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Hurry up... I've been pacing up and down the living room for the last few days awaiting your opinion on these matters.
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You haven't answered though why you don't like Lay All Your Love on Me.
Do you not want me to lay all my love on you? Did I not tell you that smoking is my only vice? Am I wasting my emotion on you? -
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Okay, here I go. I originally had 15 songs of Agnetha but then I realized I don't want to overwhelm you. lol.
Okay, so it's a split between these two songs and I can't honestly decide which one I like better.
No. 10. My Love, My life
(it has nothing to do with you, so the answer is 'no').
One of Agnetha's most beautiful vocal leads on any ABBA song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjRR3VdBS4E
But then again I listened to this one and it took my breath away especially the live version. Though it's cut short since it's from Abba the Movie but it's still so good. Very rich in sound and texture and given that it's pure live makes it all the more worthwhile. So I am going this one as my No. 10.
No. 10 I've Been Waiting for You (live version):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GCjrABCjr8
And here's the full song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ7C127Q-GY
I'll post one by one but not all at once. I'll take breaks in between to keep the suspense alive. That's what you get when you deal with me. Besides, it's a good punishment for being a Federer fan. -
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Have you heard this song by Agnetha's? It's not an ABBA song so it's not for the list I am posting. It's separate from that. I thought you might like it. Maybe herc darling can check it out too.
She wrote this song when she was 16/17 and sung it when she was a few months shy from turning 18.
Here's a few lines from her biography. It's a beautiful song.
Jag var så kär" ("I Was So In Love")
"The song had been written and sung by Fältskog, and was about a recent break-up she had gone through. The producer invited Fältskog to record an album with Cupol; though she had some reservations about leaving Enghardt's band behind, the allure was too great. She signed with Cupol, and her first album, Agnetha Fältskog, reached the top of the Swedish charts in January 1968.
Still a few months shy of her 18th birthday, Fältskog had already become famous in her home country. Throughout 1968 and 1969, her singles and albums remained very popular with Swedish listeners, but Fältskog was poised to take on a larger audience."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XPtSbzWX8U -
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So here's my No. 9. A bit predictable, yes but it's such a good song. I found this tidbit on Wiki about this song that I really enjoyed reading.
""SOS" has a number of musical fans: John Lennon had declared that it was one of his favourite pop songs, and Pete Townshend in particular said it is probably his favourite pop song. Ray Davies also said that he was taken with the song after seeing the group perform it on the television show Seaside Special.[5]"
I really love this live version since it's sung with more emotion and the sound quality is very, very rich. And the Australian crowd makes it even more live - thanks to all of them.
No. 9 S.O.S
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJAmhpMwRBE
This song has a quite a few cover versions but I liked the following by the British rock band 'Cutting Crew' and the German metal band 'At Vance'. I'd say though that they don't do justice to the chorus as Abba's far superior. Of course it's the original anyway and nothing can beat that anyway. I do think ABBA's chorus is the hardest thing to replicate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpB6VJW--Q4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72O0rhMT_T8
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Not sure if you have stopped pacing up and down in your living room (I sure don't want you to have a heart attack) but here's my no. 8. I am surprised this didn't cut your list. In any case, it was their last major hit and their last No. 1 hit in many countries. And their last single from their last album - The Visitors.
They never sung this song live so I don't have a live version alas but the video is pretty good so that will do. Better than nothing. Agnetha said it was one of her personal favourites.
No. 8 One of US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIKAe8Wi0S0
I also like this slow version by the Flowing Tears - a German gothic metal band. The emotion is a bit over the top but I still like it. To be honest, there are many covers of ABBA songs but I only prefer the metal versions and I am not even a fan of the metal genre. Abba songs just go very well with metal IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_SpQOXldaA -
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"Lay All Your Love on Me", was recorded by ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album. It was released only as a 12-inch single in 1981 in limited territories, rather than as a standard 7-inch record. At the time, it was the highest selling 12-inch record in UK chart history, where it peaked at number 7.
"Lay All Your Love on Me" was an electro-disco song penned by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with Agnetha Fältskog singing lead. Recording began at Polar Music Studios in Stockholm on 9 September 1980, with the final mix of the song being completed on 10 October 1980.
