Rating: - Abba: Gold shows why they will NEVER be forgotten
This compilation album needs little introduction as it has sold a zillion copies or something ;), and there is a reason for that. Nobody, not even The Beatles have created a finer collection of pop songs. Pop is often sneered at by some hoity toity music lovers, but there is no need. A finely crafted 3 minute pop tune can be just as meaningful and exquisite as any other piece of music. The tunes Bjorn & Benny created will live on forever, and the girls singing stays in your mind so very easily.
For me this is not their ultimate collection, as I liked more of the bitter-sweet songs they did like Eagle and The Day Before You Came. But that's a personal preference. This compilation contains all the biggest hits, including some of the camp/hi-nrg stuff that can be ever so slightly cringe-inducing nearly 30 years on. But that's just because things have moved on, leaving the production stuck in a point of time which can't be avoided and happens to all pop music.
Abba - a top class act and the ultimate pop band. No question about that.
Rating: - Abba Gold: Ssssshh, don't tell anyone, but I'm putting Abba on.
I've revisited this Album since my missus took an eager liking of the recent film translation of the musical Mamma Mia.
I've mentioned in my review of the soundtrack that I'm not a massive Abba fan, but there is something about the music that makes it incredibly likable. I'm not going to go through all the tracks on this double CD, but each song feels very independently crafted. No two sound the same.
There are no weak tracks here and the album is the perfect showcase for the pop phenomenon. Most cheesy pop songs over recent times have been basic stories of love, loss ...or lost love - but here there's a wide variation in subject matter. Most are to do with relationships, but they tend to tell a story rather than give a formulaic four minutes of music. This is no doubt one of the strengths of Abba, and a reason as to why this album is still popular today - it hasn't really dated. The spectrum of moods and types of music used is wider than what you'd usually find on a pop album, it is testament to the pure creative energy the group had and stops it from ever going stale.
In a nutshell: This goes beyond empty shallow pop music, it is a celebration of how creative genius can give birth to individual nuggets of musical gold. The tracks are incredibly catchy and they haunt you for hours after listening to them. This isn't great in the same way that a Bob Dylan album is great, there's no political message that will inspire you to stand up and be counted. This album is great because it uses sounds fresh and fun. Practically everyone is familiar with the majority of the tracks on this album, but it's only when you sit and listen to them that you appreciate how much work has gone into them. I'm not an Abba fan, but I do recognise the impact that this music has had - and I can't help but enjoy it when 'my wife puts it on'.
Rating: - THE 'OTHER' FAB FOUR - NO LONGER A GUILTY PLEASURE
With interest in ABBA once again at a premium, thanks to the Mamma Mia Film and hugely successful musical, it's not surprising that this collection is once again at the top of the UK album charts and cruising to 26 million sales. ABBA themselves have'nt been a functioning band since 1982 when they released their last studio album The Visitors.
Time has been kind to the lagacy of the group and they now enjoy the kind of critical and commercial success afforded to true legends - Beatles, Queen, Who - where once they were considered sugary sweet and europap.
Gold is the perfect compilation collecting together all the major hits and presenting them, not in chronological order, but sequenced to construct a simply great listen.
The songs of Benny & Bjorn are beautifully crafted and constructed pop gems - 'Dancing Queen', 'Waterloo' (surely the greatest Eurovision song ever), 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Knowing Me Knowing You', 'SOS' - the hits just keep on coming. Those trademark Agnita & Frieda harmonies, clever studio arrangements and giant choruses are perfectly realised and even the lyrics, which were often derided in the 70's, are much better than you may remember.
Yes a sweet musical tooth is required and it is all, mostly, resolutely 'up' but if you are a fan of pop then Abba Gold is pure genius.
UK Facts | United Kingdom Information | UK News
Food stores showed monthly growth of 0.4 per cent compared with non-food stores which showed a decrease of 0.5 per cent. Clothing stores and non-specialised stores showed increases on the month of 1.5 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively.
UKSuperMall.com in cooperation with Amazon.co.uk can deliver to the following United Kingdom cities:
-