Extra Credit Post: Why ABBA songs just hit different
ABBA is a band that is going to finally release a new album after forty years. This band is from Sweden. When ABBA first came out people did not enjoy it. It could be because the times that it was released it had a disco feel along with pop. There are four singers in the band that make up the name of the band songs. One of the key hit about the songs is that there is two female singers. One that shows her high soprano and then another that has a strong low alto. This is one reason that it is successful. They are able to add great crescendos with the low and high voices. Focusing on the vocals of the females is a good way to enjoy the singing of their band. "There is actually some currents of darkness." It is said because in Sweden there are dark times along with light times. ABBA is very successful at showing, "as much joy as there is mollycoddle." In "Super trooper" this is expressed by starting slow and low and almost sad, like Sweden winters, then picks up and has a lot of joy and upbeat, where they transferred into summer in Sweden. Now a supper trooper is actually a brand of spotlight. One that you would use in a theater in order to find someone on stage. The vocals flow together in order to show the meaning.
In "Mama Mia" there is a presence of maximal sound. You take this orchestra sound and bring in this rock sound. It is this blend of all of these sounds you almost didn't think would go together and it works perfectly. One of their strategies there are key hooks that are used in order to catch the listeners and to keep them listening. For instance in ABBA's "Mama Mia" they use the phrase "my my" to keep you coming back. There are many other songs that have this hook. "Mamma Mia" still comes back to the darkness and light. The lyrics are talking of an unhealthy relationship even with the very happy upbeat sound.
There is another ingredient to the success called "studio wizardry." It is used in the song "Dancing Queen." Even in the beginning there is so much power. This shows maxima-list as well as their way or production. They are very careful with how they are produce their song. There are so many components that are put into this one song. The "studio wizardry" is also shown by "vare-speed tracking." It is a way to double track in a very smart way. They would take a sound and then take it and pitch it down a third and record it to speed it back up in order to make a stronger sound. It makes it so it sounds like there are two vocalists when it is only one.
ABBA released new singles and it makes you wonder if it is showing how their new album is going to be. Is the music going to live in the past or come to the future? In their singles that are still the classic ingredients that make ABBA, ABBA. "Don't Shut Me Down" is one of their singles that they released. It has everything as well. It has a very disco feel to it. It has a lot of fun lines in the song and vocals. Including the synthesizer or saxophone. It is very impressive that there is the ability to come out forty years later. It is exciting to wait to listen to them some more. It could be the perfect time for them to come out with a new album because of the feel of the Disco revival. They truly relase "expert pop music." Will ABBA come in clutch again?
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