In my view

My first review of a music album has to be… of course… ABBA!

One of my favourite blog posts to write, because it is about the newest album of ABBA and the voyage that has led to it. After 39 years ABBA was back in the studio in Sweden to record this album. A project they have worked on for a couple of years including the video tapes, the creation of the ABBAtars and the preparation and creation of their ‘ABBA Voyage’ show.

At the beginning of the autumn season I have visited the ABBA Voyage show and in short: it was the most incredible show I have been to! And not only the show, the vibe, the venu, the crowd management and catering and merchandise and everything is thoroughly good organised! I will write more about it in my London blogs. Back to the music and the album.

I am an ABBA fan since I was a little toddler. Which was a bit more than a decade since their last album was released. Thanks to my parents I grew up with the songs of ABBA playing at home, or in the car, or playing the music ourselved behind the piano and the saxophone and a bit of singing. If you are an ABBA fan, you know the style and the songs of their previous eight albums released in the seventies and the beginning of the eighties. Maybe not exactly knowing the style, and numerous substyles nowadays, by name but you hear the difference compared to other music. And you recognise that their skills, fame and collaboration as a solid musical skilled team grows.

And now that last album. It truly makes their journey, their voyage of an adult lifetime of ABBA, them being the DNA of ABBA, getting through the growing up in the music industry with an explosive amount of fame surrounding ABBA, the painful but respectful split up of ABBA and though after decades apart the world still breathes ABBA. Never a single year without ABBA in the charts since the existing of ABBA. This album and all that surrounds it makes the incredible journey of ABBA complete. Is this not marvelous?

Like Benny Andersson says in the video below:

ABBA is still around. Especially now when we have done a new album.

Benny Andersson – 5th November 2021 – ABBA – Voyage (The Story Behind The Album) – YouTube

Dear Benny: ABBA has never left our world, our hearts. ABBA is ABBA. A band with marvelous songs, music, shows and surprises and now even it’s own venue and topnotch technique. You have enlightened ABBA, fired it up with more power in our hearts than we could have imagined to ever be able to experience and hold. I am very thankful for the experience I had in my life to be able to visit the ABBA Voyage experience.

The voyage, in ten songs you imaging going through all those previous albums also again and again. You hear a basis that you puzzle to recognize from the other albums. But this album really is unique and is even more enriched in my opinion. The little things like the namesake song in meaning but also instrumental it feels more enriched.

The highest pitch Agneta has ever sung I believe, is the one in the song named ‘Hole In Your Soul’. This song is from the Voulez-Vous album but she has sung and pitched it that high live as well during their North-America & Europe Tour of 1979, the recording is of London 1979 at the Wembley Arena. But that it is sung then… does not mean she did not sing it for the recording of the ABBAtars. If you are wondering which show of 1979 I am talking about: ‘ABBA – In Concert’ 1979 DVD.

Songs

The story behind the songs.

Sounds so family friendly lovely to listen to like stories of their lives though they were seperated 40 years ago and are now digitally back.

The song ‘I Still Have Faith In You’, the song the album starts with, is about ABBA.

ABBA has published on their YouTube the following accompanying video. And if you thought you know all video shots already: inbetween are some extra shots of behind the scenes of their other music video’s. Amazing.

The song ‘Little Things’ is a Christmas song and it is also explained by a video which is quite unique. From live performance to digital performance was the voyage of ABBA, and from digital interests to live performance is the voyage of the children nowadays.

Music

The music behind the songs (instrumental part)

One of my favourite songs is the instrumental ‘Arrival’ from the other album. At this album there is no instrumenal-only song. But as I mentioned earlier the album is already enriched with a bit more instrumental lines than the other albums. Subtle and very very good!

The music of ABBA altogether evokes emotion. Sometime within one song and definitely within one album you can go from laughing and dancing towards a sad or happy cry or it can feel like all at the same time. And each time you listen, you hear something new. So you can not get tired of any ABBA song. It’s magical.

YouTube

At the premiere date of the album, ABBA has released at it’s YouTube’s music channel the special extra video: ‘ABBA -Voyage (The Story Behind The Album)’.
Definitely one to watch! Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson explain it better than anyone else can ever explain.

Spotify Playlist

The official spotify playlist

Album facts:

Title: Voyage
Artist: ABBA – Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Genre: Disco / Pop / Rock / Synth-Pop
Label: Polar Music International AB
Record Company: Universal Music / Universal International Music B.V.
Published by: Universal Music Publishing AB
Style: Ballad / Pop Rock
Format: CD / LP
Country: Europe
Released: 5th November 2021

List of the songs

• I Still Have Faith In You
• When You Danced With Me
• Little Things
• Don’t Shut Me Down
• Just A Notion
• I Can Be That Woman
• Keep An Eye On Dan
• Bumblebee
• No Doubt About It
• Ode To Freedom

A blog post has not enough space to write about ABBA. Though I have written a huge profile paper a decade ago about the popularity of the music of ABBA in The Netherlands. I have to leave my story here in blog post and not expand too much otherwise it would turn into a novel. I hope you enjoyed my voyage through this storytelling album and that you will visit the ABBA Voyage concert because it is one like no other!

Enjoy listening to this album!

Loves,

Sophie