Lopez Blogs

You know, when I think back there isn't a time I can remember when my life hasn't been saturated in Abba music. I came kicking and screaming out the womb (a far too large 10lbs 10oz - my mother still hasn't forgiven me, covered in placenta to the sound of Abba's Waterloo being the UK number one. Everyone always knows the singles that Abba have done - they are part of the collective consciousness and have popped up numerous times in movies and musicals. Indeed, everytime I hear Waterloo now I want to scream "Nicole's having an affair with Chook. Muriel saw them fucking in the laundry room on your wedding day. Stick your drink up your arse Tania. I would rather swallow razorblades than drink with you." (and quite often I do) So when I need a change of pace from the REALLY popular stuff, I seek out their album tracks and b-sides. And let's face it, even the most casually flung together Abba track is filled with genius that most modern pop acts can only dream of achieving. Here are my (current) favourite ten (ish)...

10= ~ Love Isn't Easy; This could have been one of about 15 songs. There's something so charming and innocent about the production and raw use of live instruments that appeals to me (plus that big drum boom in the chorus is almost comedic)... The lyrics of the chorus are almost a template for the theme of every Abba song ("Love isn't easy, but it sure is hard enough/sweet sweet, our love is bittersweet), the catchy hook and sliver of novelty value abounds and it's all too heavenly...
10= ~ Hasta Manana; This mid tempo ballad is so delicious, I could pop a dollop of cream on it and devour it whole. I believe this was a single in some countries and considered alongside Waterloo as the Eurovision entry for Sweden that year. I love the spoken intro to the second verse, the optimistic message of the chorus and the whole "lighters in the air" sway-along feel to the tune. Never fails to make me ever so happy but with a tinge of sadness (but that's an Abba song all over for you)...
09 ~ The King Has Lost His Crown: Every single track on Voulez Vous could easily have been a single and thus, this slightly dark, ever so gently malicious disco chugger is no exception. A tale of the scorned woman noting how her aging ex-lover isn't quite the draw he used to be, and of course she takes absolutely no delight in pointing this out. Lovely wall of sound effects & harmonies leading into each chorus, which have just the right hint of strings in them. Yet sung so sweetly you would never know it was a bit of slap in the knickers. Plus the whole tune plays like it's been ripped from the headlines (Disaster and Despair!)...
08 ~ I've Been Waiting For You (above): Abba show incredible restraint on this absolutely stunning ballad, refusing to let drama take over. It's just a stunning vocal performance, filled with emotion and yearning that powers forward a delightful melody. It's the perfect love letter song and I just can't help but hoping that these two crazy kids of the lyrical story have a happy ever after as they na na nah themselves off into the sunset...
07 ~ My Love My Life: Another entirely gorgeous ballad, with exquistely layered vocals and harmonies becoming as essential to the tune as the instruments played. Works as a terrifyingly sad juxtaposition to I've Been Waiting For You and a devastating insight into the end of a relationship. Quite quite beautiful yet marred by the painful narrative that makes the song flow. Tear...
06 ~ I Am The City: An 'unreleased' song until the More Abba Gold cd arrived on the scene - it shows that the direction wasn't really changing as they approached Opus Ten, but with a track as good as this, there was no need for dramatic reinvention. There's such cleverness in this song - the metaphor in the lyrics, the siren-esque synths in the chorus creating the chaotic city life sounds they need, ridiculously brillo lines like "and in the wind if you listen hard you'll hear me laugh..." What more do you need?! (Better than Put On Your White Sombrero anyway!)

05 ~ As Good As New: The beginning of this song is as beautifully classical as anything I've ever heard with a rather wonderful string section introducing the tune prior to a funky guitar riff taking over. The strings are back for the most enveloping chorus that is complete with a sing along refrain and some essential-in-pop hand clapping. There's a rather lush middle 8 breakdown too that leads into a rather pleasing key change. Damn, this group still gives me a solid happy right to this day!
04 ~ Lovers (Live A Little Longer): ooo I do adore a Frida lead vocal. She starts off with another funky disco number in a lower register before building up a harmonic crescendo with Agnetha into a slightly manic chorus - the message of which I adore. Ain't that nice. Often with Abba songs there is a simplicity within the genius, and here it's the repetitive guitar riff that works really well. Lo-hoving the corny dance moves in the video :P
03 ~ When I Kissed The Teacher: Sigh. This song soundtracked my secret lust for one of my teachers in high school. The acoustic start of the song mirrors the tentative confession before the inappropriate feelings take over and it swirls into something more assertive and dramatic. It's a theme that would return to pop, when Busted donned their school uniforms for That's What I Go To School For - a song that while pleasing enough, wasn't a patch on this earnest tour de force...
02 ~ If It Wasn't For The Nights: It's the mundane lyrics of this song that are later mirrored in the more morose Day Before You Came (my favourite Abba song ever, fact fans) that make this an instant fave ~ actually scratch that; it's not that i think the lyrics are mundane ~ they just describe the mundane activities of the day before they go a little bit bonkers because they have time to dwell on everything with the insomnia. All this is set to a joyous, uplifting, lilting piano driven pop melody that just soars. Absolutely positively should have been a massive massive single...
01 ~ Kisses of Fire (above): The lovely ballad beginning. The sentiment of the lyrics filled with a fiery passion. The build up to the sudden disco ball drop of the first chorus. It's several songs in one and a format that would be built upon by xenomania with Girls Aloud Biology. That stunning long note held at the end. It's just so darn kitschy yet so darn wonderful. I can listen to this hundreds of times (and I have) and never ever tire of it's utter magnificence...

So, did I miss any out?!