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Abba: The Album

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Polar Music Internatioal A.B.
Released: 1978.02.01
Time:
 39:57
Category: Disco
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.abbasite.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2011.03.01
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Eagle (Andersson/Faltskog/Lyngstad/Ulvaeus) - 5:47
[2] Take a Chance on Me (Andersson/Faltskog/Lyngstad/Ulvaeus) - 4:04
[3] One Man/One Woman (Andersson/Ulvaeus) - 4:31
[4] The Name of the Game (Anderson/Andersson/Ulvaeus) - 4:51
[5] Move On (Anderson/Andersson/Ulvaeus) - 4:41
[6] Hole in Your Soul (Andersson/Ulvaeus) - 3:39
[7] Thank You for the Music [From the Girl with the Golden Hair] (Andersson/Ulvaeus) - 3:49
[8] I Wonder (Departure) [From the Girl with the Golden Hair] (Anderson/Andersson/Ulvaeus) - 4:32
[9] I'm a Marionette [From the Girl with the Golden Hair] (Andersson/Ulvaeus) - 4:03

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Benny Andersson - Composer, Illustrations, Keyboards, Vocals
Agnetha Fältskog - Composer, Vocals
Anni-Frid Lyngstad - Composer, Vocals
Björn Ulvaeus - Composer, Guitar, Vocals

Ola Brunkert - Drums
Lars Carlsson - Horn
Malando Gassama - Percussion
Rutger Gunnarsson - Arranger, Bass
Roger Palm - Drums
Janne Schaffer - Guitar
Lasse Wellander - Guitar

Stig Anderson - Composer

Michael B. Tretow - Engineer, Remastering
Jon Astley - Digital Remastering
Barry Levine - Photography
Rune Soderqvist - Design, Illustrations

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1992 CD Polygram 8212172
1992 CS Polydor 8212174
1995 CD PolyGram 821217
1999 CD PolyGram 533980
2008 LP Polydor 549970

Not quite the soundtrack to the Swedish foursome's film debut, ABBA: The Movie (directed by respected Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallestrom), THE ALBUM combines several songs from the movie, including the deliriously bouncy hit "Take A Chance On Me" and the dramatic "The Name of the Game," with three songs from Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson's never-completed musical The Girl with the Golden Hair.

These three songs are among the band's most intriguing, with "Thank You for the Music" serving as the band's unofficial theme song and "I Wonder (Departure)" one of their most affecting ballads. It's the near-violent, bitterly ironic "I'm A Marionette" that's the wild card. Easily the angriest song ABBA ever recorded, "I'm A Marionette" sounds in retrospect like a portent of the band's rancorous end less than four years later. Curiosities and all, THE ALBUM may be ABBA's creative highpoint.

Recorded at Glen, Metronome and Marcus Studios, Stockholm, Sweden in 1977. Includes reissue liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm.



ABBA's fifth album was a marked step forward for the group, having evolved out of Europop music into a world-class rock act over their previous two albums, they now proceeded to absorb and assimilate some of the influences around them, particularly the laid-back California sound of Fleetwood Mac (curiously, like ABBA, then a band with two couples at its center), as well as some of the attributes of progressive rock. That they did this without compromising their essential virtues as a pop ensemble makes this album seem even more extraordinary, though at the time nobody bothered to analyze it -- The Album was simply an incredibly popular release, yielding two British number one singles in "The Name of the Game" and "Take a Chance on Me" (which made the Top Five in America, their second-best showing after "Dancing Queen"), and achieving the quartet's highest-ever showing on the U.S. LP charts, reaching the Top 20 and selling a million copies in six months. The opening number, "Eagle," dominated by synthesizers and soaring larger-than-life vocal flourishes, is followed by the more lyrical "Take a Chance on Me," with its luminous a cappella opening. The whole album is like that, effortlessly straddling hard rock, pop/rock, dance-rock, and progressive rock -- though the hits tend to stand out in highest relief, there are superb album tracks here, including the driving, lushly harmonized "Move On" and "Hole in Your Soul," which provides guitarist Lasse Wellander with a beautiful showcase for his lead electric playing. The second side of the album is dominated by material from a "mini-musical" called Girl with the Golden Hair that Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus wrote for the concerts on their just-ended tour intended to be used in a dramatically coherent storytelling context. Two of its songs, "Thank You for the Music" and "I Wonder (Devotion)," are less exciting than the straight rock material found elsewhere on the album, though the former became a popular concert number for the quartet, while the latter is the kind of lushly melodic, moodily reflective song that could easily have graced a Barbra Streisand album of the era. The closer, "I'm a Marionette," however, is a startlingly bold attempt to recast the influence of Kurt Weill in a hard rock mode, ending The Album on a high note, musically and artistically.

