would have been a perfect song for the repertoire, but nobody asked me--but then I would hardly qualify as "diva" material, LOL!

winston · Post by **winston** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:29 pm

Melissa,

I am not a big fan of pop or disco music but I have to admit that ABBA was a great band.

Like many artists viewed with the aid of the passage of time their material can be criticized to some extent, especially by those who either were not there or truly did not like them.

Their songs are instantly recognizable. Their airtight harmonies are in a class of their own and a thing of beauty.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:57 am

Not to mention those lapels...

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:12 am

Weren't they the first Hair Band (the guys anyway, Aquanet City!)