Waterloo - great uptempo "rocker" with a great groove and nice horns. SOS - similar idea but more "poppy" overall - like a lot of their stuff, the synth work really blends with the orchestral instrument but this one has a really nice set of keyboard work in the intro - more "composed" stuff, which I like, and the synth line that leads to the chorus is great. Perfect vehicle to show off the girls that would really appeal to older audiences at the time as well as contemporaneous audiences. The backing instruments and arrangement again are just super well done. Take a Chance on Me - "the "take a chance take a chance take a take a chance chance" counter melody/ostinatoįernando - full of typical clichés but so wonderfully done - the acoustic guitar, the marching snare, the dual vocals after the first verse, then it explodes into this pop song. Things from ABBA that stick out to me are:ĭancing Queen - Orchestral parts and the gliss that starts it as well as that piano that cuts through. Or there's a great Tele guitar tone, or I really like a production choice, or a crafty arrangement and so on. Plus there were two attractive women and I was the right age - which had just as much to do with their popularity than anything else.īut I've actually come to appreciate the musicality and artistry in the work (not really "theory" per se) and what has happened with me is even when I hear something I don't really care for, I try to look for things in it that interest me or I can appreciate - it could be just crafty lyrics - I just joined a Country band and I don't really like a lot of Country music at all, but at the same time, some of the lyrics are REALLY crafty - I don't even care for the content of the lyrics but approaching it from the "typical listener's" perspective, I can appreciate how crafty even pandering lyrics are. It was before my music tastes really evolved (towards far less commercial and saccharine music) but that's how popular they were at the time. The 2nd album I bought was Abba's Greatest Hits. I'm not saying the music isn't well written, well played, and well recorded, but their continued popularity has little to do with music theory in any appreciable way. Much of this has to do with timing and what has essentially become "kitschy" or campy. I'd love for someone to change my mind on why I should, at the very least, respect their music. I admit that I've not spent any time analyzing their music since I can't stand it. Nostalgia could certainly be a powerful factor, but I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing musically.Īny thoughts are welcome. Thus, none of this explains why so many people still love ABBA, in my opinion. I also know they used elements of Schlager in their composition, but using regional and folk styles in mainstream popular music is hardly rare. I know they were produced by Phil Spector, and he used some (for the time) revolutionary recording techniques on their albums. I'm wondering if folks here have thoughts on why ABBA has had such staying power, from a music theory perspective. I find their music saccharine, uninspired, and among the most boring music I can think of. I recently found out that ABBA is the second-best selling group of all time, only outsold by the Beatles. I tried to search, but for the past two days I've been getting a server error whenever I type in a search question in this particular sub. I apologize in advance if this question's already been asked here.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |