Synthwave... ABBA approved of synth for sure... they WERE the "wave" in the late 70s and early 80's along with many peers like Moroder and others. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was covered by Malmsteen and sampled in "Hung Up" by Madonna with song writing credits being given in part to Benny and Bjorn, (she wrote a letter to the boys to plead for the sample). "The Visitors" is a mysterious thumper when it gets going, and "Lay All Your Love on Me" which Erasure covered has almost a choral quality to the chorus that mesmerizes you. They also tried many styles, the prog-styled "Eagle"...incredible vocals, the complex and beautiful "The Name Of the Game", the dark and theatrical "I'm a Marionette" covered by Ghost, heavy disco "Summer Night City" covered by Therion (who made it sound like a funeral dirge!!), and there are tons of metals covers for ABBA's music. Benny and Bjorn's incredible writing and production were coupled with two incredible women who stylized precise vocals to fit each song because of their love for music! Agnetha and Frida could sing a hoagie sandwich menu and it would go gold! And that intonation... :D They did reggae, rock, folk, ballads, pop, dance, and gave each hit their own Swedish twist. Seriously, masters.
Pete Townsend called 'SOS' the perfect pop song. And he was serious. He isn't one known for beating around the bush but says what he thinks. I agree, it is a perfect pop song.
I read that the band's engineer said that he always delayed one (IDK which...) of the girls' voices for a fraction of a second so as to achieve a 'fuller' sound! I don't think you could easily find 2 voices that could blend together more perfectly than these two ladies!
@@dominiccrimmings6925 But she didn't go by Anni-Frid, she went by Frida. For the sake of the band name, Anni-Frid fit much better. ABBA is better than ABBF
John Lennon called this one of the most beautiful songs he had ever heard. And If you like their rocky stuff, check out "Hey hey Helen" and "Does your mother know"
Hole in your soul. Especially the live version. Best done with does your mother know first followed by hole in your soul as a collective live performance
An amazing band that composed and integrated Classical music into Pop, combined with amazing arrangements, beautiful voices, harmonies and a great Pop sensibility. Hooks for days; one of the best Pop bands of all-time. ABBA is simply Pop pefection.
Trust me...most metal heads back in the day liked at least one ABBA song! Even if they didn't admit it, you would catch them tapping their toes or whispering the catchy lyrics!😅
When ABBA was inducted in the RRHOF, Benny Andersson made a speech saying that when he was growing up in Sweden in the 50s, there was no blues or R&B on Swedish radio. There was a small smattering of early rock & roll and a lot of European Schlager and Swedish folk music, both of which are strong influences in ABBA's music. Benny noted that a lot of Swedish folk music is quite melancholy, and so he regards it as kind of a Swedish equivalent to blues - he even referred to The Winner Takes It All, which is definitely one of ABBA's sadder songs, as "Swedish blues". You can hear a bit of that in SOS as well.
John Lennon said SOS by ABBA was one of his his favourite songs. I know a lot of heavy metal musicians who love ABBA. They write hooks and melodies like no other, the Swedish melancholy in so much of their stuff singles them out from the pack, and the vocals by Agnetha and Frida are always utterly stellar. You should check out a TV performance of SOS and that will make you understand WHY they were such a powerful group of their time. The women are incredibly charismatic performers.
This one’s for my cuz Jay who passed recently. He was a big, hulking guy who loved everyone and was always there for you. He drove this big, black Lincoln Continental with an 8-track player in it. He’d blast ABBA every chance he got. He loved them. Here’s to you Jay! 🥰
same here also feiend in hs teammate bball had the same black cont. we piled into summer league bball.8 track nice stereo wed jam along the way same as your cousin our teammate was 6 8 9 driving his dad the same they need legroom us also and friends 64 valent bacjk and forth to school we were talking other day his older bros. 8 tracks and teamnates in the lincoln boat wish we still had wirh todays vinly prices all the old 70s classics plus some late 60s were like now old futz damn wish we still had those local antique store umtil recently still had vintage 8 track players
SOS is, I believe, the only hit single whose title is both an acronym and a palindrome, recorded by a band whose name is both an acronym and a palindrome. By the way: ABBA = Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, Anni-Frid
@@hifijohn Thanks for the reply. You are correct, SOS is not an acronym, by definition, bc, unlike "ABBA", we do not pronounce it as a word, but instead pronounce each individual letter. I believe "abbreviation" is the umbrella term given to all shortenings of words or phrases. Under that abbreviation umbrella, words like "ABBA" are technically called "acronyms", but, words like "SOS" are technically called "initialisms". I learned something new today!
