ABBA – The Visitors

By the time of their last (for nearly 40 years) album, Abba’s expertise in crafting successful music was as sharp as a knife. It was time for them to face the challenge of remaining relevant in the uncertain ‘80s.
Despite it’s not their best record by any means, the musical genius of Björn and Benny is still there in “The visitors” lp, though sparsely diluted throughout it.
The title track is the modern clever electronic feel the band should have persued if Abba was to continue on. The lyrics tell about the fears of change and menaceful outsiders, a cold war paraphrase, it refers indeed to what the band knew best, the music business war fought to stay at the top in a brand new decade of new sounds when lacereted by the strains of two estranged couples.
“Head over heels” is the baroque delight for reassuring the traditional Abba fan, it’s not a leap forward but neither a step back, it’s simply a contemplation of an achieved status.
“When all is said and done” is a nice epic with an electronic sensibility, but yet another marital disillusion manifesto.
“Soldiers” is fascinating and gets back on the right track, while “I let the music speak”, beautifully sung by Frida, has a stage melodrama construction that so much anticipates the musical ambitions later displayed in the “Chess” opus.
“One of us” is a sign of mercenary routine, as bland as unnecessary could be this very simple and cheesy melody that’s heading nowhere.
“Two for the price of one” is an ironic number that masks a failure in building a concrete social observation song.
“Slipping through my fingers” is a good performance from Agnetha but the song moves a bit tired and too lighthearted, similarly to “Like an angel passing through my room”, another half baked ballad and a subdued demise.
In the end, although this album carries the seeds of how Abba could have evolved, it justifies the fact the band was put on a hold because it’s ultimately an unfulfilled promise. 3 stars out of 5.

The music industry's first ever album released on compact disc, the group's swan song record with a new wave flavour (traces of Sparks, Gary Numan, Ultravox and Data are particularly daring and clever). Personally, I was never into ABBA, despite respect and admiration for them although respect and admiration was never actually a conscious perception. I guess, thanks are partially due to Erasure - who remain the perfect mirror image of the Swedish hit factory, a shadow of which is very evident in the UK duo's witty electro-pop catalogue.

Love ABBA or not, there is no hit of theirs you wouldn't occasionally whistle along - their 70s stuff so pure and honest, carefree and bittersweet, but it is "The Visitors" with an edge they only partially showed in their previous, and much beloved hit records. Here the melancholy cries volumes and while in typical ABBA fashion, the arrangements/lyrics are added a stronger scent of darkness. The cover photo adds to the tone as the music's perfect match. A snapshot of the group absent from each other - a farewell to it all, the success and the heartbreak, a four letter word that now stands for "eternity".

This album is Abba's most sophisticated work. The album feels very musical and grown up (except for "Two For The Price Of One"). The album sounds like it is a mini musical (not suprising that benny and bjorn would create "Chess" with Tim Rice three years later). The album is full of elements ranging from musical theatre, opera, classical music, moods and atmospheres mixed with a pop sensibility. This is the only album I can listen to by Abba and not hear Eurovision cliche's, with the exception of "Two For The Price Of One", the worst part of the album. This is an album that is worth listening to once in your life. An interesting album full of sophistication and well crafted pieces from an established pop act.

Is it me, or does the vinyl version (original pressing) really sound so much better than the CD?