The whirlwind of their worldwide success merely needed to slacken its tempo for ABBA in 1977. 4 smash albums, numerous hit singles, worldwide live shows, and limitless promotional duties had been taking their toll and, with the conclusion of European and Australian excursions that spring, the thought was to concentrate on creating the subsequent studio undertaking, ABBA: The Album, through the latter half of the 12 months in a extra leisurely method.
After all, best-laid plans don’t at all times fall neatly into place. Timetables had been being redrawn by the upcoming launch of ABBA’s first film (ABBA: The Film, filmed throughout the tour) after which there was the inevitable expectation that materials ought to be prepared for the Christmas market. In reality, solely in Scandinavia would ABBA: The Album be launched in time for Santa, on December 12, 1977, with most different territories pressured to attend till the brand new 12 months.
Hearken to ABBA: The Album on Apple Music and Spotify.
There was a way that the group’s sound additionally wanted to take a decisive step ahead; with an bold drive, Benny and Björn wished to make sure that the brand new album was even higher than what had gone earlier than. That stressed power to push their songwriting into uncharted territory is probably most evident in a trio of tracks included right here from the 25-minute mini-musical The Lady With The Golden Hair, which had been carried out on the band’s current exhibits forward of the nightly encore.
Signposting a number of the pair’s future focus, there’s a unusual theatricality at play on all three of the manufacturing’s songs paired with ABBA’s trademark pop sensibility. “Thank You For The Music,” featured in a single scene, grew to become one of many band’s signature classics and exhibits how effortlessly their finest compositions crossed the genres. An early minimize of the observe (included as a bonus on the deluxe version of the album, issued in 2007) sees Agnetha channeling Doris Day in a ragtime-flavored interpretation in the end shelved in favor of the model we’re all acquainted with right now. It speaks of the group’s shared ardour to actually combine issues up.
Throughout the opposite eight songs on ABBA: The Album, there may be the unmistakable affect of the period’s U.S. hits – guitars making their greatest look with ABBA on the sweeping “Eagle”; the bass-heavy, midtempo “The Name Of The Game,” picked because the set’s first single in October 1977; and the pressing “Hole In Your Soul.” Even “One Man, One Woman” – whereas as gently melodious as a lot of ABBA’s wider catalog – has parts of the soft-rock sound so dominant stateside on the time. The group’s extra acquainted Europop wasn’t solely absent, nonetheless; it may be discovered on the spirited “Take A Chance On Me” – picked because the album’s second worldwide single, and one other UK chart-topper – and the attractive “Move On.”
Recording classes for ABBA: The Album was disrupted by Agnetha’s being pregnant and a strain to fulfill the industrial deadlines, however the eventual launch of the album proved predictably profitable, reaching a career-best peak within the US (No. 14) and topping the charts elsewhere. Such success earned the group some respiratory area, in the end laying the groundwork for the band to start experimenting additional within the studio, spending longer on the classes that motivated them probably the most.
Marking the beginning of their second triumphant chapter, ABBA: The Album bears all of the hallmarks of that acquainted second when bands shake up a successful system. The genesis of ABBA’s broader musical acclaim and credibility will be traced again to the daring steps taken right here. Fortune – because it turned out but once more – will at all times favor the courageous…
ABBA: The Album will be purchased right here.