Bruce Eder & William Ruhlmann - All Music Guide



Without a doubt, 1978's The Album is the Swedish pop demigods' finest moment. (Forgive them the film.) From the opening stanzas of the visionary "Eagle" (a "Born Free" for the late '70s) to the pure joyous rush of "Take a Chance on Me" (has a cappella ever sounded so irresistible?) to the drop-dead perfect chorus on "The Name of the Game," not a heartstring is left untouched. The melodies are matchless, the production virtually defining the era. The final three tracks, subtitled "Three Scenes from a Mini-Musical"--the celebratory and often copied "Thank You for the Music," "I Wonder," and the self-deprecating "I'm a Marionette"--merely confirmed what ABBA's fans knew all along: this was pure showtime and Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha, and Frida were masters of the form.

Everett True - Amazon.com



The Album's closing trilogy, "The Girl with the Golden Hair: 3 Scenes From a Mini Musical", is Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus's most ambitious work yet. But despite "Thank You for the Music"--a more humble "I Write the Songs"--and the barely veiled complaint "I'm a Marionette", it wasn't the 1977 LP's best stuff. That came in two great singles: "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Name of the Game" that continued the two Abba couples' string of growing-up-in-public heartache songs. ("Knowing Me, Knowing You", from the previous Arrival, had inaugurated the tradition.) "The Girl", though, hinted that the Bjorn-and-Benny writing team was bent on storming the musical stage, as it did by the mid-80s with Chess

Rickey Wright - Amazon.co.uk
  

 L y r i c s


Eagle

They came flyin' from far away, now I'm under their spell
I love hearing the stories that they tell
They've seen places beyond my land and they've found new horizons
They speak strangely but I understand

And I dream I'm an eagle
And I dream I can spread my wings
Flyin' high, high, I'm a bird in the sky
I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, high, what a feeling to fly
Over mountains and forests and seas
And to go anywhere that I please

As all good friends we talk all night, and we fly wing to wing
I have questions and they know everything
There's no limit to what I feel, we climb higher and higher
Am I dreamin' or is it all real

Is it true I'm an eagle
Is it true I can spread my wings
Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky
(I'm an eagle)
I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, up high, what a feeling to fly
(What a feeling)
Over mountains and forests and seas
And to go anywhere that I please


Take A Chance On Me

If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey I´m still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you got no place to go when you're feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me
(That's all I ask of you honey)
Take a chance on me

We can go dancing, we can go walking, as long as we're together
Listen to some music, maybe just talking, get to know you better
'Cause you know I've got
So much that I wanna do, when I dream I'm alone with you
It's magic
You want me to leave it there, afraid of a love affair
But I think you know
That I can't let go

If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey I´m still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me
(Come on, give me a break will you)
Take a chance on me
Oh you can take your time baby, I'm in no hurry, know I'm gonna get you
You don't wanna hurt me, baby don't worry, I ain't gonna let you
Let me tell you now
My love is strong enough to last when things are rough
It's magic
You say that I waste my time but I can't get you off my mind
No I can't let go
'Cos I love you so

If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey I´m still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best, baby can't you see
Gotta put me to the test, take a chance on me
(Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance on me)

Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best, baby can't you see
Gotta put me to the test, take a chance on me
(Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance on me)

Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me


One Man, One Woman

No smiles, not a single word at the breakfast table
Though I would have liked to begin
So much that I wanna say, but I feel unable
You leave and slam the door
Like you've done many times before
And I cry and I feel so helpless

One man, one woman
Two friends and two true lovers
Somehow we'll help each other through the hard times
One man, one woman
One life to live together
One chance to take that never comes back again
You and me, to the end

Outside I can see the sun through the open window
Inside everything feels so cold
What's wrong, what is happening, where did all our love go
Sometimes when I just can't cope
I cling to a desperate hope
And I cry and I feel like dying

One man, one woman
Two friends and two true lovers
Somehow we'll help each other through the hard times
One man, one woman
One life to live together
One chance to take that never comes back again
You and me, to the end

Daydreams of a better life, but I have to wake up
The sound of a key in the door
You smile and I realise that we need a shake-up
Our love is a precious thing
Worth the pain and the suffering
And it's never too late for changing

One man, one woman
Two friends and two true lovers
Somehow we'll help each other through the hard times
One man, one woman
One life to live together
One chance to take that never comes back again
You and me, to the end
You and me, to the end


The Name Of The Game

I've seen you twice, in a short time
Only a week since we started
It seems to me, for every time
I'm getting more open-hearted

I was an impossible case
No-one ever could reach me
But I think I can see in your face
There's a lot you can teach me
So I wanna know

What's the name of the game
Does it mean anything to you
What's the name of the game
Can you feel it the way I do
Tell me please, 'cause I have to know
I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow

And you make me talk
And you make me feel
And you make me show
What I'm trying to conceal
If I trust in you, would you let me down
Would you laugh at me
If I said I care for you
Could you feel the same way too
I wanna know

The name of the game

I have no friends, no-one to see
And I am never invited
Now I am here, talking to you
No wonder I get excited

Your smile, and the sound of your voice
And the way you see through me
Got a feeling, you give me no choice
But it means a lot to me
So I wanna know

What's the name of the game
(Your smile and the sound of your voice)
Does it mean anything to you
(Got a feeling you give me no choice)
But it means a lot, what's the name of the game
(Your smile and the sound of your voice)
Can you feel it the way I do
Tell me please, 'cause I have to know
I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow

And you make me talk
And you make me feel
And you make me show
What I'm trying to conceal
If I trust in you, would you let me down
Would you laugh at me, if I said I care for you
Could you feel the same way too
I wanna know
Oh yes I wanna know

The name of the game
(I was an impossible case)
Does it mean anything to you
(But I think I can see in your face)
That it means a lot
What's the name of the game
(Your smile and the sound of your voice)
Can you feel it the way I do
(Got a feeling you give me no choice)
But it means a lot, what's the name of the game
(I was an impossible case)
Does it mean anything to you
(But I think I can see in your face)
That it means a lot


Move On

They say a restless body can hide a peaceful soul
A voyager and a settler, they both have a distant goal
If I explore the heavens, or if I search inside
Well, it really doesn't matter as long as I can tell myself
I've always tried

Like a roller in the ocean, life is motion
Move on
Like a wind that's always blowing, life is flowing
Move on
Like the sunrise in the morning, life is dawning
Move on
How I treasure every minute
Being part of it, being in it
With the urge to move on

I've travelled every country, I've travelled in my mind
It seems we're on a journey, a trip through space and time
And somewhere lies the answer
To all the questions why
What really makes the difference
Between all dead and living things, the will to stay alive

Like a roller in the ocean
Life is motion
Move on
Like a wind that's always blowing
Life is flowing
Move on
Like the sunrise in the morning
Life is dawning
Move on
How I treasure every minute
Being part of it
Being in it
With the urge to move on

The morning breeze that ripples the surface of the sea
The crying of the seagulls that hover over me
I see it and I hear it
But how can I explain
The wonder of the moment
To be alive, to feel the sun that follows every rain

