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ABBA: The Visitors
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| Artist: |
ABBA |
| Title: |
The Visitors |
| Released: |
1981.11.30 |
| Label: |
Polar Music
International A.B. |
| Time: |
57:20 |
| Producer(s): |
Björn
Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson |
| Appears with: |
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| Category: |
Disco |
| Rating: |
******..... (5/10) |
| Media type: |
CD - regular |
| Purchase
date: |
2005.10.04 |
| Price in €: |
9,99 |
| Web address: |
www.abbasite.com |
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[1] The Visitors (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 5:45
[2] Head over Heels (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 3:46
[3] When All Is Said and Done (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 3:17
[4] Soldiers (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 4:37
[5] I Let the Music Speak (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 5:18
[6] One of Us (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 3:54
[7] Two for the Price of One (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 3:35
[8] Slipping Through My Fingers (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 3:53
[9] Like an Angel Passing Through My Room (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 3:34
Bonus Tracks:
[10] Should I Laugh or Cry (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 4:26
[11] The Day Before You Came (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 5:50
[12] Cassandra (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 4:51
[13] Under Attack (B.Andersson/B.Ulvaeus) - 3:48
| A
r t i s t s , P e r s o n n e l |
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ANNI-FRID LYNGSTAD - Vocals
AGNETHA FALTSKOG - Vocals
BENNY ANDERSSON - Synthesizer, Keyboards, Vocals
BJÖRN ULVAEUS - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
OLA BRUNKERT - Drums
AKE SUNDQVIST - Percussion
RUTGER GUNNARSSON - Electric & Acoustic Bass
LASSE WELLANDER - Electric Acoustic Guitar
JAN KING - Flute, Clarinet
THE THREE BOYS - Mandolins
MICHAEL B. TRETOW - Engineer
| C
o m m e n t s , N o t e s |
|
1981 LP Polar POLS 342
1981 LP Atlantic 19332
1991 CD Alex Imports 2110
1995 CD Polygram 800011
1995 CS Polygram 800011
1995 CD Polygram 800023
1998 CD Polygram 533978
1999 CD Polygram 547134
Exclusive import limited edition digipak is remastered, has extensive
line notes and lyrics, and includes four bonus songs, 'Should I Laugh
Or Cry', 'The Day Before You Came', 'Cassandra' and 'Under Attack'. 13
tracks in all.
Abba's 1981 swan song is appropriately touched by intimations of loss;
The Visitors certainly contains nothing as breezy as "Does Your Mother
Know." Far from the listless meanderings of a group on its way out,
however, the album is alive with emotion and creativity. The title
track fuses a melody reminiscent of the Beatles Indian explorations
with a smartly done synthesizer arrangement typical of the disc as a
whole. (They could've been the Human League!) Similarly moody cuts like
"Soldiers" and "One of Us" help make this that rare thing, an Abba
record suited for lonely late nights. This 24-bit remaster boasts four
bonus cuts, including the final singles "The Day Before You Came" and
"Under Attack," in addition to improved sound quality.
Rickey Wright, Amazon.com
The quartet's final album was recorded during a period of major
personal shake-ups, principally in the decision by Benny Andersson and
Frida to follow the same route to divorce that had already been taken
by Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog. Both male members of the
group would soon remarry, but at the time, despite all of these changes
in their circumstances, The Visitors was never intended as ABBA's swan
song -- they were to go on recording together. That may explain why,
rather than a threadbare, thrown-together feel, The Visitors is a
beautifully made, very sophisticated album, filled with serious but
never downbeat songs, all beautifully sung and showing off some of the
bold songwriting efforts. The title-track is a topical song about
Soviet dissidents that also manages to be very catchy, while "I Let the
Music Speak" sounds like a Broadway number (and a very good one, at
that) in search of a musical to be part of, and "When All Is Said and
Done" is a serious, achingly beautiful ballad with a lot to say about
their personal situations -- even "Two for the Price of One," a
lighthearted song sung by Björn Ulvaeus, about answering a
personal advertisement, offered several catchy hooks and beautiful
backup singing. "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" ended the
original album on a hauntingly ethereal note, but not as any kind of
larger statement about the quartet's fate. The intention was to keep
working together, but Andersson's and Ulvaeus' growing involvement with
their stage project, Chess, prevented any further work together by the
group beyond three songs, "The Day Before You Came," "Cassandra," and
"Under Attack" -- they're all present as bonus tracks on the 2001
remastered edition (in gatefold packaging), along with the orphaned
B-side "Should I Laugh or Cry" from the same sessions as The Visitors,
and only add to the appeal of the original album.