"Lay All Your Love on Me" is known for a descending vocal sound at the end of the verse immediately preceding the refrain. This was achieved by sending the vocal into a harmoniser device, which was set up to produce a slightly lower-pitched version of the vocal. In turn its output was fed back to its input, thereby continually lowering the pitch of the vocal. Andersson and Ulvaeus felt that the chorus of the song sounded like a hymn, so parts of the vocals in the choruses were run through a vocoder, to recreate the sound of a church congregation singing, slightly out of tune.[1]
As "Lay All Your Love on Me" was not intended to be a single, it was not released until 1981, the year after it had been recorded. It was only after a remixed version by Raul A. Rodriguez[2] - (aka C.O.D) of Disconet - had soared in popularity in nightclubs, that it topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart (along with "Super Trouper" and "On and On and On").[3]
Dear married people, I now present my No. 7.
No. 7 Lay All Your Love on Me
I wasn't jealous before we met
Now every woman I see is a potential threat
And I'm possessive, it isn't nice
You've heard me saying that smoking was my only vice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1D9NMadiGo
And here's a decent cover version. I do think this one is slightly better than the Helloween version. Nothing beats the original however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdhBiCNT85c
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When the night comes with the action
I just know it's time to go
Can't resist the strange attraction
From that giant dynamo
And tomorrow, when the dawning
And the first birds start to sing
In the pale light of the morning
Nothing's worth remembering
It's a dream, it's out of reach
Scattered driftwood on the beach -
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I did not want to overwhelm you, dear married people but now it seems like I have successfully overwhelmed myself in the process. I am deciding on my song no. 6 but quite unfortunately I have two songs at this place. I just couldn't go for one only even after going over it quite a few times. Oh well, you will just have to put up with whatever I decide. Hee hee.
At No. 6 I have first, Happy New Year. It's a very good song with a very good message. That's why it was very hard to overlook plus Agnetha's command in this song is just too good.
Here's a bit of the lyrics that I love so much...
No. 6 Happy New Year
Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he'll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he's astray
Keeps on going anyway...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uo0JAUWijM
And here's my other favouite also at No. 6. I am appalled this wasn't on your list but then again you may have never heard of it because I don't think you know as much as I do. lol. Annnnnnyway, it was from their last album - The Visitors. Very emotional song by Agnetha - you'd fall in love with her once again by this sweet and yet very moving performance.
Here's a bit about the song from Wiki....
"Slipping Through My Fingers" is a song written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1981 album, The Visitors, with lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog. The song is about a mother's regret at how quickly her daughter is growing up, and the lack of time they have spent together, as the girl goes to school.
The inspiration for the song was Ulvaeus' and Fältskog's daughter, Linda Ulvaeus, who was seven at the time the song was written.
No. 6 Slipping Through My Fingers
Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSCi7kCXKDA
There are cover versions of both of these songs however there's no decent version out there. And since I hate the Mamma Mia movie which I call Hollywood gone karaoke, I am not going to post their version. That movie, though hugely successful worldwide, is an utter disgrace to humanity. -
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Here I am with my No. 5 song. Very excited! lolol oh but I am.
My no. 5 song is also taken from their last album - The Visitors. Clearly this is my most favourite one among all albums. The song is called 'Soldiers'. Agnetha said herself that the song was written and sung from the place of 'fear'.
According to Wiki, 'The entire song rests upon a "simple two-note" statement". The song has a "string-ensemble synth arrangement". Agnetha uses a "subdued yet stoic vocal", and "the chorus vocals, while typically multi-tiered, are somewhat 'murkier' and less liberated in texture".
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There are several different critical analysis of this song such as the ones as below:
The song is about how the public don't respect the work done by soldiers, though they "write the songs and...sing the songs that you and I won't sing".
Billboard explains "emphasizing that although there seems to be so little one can do to prevent the machinations of soldiers and those who control them, we must "not look the other way/taking a chance/cos if the bugle starts to play/we too must dance".[1]
The Telegraph describes the premise of the song as "how warmongers convince themselves they are noble men".[2]
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IMO this is an abstract song and a paradox. But I found this bit on the internet that describes the song the best (just keep in mind that the song was released in 1981).
SOLDIERS by ABBA - War and rumors of war. Dancing is combat. The sight of marching armies is taken for granted as if nothing is wrong. "Soldiers" questions the relationship between reality and fantasy. It is hard to tell if things are real or only happening in our minds. The martial tone of the drumming is a sign of war, and the pale moonlight suggests a cloud cover. Typical of the apocalyptic nature of The Visitors.
November, 1979, brought Jimmy Carter's Iranian hostage crisis. The Cold War flared up, and there was fear of a possible nuclear attack. Ronald Reagan touted a newfangled technology branded "Star Wars" to defend from incoming missiles while Carl Sagan envisioned a nuclear winter in which life would become extinct.
"Soldiers" mirrors the international tensions of its time and the threat of nuclear war. "All that thunder and the blinding light" are atomic bombs. "In the winter night" is nuclear winter. "The beast" is war.
Benny and Bjorn condemned the Communist government in Poland for its crackdown, making the statement: "Let the Polish rule Poland." As a result, ABBA records were banned in Russia.
No. 5 Soldiers
Do I hear what I think I'm hearing?
Do I see the signs I think I see?
Or is this just a fantasy?
Is it true that the beast is waking
Stirring in his restless sleep tonight
In the pale moonlight
In the grip of this cold December
You and I have reason to remember
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWVB0LcR_3Q
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Tried to sneak out without saying
With my loudest record playing
Ooh, my mama said, "Look at this, you haven't done your bed"
My mama said, "That's a thing that you should do instead"
Yeah, I did what she had told me
Dying for my friend to hold me
Oh my mama said, "Try and get one thing into your head"
My mama said, "Pa and me, we give you room and bed"
I said, "I can't live without him.
How I wish you wouldn't doubt him."
Oh oh, my mama said, "If you want to hurt me go ahead"
My mama said, "I suppose you'd rather see me dead"
How I wanna live my life
Oh I wanna live my life
La-la-la, la-la-la, life!
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Once again I have two songs at my No. 4. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lol but hey, I like being dramatic and I like what I like. And I also clearly like talking to self.
Two because it would be crime against humanity if I didn't list this Universally loved popular song called Chiquitita and it's one of my favourites too.
Chiquitita Shows a capacity for sympathy, a shoulder to cry on. ABBA had a special relationship with children. They gave UNICEF the publishing on this song. When an article came out saying ABBA might move to America, children all over Sweden reacted with tears. Chiquitita mean 'little girl'.
Here's a bit from Wiki as usual...
"Chiquitita proved to be one of ABBA's biggest hits. It was featured in a 1979 UNICEF charity event, the Music for UNICEF Concert, broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly. As a direct result of this event, ABBA donated half of all royalties from the song to UNICEF. "Chiquitita" hit #1 in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, South Africa and Rhodesia, and was a Top 5 hit in ABBA's native Sweden, the United Kingdom (peaking at #2 in both countries where Blondie's "Heart of Glass" was occupying the top spot),[1] Australia, West Germany and Norway, making it the most successful single from the Voulez-Vous album in terms of global charts and one of the most famous charity songs ever. To this day, 50% of the proceeds from the song go to UNICEF in recognition of the "International Year of the Child" in 1979."
I did not know it was because of Heart of Glass, Chiquitita didn't get the No. 1 spot in the UK! But on the positive side, I adore HOG so it's forgiven though Chiquitita has more meaning to it but I can see why HOG would be more popular. It had the disco element to it. And it's their biggest hit after all. But, on the other hand, while HOG sold more both in the UK and US, Chiquitita outsold them everywhere else.
No. 4 Chiquitita
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJMln3q7GU
And here's that famous performance from the 1979 UNICEF charity event in the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PDlNMbQiCo
Now moving on to the second song which is my personal favourite. Over the past few years it has grown up on me so much so, that it's now one of my top 5 favourite Agnetha songs. I feel it's very underrated but ABBA had so many hits that it's so easy to overlook some of these great gems. And also, this song is something very special as it's their 2nd last recording before their departure. It's very technopop and has this great 80s flavour to it. They also performed it on German TV in 1982 and that was their last performance ever.
I love this live performance. Some fan commented, 'Swedish pop group, on German TV, singing in English! I must have seen it all!". Another described, "Shaky resistance. No strategy. She is on the eve of Waterloo! Sexual images: taking cover, about to crack, on my track, defenses (hymen) breaking."
