ABBA

How do you define Abba to someone that has no idea - 2 hairy dudes and 2, not so cute by todays standards, chicks who were at that time married to each other, Swedish, fabulous (in 1970s standards) costumes and fabulous pop songs - sounds ok on paper but even better on vinyl!

I was an out and out ABBA fab as a child. There is a great photo of my sister, Karen, and I in little denim skirts and ABBA tops, looking proud as punch - we must have been between 6 and 8 and just adored ABBA. Lots of dancing around and singing into hair brushes - we had the vinyl and wanted the costumes - even better Karen was blonde like Agnetha and I was brunette like Frida.

As I got older ABBA became a little passe and I discarded them for other music, but in my very late teens I came across a cheap $10 CD at K-Mart called The Songbook: Australian Chart Hits and fell in love with them all over again. Older, I appreciated their fine harmonies (bloody hard to get the high notes), rhythm and that perfect pop melody. I remember a group of us sitting cross legged in a circle, in Mum and Dad's garage, in the candlelight singing Fernando at my 21st birthday party... a little bit daggy....but a little bit perfect!

Then a few years later along came the year that wrecked ABBA for me, The year of Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla. Both were and still are fine Australian movies (a benchmark I wonder if we will ever reach again?) and the use of ABBA music perfect but unfortunately the media just went with it a bit too far and ABBA music hit saturation point for me and over 15 years later it still pretty much is the same. I am a firm believer of not overdoing great songs - you will hear much more of that later on - and poor old ABBA were overdone for me. I also had the music snob thing of geez, I was always a fan, even when they were daggy, NOW, everyone likes them....not for me anymore! Seriously, if I see another freakin' television show on ABBA I will just scream. Note; I will mention Mama Mia - the movie (not seen the musical) with these words - hokey! Meryl! How could you??????

So, relistening to my ABBA CD - the same one from 1990 and the only one I own - ( I have ABBA: the Album on vinyl - got it for my 8th birthday!) it was hard to choose what songs to add. I omitted Fernando (still in mixed tape mode - far too slow to start this series off with), Dancing Queen (Yes, great, but come on...how many times do we need to hear it?)...Had I realised I would break my rules of 1-3 songs per artist in this very CD, I probably would have added SOS and/or Waterloo.

TRACK ONE: Ring Ring
Hmmmmm, it takes me back...simple and every young girl knows exactly what those lyrics mean - they are timeless..."And I sit all alone impatiently, won't you please understand the need in me"...'nuff said! Those opening beats are pop at its purest - like it had never even been invented until that moment. As a child you could dance and do the 'ring ring' actions innocently, as you got older you just got it. As an adult I love the tribal tempo of the drums just before the chorus and the background constant of the maraccas. It will get me up on the dance floor every time and always make me smile.....and sing.

TRACK TWO: Take a chance on me
It's the harmonies and how it builds from the chants at the beginning and the synthesizer added. The verse is really sensual and the range of their vocals sublime. Listening to the lyrics now, the feminist in me goes just get over him girl, and it also reaks a little stalkerish - but we all know that feeling of just wishing that dude would...take that chance. I also love the ba ba ba ba ba ba's towards the end - sometimes you just do not need words, the 70s really did that well.