Bruce Eder, All-Music Guide
The Visitors
I hear the doorbell ring and suddenly the panic takes me
The sound so ominously tearing through the silence
I cannot move, I'm standing
Numb and frozen
Among the things I love so dearly
The books, the paintings and the furniture
Help me
The signal's sounding once again and someone tries the door-knob
None of my friends would be so stupidly impatient
And they don't dare to come here
Anymore now
But how I loved our secret meetings
We talked and talked in quiet voices
Smiling
Now I hear them moving
Muffled noises coming through the door
I feel I'm
Crackin' up
Voices growing louder, irritation building
And I'm close to fainting
Crackin' up
They must know by now I'm in here trembling
In a terror evergrowing
Crackin' up
My whole world is falling, going crazy
There is no escaping now, I'm
Crackin' up
These walls have witnessed all the anguish of humiliation
And seen the hope of freedom glow in shining faces
And now they've come to take me
Come to break me
And yet it isn't unexpected
I have been waiting for these visitors
Help me
Now I hear them moving
Muffled noises coming through the door
I feel I'm
Crackin' up
Voices growing louder, irritation building
And I'm close to fainting
Crackin' up
They must know by now I'm in here trembling
In a terror evergrowing
Crackin' up
My whole world is falling, going crazy
There is no escaping now, I'm
Crackin' up
Now I hear them moving
Muffled noises coming through the door
I feel I'm
Crackin' up
Voices growing louder, irritation building
And I'm close to fainting
Crackin' up
(I have been waiting for these visitors)
They must know by now I'm in here trembling
In a terror evergrowing
Crackin' up
(I have been waiting for these visitors)
My whole world is falling, going crazy
There is no escaping now, I'm
Crackin' up
(I have been waiting for these visitors)
Now I hear them moving
Muffled noises coming through the door
I feel I'm
Crackin' up
(I have been waiting for these visitors)
Voices growing louder, irritation building
And I'm close to fainting
Crackin' up
(I have been waiting for these visitors)
They must know by now I'm in here trembling
In a terror evergrowing
Crackin' up
(I have been waiting for these visitors)
My whole world is falling, going crazy
There is no escaping now, I'm
Crackin' up
Head Over Heels
Head Over Heels
I have a very good friend
The kind of girl who likes to follow a trend
She has a personal style
Some people like it, others tend to go wild
You hear her voice everywhere
Taking the chair
She's a leading lady
And with no trace of hesitation she keeps going
Head over heels
Breaking her way
Pushing through unknown jungles every day
She's a girl with a taste for the world
(The world is like a playing-ground where she goes rushing)
Head over heels
Setting the pace
Running the gauntlet in a whirl of lace
She's extreme, if you know what I mean
Her man is one I admire
He's so courageous but he's constantly tired
Each time when he speaks his mind
She pats his head and says, "That's all very fine
Exert that will of your own
When you're alone
Now we'd better hurry"
And with no trace of hesitation she keeps going
Head over heels
Breaking her way
Pushing through unknown jungles every day
She's a girl with a taste for the world
(The world is like a playing-ground where she goes rushing)
Head over heels
Setting the pace
Running the gauntlet in a whirl of lace
She's extreme, if you know what I mean
You hear her voice everywhere
Taking the chair
She's a leading lady
And with no trace of hesitation she keeps going
Head over heels
Breaking her way
Pushing through unknown jungles every day
She's a girl with a taste for the world
(The world is like a playing-ground where she goes rushing)
Head over heels
Setting the pace
Running the gauntlet in a whirl of lace
She's extreme, if you know what I mean
(She's just one of those who always has to do whatever she please)
And she goes
Head over heels
When all is said and done
Here's to us one more toast and then we'll pay the bill
Deep inside both of us can feel the autumn chill
Birds of passage, you and me
We fly instinctively
When the summer's over and the dark clouds hide the sun
Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done
In our lives we have walked some strange and lonely treks
Slightly worn but dignified and not too old for sex
We're still striving for the sky
No taste for humble pie
Thanks for all your generous love and thanks for all the fun
Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done
It's so strange when you're down and lying on the floor
How you rise, shake your head, get up and ask for more
Clear-headed and open-eyed
With nothing left untried
Standing calmly at the crossroads, no desire to run
There's no hurry any more when all is said and done
Standing calmly at the crossroads, no desire to run
There's no hurry any more when all is said and done
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
Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing
The songs that you and I don't sing
They blow their horns and march along
They drum their drums and look so strong
You'd think that nothing in the world was wrong
Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing
The songs that you and I won't sing
Let's not look the other way
Taking a chance
'Cause if the bugler starts to play
We too must dance
What's that sound, what's that dreadful rumble?
Won't somebody tell me what I hear?
In the distance but drawing near
Is it only a storm approaching?
