The Conical Glass: Thank you for the music

Monday, July 21, 2008

Thank you for the music

In a recent blog entry, yellojkt asked his readers for their best ABBA memory. Sorry, but no one can top me on this one, so I had to put it in my own blog.

1. I have seen ABBA live on their only U.S. tour (Sept. 29, 1979, in Milwaukee).
2. I have met a member of ABBA. I was in Stockholm and had just purchased a copy of the brand new Voulez Vous LP when my aunt happened to spot Frida outside a shoe store. Frida was very nice and signed my album, which of course I still have.
3. I have not only seen the stage production of "Mamma Mia!," I have seen the Swedish-language version.

I feel entitled to be smug about my ABBA experiences because no one remembers how lonely and miserable it was to be an ABBA fan in the U.S. during the post-disco, pre-"Muriel's Wedding" days. ABBA were as unfashionable as an old platform shoe. I remember seeing my friend James with a copy of The Visitors, ABBA's last studio album, which he was planning to review for the teen news section we both wrote for, and I just assumed that he was going to pan it because nobody in America seemed to like ABBA back then. They weren't even considered kitschy or a guilty pleasure -- that came years later. And they'd never had the incredible success here that they'd enjoyed abroad, even in their 70s heyday. (Thankfully, by the way, he really loved the album and gave it a great review, which is probably why we became friends...)

Even though ABBA have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity for years now, I have to admit the diehard fan in me always wonders why ABBA Gold is such a big seller. That's one album I don't own, and why should I? You need all of the original LPs so you can enjoy the album cuts like "Dum Dum Diddle," "Andante Andante" and "Sitting in the Palmtree"! Sure, some of their more obscure tracks have been compiled into More ABBA Gold, but they're all out of context!

You probably expect that I rushed right out and saw the film version of "Mamma Mia." No. I don't need to suffer through Pierce Brosnan butchering "S.O.S." Plus, in cutting the musical down for film, they dropped "Knowing Me, Knowing You" from the soundtrack, which is not only the best ABBA song, it is, in my opinion, the best song of all time. I admit that I'm happy it did so well at the box office, though; hopefully some of the folks who saw it will be inspired to pick up some of the original tunes and hear what they're supposed to sound like. As for me, I think I'll fire up a little Super Trouper today.

posted by 125records @ 7:49 AM

8 Comments:

At 9:53 AM, Tom G. said…

Thank you VERY much for the news that KMKY is not in the movie. (While not going out on as far a limb as you, I do think it is one of the best songs of all time.) I was sort of on the fence about the movie but now I think I'll pass. How could they be so dumb?
At 2:32 PM, yellojkt said…

I don't own all that many ABBA studio albums since all my cassettes have bitten the dust, but I do have the Philippine "Best of" collection that predates a lot their newer material.

And meeting Frida would be very cool. Devinitely top Abba tale.
At 8:31 AM, B said…

ABBA was the only pop group my grandmother liked. She had a copy of the Visitors on cassette and that was my introduction as a kid! Arrival is easily one of my top ten favorite albums -- I even shelled out for the fancy, deluxe version with the amazing bonus DVD.
I've always really admired Elvis Costello's championing of ABBA -- apparently those early Attractions tours were spent listening to, and fighting over, the swedish vs. english versions of ABBA songs.
But actually _meeting_ Frida? Nothing cooler.
At 9:55 AM, Steve said…

I have to admit the diehard fan in me always wonders why ABBA Gold is such a big seller. That's one album I don't own, and why should I?

Because ABBA had a bunch of singles (like "Fernando") that weren't on any albums, unless they're on the bonus reissues.
At 9:59 AM, 125records said…

Steve: I always bought their singles on 7". But now that we're in the digital age, "Fernando" is a bonus track on the "Arrival" CD.
At 7:19 PM, Yellojkt Spouse said…

I'm yellojkt's spouse. Wanted to post to let you know that I love reading about your ABBA experiences.
Wow, seeing Mamma Mia! in Swedish. You are so far the number one ABBA fan that I know. Richard Corliss in Time magazine brought up some of the points you made in your post. While ABBA was very popular worldwide, they did not have the same level of enthusiasm here in the US. For many people here, ABBA was a guilty pleasure. I guess I did not realized that since I owned several ABBA singles and the Voulez-vous LP. I still have all of them. In fact, this was one of the things that yellojkt and I found that we had in common when we first met in high school, those who would openly admit that they like ABBA.
At 9:59 PM, yellojkt said…

I have never seen my wife leave a blog comment before. You should be honored.
At 4:47 PM, 125records said…

I am very proud to have received a comment from Mrs. yellojkt! It's always great to get some feedback from someone who's never posted here before.