Like a roller in the ocean
Life is motion
Move on
Like a wind that's always blowing
Life is flowing
Move on
Like the sunrise in the morning
Life is dawning
Move on
How I treasure every minute
Being part of it
Being in it
With the urge to move on


Hole In Your Soul

You feel bad, let me tell you, we all get the blues
Sometimes life is a burden, way down in your shoes
When it's bad, worse, worst
(And when you're feeling so bad)
And you think you're cursed
(And you've got it sad)
Well, if there's one thing for the better that can turn you loose

It's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul
There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul

My friend Sam is a chauffeur, Annie goes to school
Jerry works at the office, Sue lies by the pool
But on all weekends
(Together again)
When I meet my friends
(I'm gonna see them now)
And we're lookin' 'round for the action we sure play it cool

It's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul
There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul

You paint your world and use all colours
And then you find it all comes out too bright
You know it's only a lie
The songs you sing are too romantic
And when you want the truth
They only spit in your eye
Oh yeah, they're only tellin' you lies
Oh yeah, there's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul

You feel bad, let me tell you, we all get the blues
Sometimes life is a burden, way down in your shoes
When it's bad, worse, worst
(You know you're feeling so bad)
And you think you're cursed
(And you've got it sad)
Well, if there's one thing for the better that can turn you loose

It's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul
There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul

There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul
There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul
There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul
There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul
There's gotta be rock'n roll
To fill the hole in your soul


Thank You For The Music

I'm nothing special, in fact I'm a bit of a bore
If I tell a joke, you've probably heard it before
But I have a talent, a wonderful thing
'Cause everyone listens when I start to sing
I'm so grateful and proud
All I want is to sing it out loud

So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk
(M'M)She says I began to sing long before I could talk
And I've often wondered, how did it all start
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart
Like a melody can
Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan

So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair
I wanna sing it out to everybody
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!

Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

Thank you for the music
For giving it to me...


I Wonder (Departure)

This park and these houses, old streets I have walked
Everything dear, will it be here
One day when I am returning
My friends will get married, have children and homes
It sounds so nice, well-planned and wise
Never expecting surprises

I wonder, it's frightening
Leaving now, is that the right thing
I wonder, it scares me
But who the hell am I if I don't even try
I'm not a coward
Oh no, I'll be strong
One chance in a lifetime
Yes I will take it, it can't go wrong

My friends and my family, this dull little town
Buses I've missed, boys that I've kissed
Everything old and familiar

I wonder, it's frightening
Leaving now, is that the right thing
I wonder, it scares me
But who the hell am I if I don't even try
I'm not a coward
Oh no, I'll be strong
One chance in a lifetime
Yes I will take it oh yes
Yes I will take it, it can't go wrong


I'm a Marionette

You're so free
That's what everybody's telling me
Yet I feel I'm like an outward-bound, pushed around, refugee
Something's wrong, got a feeling that I don't belong
As if I have come from outer space, out of place, like King Kong

I'm a marionette, just a marionette, pull the string
I'm a marionette, everybody's pet, just as long as I sing
I'm a marionette, see my pirouette, 'round and 'round
I'm a marionette, I'm a marionette, just a silly old clown

Like a doll, like a puppet with no will at all
And somebody taught me how to talk, how to walk, how to fall

Can't complain, I've got no-one but myself to blame
Something's happening I can't control, lost my hold, it's insane

I'm a marionette, just a marionette, pull the string
I'm a marionette, everybody's pet, just as long as I sing
I'm a marionette, see my pirouette, 'round and 'round
I'm a marionette, I'm a marionette, just a silly old clown

Look this way, just a little smile, is what they say
You look better on the photograph if you laugh, that's okay!!

I'm a marionette, just a marionette, pull the string
I'm a marionette, everybody's pet, just as long as I sing
I'm a marionette, see my pirouette, 'round and 'round
I'm a marionette, I'm a marionette, just a silly old clown

You're so free
That's what everybody's telling me
Yet I feel I'm like an outward-bound, pushed around, refugee
 

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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