All that thunder and the blinding light
In the winter night
In the grip of this cold December
You and I have reason to remember
Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing
The songs that you and I don't sing
They blow their horns and march along
They drum their drums and look so strong
You'd think that nothing in the world was wrong
Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing
The songs that you and I won't sing
Let's not look the other way
Taking a chance
'Cause if the bugler starts to play
We too must dance
Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing
The songs that you and I won't sing
Let's not look the other way
Taking a chance
'Cause if the bugler starts to play
We too must dance
I Let The Music Speak
I'm hearing images, I'm seeing songs
No poet has ever painted
Voices call out to me, straight to my heart
So strange yet we're so well acquainted
I let the music speak, with no restraints
I let my feelings take over
Carry my soul away into the world
Where beauty meets the darkness of the day
Where my mind is like an open window
Where the high and healing winds blow
From my shallow sleep the sounds awake me
I let them take me
(Let them wake me, let them have me, let them take 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
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
(All illusion, no disturbance, no intrusion)
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
Let it be a tear
Let it be a sigh
Coming from a heart, speaking to a heart, let it be a cry
Let it be the joy of each new sunrise
Or the moment when a day dies
I surrender without reservation
No explanations
No questions why
I take it to me and let it flow through me
Yes, I let the music speak
I let the music speak
One Of Us
They passed me by, all of those great romances
You were, I felt, robbing me of my rightful chances
My picture clear, everything seemed so easy
And so I dealt you the blow
One of us had to go
Now it's different, I want you to know
One of us is crying
One of us is lying
In her lonely bed
Staring at the ceiling
Wishing she was somewhere else instead
One of us is lonely
One of us is only
Waiting for a call
Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small
Wishing she had never left at all
I saw myself as a concealed attraction
I felt you kept me away from the heat and the action
Just like a child, stubborn and misconceiving
That's how I started the show
One of us had to go
Now I've changed and I want you to know
One of us is crying
One of us is lying
In her lonely bed
Staring at the ceiling
Wishing she was somewhere else instead
One of us is lonely
One of us is only
Waiting for a call
Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small
Wishing she had never left at all
Never left at all
Staring at the ceiling
Wishing she was somewhere else instead
One of us is lonely
One of us is only
Waiting for a call
(fade)
Two For The Price Of One
He had what you might call a trivial occupation
He cleaned the platforms of the local railway station
With no romance in his life
Sometimes he wished he had a wife
He read the matrimonial advertising pages
The cries for help from different people, different ages
But they had nothing to say
At least not until the day
When something special he read
This is what it said:
If you dream of the girl for you
Then call us and get two for the price of one
We're the answer if you feel blue
So call us and get two for the price of one
If you dream of the girl for you
(If you are dreaming of someone who might be right for you)
Then call us and get two for the price of one
(Why don't you call us and you'll get two for the price of one)
We're the answer if you feel blue
(We may be the answers to your problem, a chance with we two)
So call us and get two for the price of one
(Why don't you call us and you'll get two for the price of one)
He called the number and a voice said, "Alice Whiting"
The voice was husky and it sounded quite exciting
He was amazed at his luck
The purest streak of gold he'd struck
He said, "I read your ad, it sounded rather thrilling
I think a meeting could be mutually fulfilling
Why don't we meet for a chat
The three of us in my flat
I can't forget what I read"
This is what it said:
If you dream of the girl for you
Then call us and get two for the price of one
We're the answer if you feel blue
So call us and get two for the price of one
If you dream of the girl for you
(If you are dreaming of someone who might be right for you)
Then call us and get two for the price of one
(Why don't you call us and you'll get two for the price of one)
We're the answer if you feel blue
(We may be the answers to your problem, a chance with we two)
So call us and get two
(Why don't you call us and you'll get two)
For the price of one...
She said, "I'm sure we must be perfect for each other
And if you doubt it you'll be certain when you meet my mother"
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
Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
(Slipping through my fingers all the time)
Well, some of that we did but most we didn't
And why I just don't know
Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers...
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile...
Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
Long awaited darkness falls
Casting shadows on the walls
In the twilight hour I am alone
Sitting near the fireplace, dying embers warm my face
In this peaceful solitude
All the outside world subdued
Everything comes back to me again
In the gloom
Like an angel passing through my room
Half awake and half in dreams
Seeing long forgotten scenes
So the present runs into the past
Now and then become entwined, playing games within my mind
Like the embers as they die
Love was one prolonged goodbye
And it all comes back to me tonight
In the gloom
Like an angel passing through my room
I close my eyes
And my twilight images go by
All too soon
Like an angel passing through my room
Should I Laugh or Cry
He stands towering over me beside my bed
Losing his head
Tells me I must take him seriously
Droning on the usual way
He's such a clever guy
Then I wonder Should I Laugh Or Cry
He's dressed in the striped pajamas that I bought
Trousers too short
Gives me all his small philosophy
Carries on the way he does
And me I get so tired
And I wonder Should I Laugh Or Cry
High and mighty his banner flies
A fool's pride in his eyes
Standing there on his toes to grow in size
All I see is a big balloon
Halfway up to the moon
He's wrapped up in a warm and safe cocoon
Of an eternal lie
So Should I Laugh Or Cry
Strange how dangerously indifferent I have grown
Cold as a stone
No more pain where there was pain before
Far away he rambles on, I feel my throat go dry
And I wonder Should I Laugh Or Cry
I don't mind if his banner flies
A fool's pride in his eyes
Standing there on his toes to grow in size
All I see is a big balloon
Halfway up to the moon
He's wrapped up in a warm and safe cocoon
Of an eternal lie
So should I laugh or cry?
