12/24/2023 0 Comments Abba just a notion demo![]() ![]() This Agnetha-led first person narrative starts beautifully with some wonderful words describing our protagonist hanging around in the park waiting to go and confront her man. If you had any doubts about ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ these are banished with ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’. The triumphant – somewhat bombastic – section is probably the weakest part of the song but it’s hard not to be moved by the sentiment, which declares “We alive, we’re back and we’re ABBA!” It sounds like ABBA, which is obviously important, and there’s plenty to enjoy including Frida’s superb lead vocal, some strong melodies and even a hint of ‘Fernando’ drums at one point. One gets the feeling that this was a song that they needed to sing. Things calm down at the end and we are back to Frida, piano and some strings. I still have faith in you but “do I have it in me?” And then at around the two minute mark the questions are answered with a triumphant ‘chorus’ section: “ We do have it in us / New spirit has arrived / The joy and the sorrow / We have a story / And it survived“. The first two minutes are about rumination. This song could easily have been a simple and straightforward piano ballad, but with ABBA there is always musical ambition, construction, building blocks and different elements to keep you interested. Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Frida tick every single box when it comes to relationships (friends, lovers, wives/husbands, parents, workmates, ex-wives/husbands) and so their feelings towards each other must be deep, layered, complex and rich. It’s an openly sentimental number about friendship, doubt, faith, togetherness and longevity. This song expresses what Bjorn was talking about (one of the lines is “ how inconceivable it is to reach this far“) and it is an ABBA 2021 mission statement, of sorts. It’s hard to disagree, so what do we make of the new songs? There are no songs on the Voyage album “featuring Ed Sheeran” or “featuring Dua Lipa” or, heaven forbid, “featuring Elton John”.ījorn said that “no imagination could dream up” the position that they are in, in terms of putting out a new album after 40 years and still be “the best of friends”. Unlike, say Duran Duran, they don’t yearn to stay ‘relevant’ and do not need to bring in outside producers, new musicians, or collaborate with other singers to keep things interesting (for them). ABBA do not need anyone else and moreover they do not want to be anyone else. They looked shocked at the question and simply answered “It’s just us”.Īnd there is the strength encapsulated in one simple comment. In that interview on Thursday, Zoe Ball at one point asked what ‘team’ and producers Benny and Bjorn had been working with. It’s fair to say that the announcement on Thursday evening exceeded all expectations and not only are we getting the ABBA-tar live experience but also a new album! And it’s the new material that I’m most interested in. What you don’t want to happen when you are trying to not do too much work is for ABBA TO REFORM! Fans will be able to see Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid’s avatars come to life accompanied by a ten-piece live band, in a custom-built arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.I picked the wrong week to try and have a few days of a semi-break up in Yorkshire visiting my mum. The new album comes as the group are set to unveil their ABBA Voyage digital concert series in 2022. The LP will include ten new ABBA songs, including “Just A Notion” as well as previous singles “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down”. ![]() Voyage is set to be released on 5 November. ![]() So it’s a mystery and will remain a mystery.” I know that we played it to a publisher in France and a couple of other people we trusted, and as far as I can remember they liked it very much. “Why did we decide against it? In hindsight, I don’t have a clue. That puts it in between ABBA the Album and Voulez-Vous, and it would have been included in the latter had we not decided against it.”Īnd if you’re wondering why ABBA never released “Just A Notion” in the 1970s, well Björn doesn’t know either: “Wikipedia says this track was recorded in September 1978, which sounds about right. “‘Just a Notion’ is a ridiculously happy song and hopefully it will cheer you up in these dark times!” A post shared by ABBA the release of “Just A Notion”, Björn spoke about the song and its original recording: ![]()
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