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ABBA Live

 
Album Review: ABBA Live
 
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ABBA Live

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  • Artist: ABBA
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1986
  • Total Time: 62:42
  • Type: Compilation (best of), Live
  • Genre: Rock

Review

This recording is often underrated, and might seem superfluous in the wake of the release of the group's various hits compilations on CD, but it does have merits. Drawn from three distinct sets of performances, in Australia (1977), London's Wembley Arena (1979), and the television special Dick Cavett Meets ABBA (1981), the quartet proves that they could recreate their recordings on stage with a few improvements. The beat is more urgent on most of the numbers (most especially "Dancing Queen " "Take a Chance on Me," and "Does Your Mother Know" -- the live version of the latter, in particular, puts the studio rendition to shame), and the singers lose none of their elegance, even as they benefit from the immediacy of live work (albeit in front of upwards of 50,000 people, rather impersonal). The song selection on this 14-track CD makes it virtually a live greatest-hits package, and at mid-price that's not a bad thing. Further, the 1999 Polydor remastering, as part of "The ABBA Remasters" series, brings out the same rippling instrumental textures that highlighted their studio sides, from the acoustic opening of "I Have a Dream" to the throbbing bass of "Gimme Gimme Gimme," except that the arrangements are all tighter here, and the singing is never less than stunning (and none of it sounds redubbed). This is the kind of recording that CDs were created to enhance. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Dancing Queen Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson ABBA (3:42)
Take a Chance on Me Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (4:22)
I Have a Dream Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (4:23)
Does Your Mother Know Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (4:09)
Chiquitita Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (5:21)
Thank You for the Music Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (3:40)
Two for the Price of One Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (3:31)
Fernando Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson ABBA (5:22)
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (3:17)
Super Trouper Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (4:23)
Waterloo Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson ABBA (3:34)
Morningside of the Mountain Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (3:20)
Name of the Game/Eagle Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson ABBA (9:37)
On and on and On Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus ABBA (4:01)

Credits

ABBA (Main Performer), Jon Astley (Remixing), Ulf Andersson (?), Lena Andersson (?), Ola Brunkert (?), Anders Eljas (?), Lena Eriksson (?), Wojciech Ernest (?), Lena-Maria Gardenas (?), Malando Gassama (?), Rutger Gunnarsson (?), Maritza Horn (?), Lars Karlsson (?), Tomas Ledin (?), Liza Ohman (?), Mats Ronander (?), Finn Sjoberg (?), Ake Sundqvist (?), Michael B. Tretow (Engineer), Michael B. Tretow (Remixing), Michael B. Tretow (Mixing), Lasse Wellander (?), Rune Soderqvist (Art Direction), Tim Young (Remixing), Lena Ericsson (?), Anders Hanser (Photography), Birgitta Wollgård (?)
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Wikipedia: ABBA Live
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
ABBA Live
ABBA Live cover
Live album by ABBA
Released August 18, 1986
Recorded 1977-1981
(Studio overdubs 1986)
Genre Pop
Length 62:42
Label Polar (original release)
Universal Music
Producer Michael B. Tretow
Professional reviews
ABBA chronology
The Singles: The First Ten Years
(1982)		 ABBA Live
(1986)		 ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits
(1992)

ABBA Live is an album of live recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by Polar Music in 1986 (see 1986 in music). When this LP/CD was released, the band's popularity was at an all-time low and none of the members themselves were involved in the production of the album. ABBA Live contains recordings from 1977, 1979 and 1981 - much to the dismay of both music critics and ABBA fans it also had 80's synth drums overdubbed on most tracks, taking away the true live feeling of the performances. Neither did it feature any of the tracks that the band had performed live on their tours but never included on any of their studio albums, such as "I Am An A", "Get On The Carousel", "I'm Still Alive", or the original live versions of the songs from the 1977 mini-musical The Girl With The Golden Hair; "Thank You For The Music", "I Wonder (Departure)" and "I'm A Marionette", all of which had slightly different lyrics and/or musical arrangements to the subsequent studio recordings included on ABBA - The Album. Several tracks had also been heavily edited, in the case of the 1979 live recording of "Does Your Mother Know" by as much as five minutes since it originally was performed on that tour as a medley with "Hole In Your Soul".

ABBA Live was the first ABBA album to be simultaneously released on LP and CD, the CD having three "extra tracks". The album did not perform very well, internationally or domestically, peaking at #49 in Sweden and only staying in the charts for two weeks. Nevertheless, it still remains the only official live album by the group. It was remastered and rereleased by Polydor/Polar in 1997, but is currently out of print.

Contents

Track listing

All songs by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson unless otherwise noted.

Side A

  1. "Dancing Queen" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 3:42
  2. "Take A Chance On Me" – 4:22
  3. "I Have A Dream" – 4:23
  4. "Does Your Mother Know" – 4:09
  5. "Chiquitita" – 5:21

Side B

  1. "Thank You For The Music" – 3:40
  2. "Two For The Price Of One" – 3:31
  3. "Fernando" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 5:22
  4. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – 3:17
  5. "Super Trouper" – 4:23
  6. "Waterloo" – 3:34

Extra tracks on CD

  1. "Money, Money, Money" – 3:20
  2. "The Name Of The Game / Eagle" (Andersson, Anderson, Ulvaeus) – 9:37
  3. "On and On and On" – 4:01

Notes

v • d • e
ABBA
Agnetha Fältskog • Björn Ulvaeus • Benny Andersson • Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Studio albums
Compilations
Singles
"People Need Love" • "He Is Your Brother" • "Ring Ring" • "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" • "Waterloo" • "Honey, Honey" • "So Long" • "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" • "SOS" • "Mamma Mia" • "Fernando" • "Dancing Queen" • "Money, Money, Money" • "Knowing Me, Knowing You" • "The Name of the Game" • "Take a Chance on Me" • "Eagle" • "Summer Night City" • "Chiquitita" • "Does Your Mother Know" • "Voulez-Vous" • "Angeleyes" • "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" • "I Have a Dream" • "The Winner Takes It All" • "On and On and On" • "Super Trouper" • "Lay All Your Love on Me" • "One of Us" • "When All is Said and Done" • "Head Over Heels" • "The Visitors" • "The Day Before You Came" • "Under Attack" • "Thank You for the Music"
Other songs
Related articles

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "ABBA Live".  Read more

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