I love how Alex’s Funko Pop doll’s head was bobbing in time to the music 😂 You guys were rocking it! People made fun of people liking ABBA when these songs came out….but everyone listened to them, danced to them & can sing them word for word to this day! They were all very talented. Great reaction guys!
I think you discovering and liking ABBA just shows your tastes have broadened. Genres can be limiting, but enjoying great music, whatever the genre just demonstrates a willingness to be surprised and discover awesome songs. So glad you enjoyed this, SOS is a banger. I'd suggest Waterloo, Voulez-vous, or for something more introspective but brilliant, The Winner Takes It All. And as others have said ABBA is the initials of the four members of the band.
You, too. That is me 1,000% although they are no longer guilty pleasures, given their individual brilliance. Vocally, Karen is truly God's angelic gift to all of us.
Abba have sold over 400 million albums and have a musical that has taken over 5 billion worldwide nd now voyage in London. They are one of the best bands ever.❤
So my visual when you played this is me at 11 ish years old singing with my hairbrush mic in front of my bedroom mirror, as i did with all the great songs of the 70's. And skating to them at USA skating rink! Great time for music, the 70's!! Im so happy you liked it❤❤
One of the great things about 70's music is that it was always optimistic. Even when it was a tragic song, there was always an upbeat idea, theme, message, or tempo. Now? It's so depressing (and awful) no wonder kids today are a mess.
Growing up with this stuff first time round, it was very easy to take ABBA for granted and familiarity breeds contempt.... especially in the era of punk, disco, prog and all the rest of the different genres that were swirling around in the 70s... its only later, decades later when you listen back to these classics and listen to them with an experienced critical ear, can you begin to understand how much effort and thought and craft went into these songs, particularly the vocal harmonies and the production values... World class.
To me, it often seemed as though ABBA -- at least here in the USA -- was kind of in that weird zone of "band that everyone secretly likes, but won't *admit* to liking because it's not 'cool' to like them for some reason." So they got no respect -- but they sure sold an awful lot of records for a band no one would admit that they listened to... 😛
I was eleven years old when they won the Eurovision with Waterloo. My favorite band at the time was the glamrockers Sweet. But I became a big fan of Abba then and there.
This song came out in the mid 70’s when I was 20 yrs old. I used to take crap from my head banger friends for liking ABBA. But I held my ground all through the years. I was right to do so. Their music has proven to be timeless, and Benny and Bjorn are musical geniuses for writing it all and Agnetha and Frida are lovely harmonizing songbirds.
Even the B-sides are beyond catchy with this band. I was 6 or 7 when they first blew my mind. They showed me the impact music could have on my body and soul. It's always a joy watching a younger generation discover the magic of ABBA. And I'm excited for you 'cause the journey has just begun! Try Knowing Me Knowing You, Fernando (No1 in Australia for 14 weeks and the biggest hit here for 40 years!), The Winner Takes It All, Chiquitita, Voulez Vous, The Name of the Game, Waterloo, So Long, Mama Mia, and every other song they've done.
ABBA made catchy songs, masterfully produced. Years ago, I remember hearing that they would multi-track the ladies' tight harmonies. That explained the ringing fullness of their sound. Total ear candy.
ABBA is great. The song-craft, singing, production is all top-notch. They have more hooks in their catalog than just about any other group or writer. Pure enjoyable pop!
I was captivated by this song when I first heard it as a kid. About 8 years old. Had it recorded on tape along with some other songs but kept playing this one over and over. Abba is really like music from the future. Perfect contrast, perfect seaming, perfect tones, all at play together.
You put together the ear candy of their amazing songs, plus the eye candy of those 2 beautiful ladies and you get ABBA. Timeless music that this 60-year-old will enjoy till he can't anymore. Always love to see the younger generation appreciate great music. FYI: "Mamma Mia" is still my all-time ABBA song...
I think we're getting to the point in popular culture now where critical acclaim and hipster props for ABBA's music are so high that nobody needs to feel guilty about liking them anymore.
There is rock, soft rock, power rock balads, and so on. ABBA transcends genres, soft rock, power balads, euro folk music, but whatever the genre, their music is pure joy. It spawned a Broadway play, which I saw in person, and at least two films based solely on their song catalog. They are without a doubt, literally one of the most popular groups, world-wide, of all time. ABBA rules. So does Sweden.❤ As their song says, thank you for the music!