No. 4 Under Attack
Don't know how to take it, don't know where to go
My resistance running low
And every day the hold is getting tighter and it troubles me so
I'm nobody's fool and yet it's clear to me
I don't have a strategy
It's just like taking candy from a baby and I think I must be
Under attack, I'm being taken
About to crack, defences breakin
Won't somebody please have a heart
Come and rescue me now cos I'm falling apart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWE--klrw2Q -
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I am ready for my No. 3! Ha ha but this number should not come as a surprise, really. It's a very hot hit all over the world. Even Madonna took a sample of this song (Hung Up) and made millions out of it. There are a myriad number of versions of this song all around the world but nothing will beat the original. Because one can never make an argument and say, a copy of Mozart is better than the original.
Here's a bit from Wiki...
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight)" was written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with the lead vocal sung by Agnetha Fältskog. Agnetha, as the narrator, weaves the image of a lonely young woman who longs for a romantic relationship and views her loneliness as a forbidding darkness of night, even drawing parallels to how the happy endings of movie stars are so different from her own existence.
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was another highly successful song for ABBA. It hit no. 1 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, West Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Norway. It also proved to be ABBA's most successful song in Japan.
Jim Colyer describes, "this is about the fear of being alone as Agnetha laments the gap between her life and the lives of movie stars. Our preoccupation is with their glamorous lives, so different from our own.
The climate in Scandinavia is always a factor. It is after midnight, and autumn winds are blowing outside Agnetha's window. She is watching the late show. It is gloomy. Shadows are everywhere, and she is depressed. She prays. Since Swedes are largely atheist, she has no reason to believe her prayer was heard. She wants a man!
Agnetha opens her window and looks into the night. No one is there. She needs a man to take her through the darkness to the break of the day. Sex is implied! The effect of long winter nights on the Swedish psyche cannot be overestimated. 19 hours of darkness make for a high suicide rate. Agnetha's mother committed suicide, something the fans do not like to talk about."
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Did you know Agnetha's mum actually committed suicide by throwing herself out the window from the six-story flat she shared with her husband? She hid her mum's suicide for 10 years. She did not even mention it in her autobiography 'As I Am'. A former friend said later that they had marriage problems. Her father was a heavy drinker and it made her mother very depressed. Agnetha til this day is very haunted by this horrific suicide. She couldn't comprehend that her mother would take such a terrible step. She used to visit her dad after that incident but he too died a year later. Her father lived in a special home after her mum committed suicide.
One of her former friends revealed later, "From the moment her mother killed herself, everything about her changed. She shut herself away from the world. It was then that people noticed how strange and reclusive she had become."
She's known as Garbo the Second in Sweden.
No. 3 Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wCK6INQcHs
And here's the live version of the song. They made the song faster here and also, the instrument after the first two choruses is a bit different than the studio version. Fans say, Agnetha is at her best here in this hot live version from 1979 from 'ABBA In Concert'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb9-6c6A9Lk
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Agnetha was so incredibly popular in her days that she had a very long fan fanatics, stalkers etc. She was every other guy's dream girl in other words. Even today, at age 65, she has 3 bodyguards that guard her when she attends in any show, for example, the premier of Mamma Mia in Sweden in 2008. They had fans at that premier from all over the world and Agentha was still afraid of the crowd and left through the back door right after the show.
Did you know Mamma Mia is the most successful musical film in his history of cinema and sits in top 100 of all time box office hits? I didn't like it at all as it was cheap karaoke from Hollywood. None of them could sing or even act properly except for Maryl Streep. The stage version of this show is much better. I've seen the Toronto version on in 2003 and loved it. In fact, it was released in Toronto first in 1999. How cool is that? -
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Some streets are emptiness, dry leaves of autumn
Rustling down an old alley
And in the dead of night I find myself
A blind man in some ancient valley
I let the music speak, leading me gently
Urging me like a lover
Leading me all the way
Into a place
Where beauty will defeat the darkest day
Where I'm one with every grand illusion
No disturbance, no intrusion
Where I let the wistful sounds seduce me
I let them use me
Let it be a joke
Let it be a smile
Let it be a farce if it makes me laugh for a little while
Let it be a tear
Let it be a sigh
Coming from a heart, speaking to a heart, let it be a cry -