The Day Before You Came
Must have left my house at eight, because I always do
My train, I'm certain, left the station just when it was
due
I must have read the morning paper going into town
And having gotten through the editorial, no doubt I
must have frowned
I must have made my desk around a quarter after nine
With letters to be read, and heaps of papers waiting to
be signed
I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so
The usual place, the usual bunch
And still on top of this I'm pretty sure it must have
rained
The day before you came
I must have lit my seventh cigarette at half past two
And at the time I never even noticed I was blue
I must have kept on dragging through the business of
the day
Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me
away
At five I must have left, there's no exception to the rule
A matter of routine, I've done it ever since I finished
school
The train back home again
Undoubtedly I must have read the evening paper then
Oh yes, I'm sure my life was well within it's usual
frame
The day before you came
Must have opened my front door at eight o'clock or so
And stopped along the way to buy some Chinese food
to go
I'm sure I had my dinner watching something on TV
There's not, I think, a single episode of Dallas that I
didn't see
I must have gone to bed around a quarter after ten
I need a lot of sleep, and so I like to be in bed by then
I must have read a while
The latest one by Marilyn French or something in that
style
It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim
The day before you came
And turning out the light
I must have yawned and cuddled up for yet another
night
And rattling on the roof I must have heard the sound of
rain
The day before you came
Cassandra
Down in the street they're all singing and shouting
Staying alive though the city is dead
Hiding their shame
Behind hollow laughter
While you are crying alone on your bed
Pity Cassandra
That no-one believed you
But then again you were lost from the start
Now we must suffer nd sell our secrets
Bargain, playing smart
Aching in our hearts
Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood
Now the last day is dawning
Some of us wanted
But none of us would
Listen to words of warning
But on the darkest of nights
Nobody knew how to fight
And we were caught in our sleep
Sorry Cassandra
I didn't believe
You really had the power
I only saw it as dreams you would weave
Until the final hour
So in the morning
Your ship will be sailing
Now that your father and sister are gone
There is no reason for you to linger
Grieving deeply but still moving on
You know the future is casting a shadow
No-one else sees it
But you know your fate
Packing your bags
Being slow and thorough
Knowing, though you're late
That ship is sure to wait
Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood
Now the last day is dawning
Some of us wanted but none of us would
Listen to words of warning
But on the darkest of nights
Nobody knew how to fight
And we were caught in our sleep
Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe
You really had the power
I only saw it as dreams you would weave
Until the final hour
I watched her ship leaving harbour at sunrise
Sails almost slack in the cool morning rain
She stood on deck just a tiny figure
Rigid and restrained
Blue eyes filled with pain
Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood
Now the last day is dawning
Some of us wanted
But none of us would
Listen to words of warning
But on the darkest of nights
Nobody knew how to fight
And we were caught in our sleep
Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe
You really had the power
I only saw it as dreams you would weave
Until the final hour
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
(You know that I'm nobody's fool)
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 breaking
Won't somebody please have a heart
Come and rescue me now 'cause I'm falling apart
Under attack, I'm taking cover
He on my track, my chasing lover
Thinking nothing can stop him now
Should I want to, I'm not sure, I would know how
This is getting crazy, I should tell him so
Really let my anger show
Persuade him that the answer to his questions is a definite NO!
(I'm kind of flattered, I suppose)
Guess I'm kind of flattered but I'm scared as well
Something like a magic spell
I hardly dare to think of what could happen, where I'd be if I fell
Under attack, I'm being taken
About to crack, defences breaking
Won't somebody please have a heart
Come and rescue me now 'cause I'm falling apart
Under attack, I'm taking cover
He on my track, my chasing lover
Thinking nothing can stop him now
Should I want to, I'm not sure, I would know how
Under attack, I'm being taken
About to crack, defences breaking
Won't somebody please have a heart
Come and rescue me now 'cause I'm falling apart
Under attack, I'm taking cover
He on my track, my chasing lover
Thinking nothing can stop him now
Should I want to, I'm not sure, I would know how
(fade)
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