Don't worry. Welcome to the world of Abba fans!! Haha They have some genius songs, and they have some schlocky songs. They have some cool shit, and they have some cheesy shit. I love them anyway! PS: That isn't fuzz guitar, that's a synth. 😊
If anyone asked me for a band to emulate to become a success in the POP Music genre, ABBA would be the band I recommend. They were talented beyond "pop" music
I remember seeing a documentary about how ABBA impacted others, and there was this one guy there who was stunned at how they used a hook for a song, not just one, but two or three in the same song. He could not get his head around that.
ABBA was the Adele of their day. HUGELY popular and talented but rockers would never admit liking them even though they secretly did. It reminds me of a time when I was in a Home Depot and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” song came on over the in store speakers. I was in an aisle next to a biker guy in a Slayer t-shirt. We both started tapping our toes to the beat and then looked at each other and sang aloud to the chorus. It was quite the impromptu duet:Me in a suit and short hair and him with long hair and tattoos and a bikers leather vest and jeans. Good music unites us all regardless of the genre. I’m a classic rock guy but know pretty much every ABBA song by heart.
...the females Agnetha & Frida are also timelessly beautiful - to match their angelic super-duo vocal pairing that sounds like it was literally made in heaven and exported to earth to give folks down here a glimpse of what beauty in its pure form sounds like.
ABBA's SOS has a riff that was used as a brass riff on Barry Gibb's production of the Kenny Rogers-Dolly Parton #1 1984 hit "Islands in the Stream." Drove me crazy for years until I identified it.
My favorite part of any ABBA song is the part you are raving over. I don't know what it's called musically, but it almost feels like the music drops into a beat. I get a similar sensation with the Beatles' No Reply and a few other songs I can't think of right now
With one of the most recognizable music catalogs ever created, their unique craft of songwriting truly transcends generations and has inspired music lovers for decades.
No need to feel guilty gents! This is one of the greatest pop songs ever written! John Lennon and Pete Townshend also said so! One of my favorite quotes…..”there are people who like ABBA, and there are people who can’t admit they like ABBA.”
Metallica covered "Dancing Queen" at their 2018 concert appearance in Stockholm, Sweden (ABBA's native country), & the crowd loved it. 'Nuff said! Thanks for your reaction.
@@MackAxyzz No. It was the first one. I very clearly remember as the late night Saturday TV shows were my domain. I don't know where you came up with fifth episode, but that is incorrect.
Hope you guys continue working through the ABBA hit list. Signature sound due to the blending of Agnetha’s and Frida’s voices but their songs are also so distinctive and memorable. Many groups only succeed in one or the other.
Björn Andersson on the piano never learned to read and write notes. Despite this he was able to come up with 20+ catchy melodies like this, a true melodic genius.
When Cory Taylor from Slipknot was asked about his guilty secrets with respect to music, he said “ I don’t have any, I listen to anything from Abba to Antharax, and everything else in between “
In an interview he named Take a chance on me as his Abba favest and even analyzed and praised their pop music creativity and their way of music lush production.
You guys need to check out Waterloo and the Name of the Game next. Check out the actual videos of thier performances, it's well worth it. They won the 1973 Eurovision contest in Europe for Waterloo.
@@addickkelders2265 you're right, thanks for that stat. I still remember being in the backseat with my parents and hearing this song on the radio that year. The same with Elton John and Chicago. These icons ruled the airwaves back then.
I saw an episode of 'Ripley's, Believe It Or Not' in the 80's where some farmer in the States, in his 50's, had literally a shrine to ABBA in his farm house or barn. Flannel shirt, overalls, ball cap, the whole farmer look to a t. Everybody secretly loves this band.
ABBA are the initials of their first names. Agnetha, Anna-Frid, Bjorn, and Benny. From Sweden. I'm sure you've heard of the Mamma Mia movies or the Broadway musical. It's based on all of their songs. One of the most successful musicals ever.
I’m a rock and roller from way back. Never even tried to discount ABBA. Guitar guy was an Ace Freely nut, so rock guy always had something to offer the song. Dancing Queen or Waterloo. According to tales told, they used to use five tracks on the girl’s vocals. Main one was left alone, the old school VSO knob was turned up or down slightly was used on the other 4, with 2 of those tracks slowed or sped up just a little more. I think they did the same on the piano for the phasey sound. Quite innovative.
"S.O.S." is on the short list of contenders for the greatest pop song of all time, IMHO. The pain of lost love is practically palpable in Agnetha's lachrymose vocals. The arrangement and production by Benny, Björn, and Stig is amazing. And the chorus never fails to induce goose bumps, even though I've heard it a thousand times. Whatever's beyond S tier, "S.O.S." belongs in it.
