ABBA

Week 34: Steps- Platinum Collection

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

Blimey, where to start with this? I am not an enormous admirer of Steps, but needs must. I will try and be as professional as I can. I must first confess that some of their songs are a guilty pleasure for me, and their wedding reception-friendly music is…well, uplifting. A young lad I know slaughtered me for even daring to review this. However, it was necessary for you, my wonderful readers and followers.

So…Steps have been going since the mid-90s and first burst onto the scene with their line dance smash ‘5,6,7,8’. Since then, they have had a string of hits, and among them were some reimagined covers. Quite funny when you consider many thought their first single was going to consign them to the one-hit wonder category. It is also worth noting that the band members contemplated joining due to that possibility. Don’t forget, they split up after their third album, and we saw a documentary on Claire Richards’s struggles coming to terms with that, but she did form a duo with her fellow band member Ian “H” Watkins. The band returned in 2011, complete with a four-part documentary on Sky Living giving an insight into the reunion. The documentary would get a second series in 2012 co-titled ‘Steps: On the Road Again’, and after that, they announced they would release their fourth studio album, “Light up the World”, with a six-date Christmas tour to follow upon its release.

What’s funny about this album is you would think it is another greatest hits compilation (They have done an eye-watering six!), but no. There are plenty of new tracks (Remixes included), which I discovered upon listening (I skipped most of the old ones because I have heard them before, and some of them on countless occasions. Be it at the supermarket, weddings or parties.) However, the band would just be dismissed as a nostalgia act until 2016, when they would again be taken as the serious act they were during the mid-90s to early 2000s.

I happen to listen to the deluxe edition, which has an astounding 43 tracks, complete with solo releases by the members and remixes. You have songs with uplifting production and melancholic lyrics for balance over Nile Rodgers and Chic-inspired melodies. Now, you have no fucking idea how hard this is to break down in a review because I could still be writing this this time next year. You will have to listen to the deluxe edition and decide what you enjoy and don’t.

So, you probably wonder if I have any personal favourites, and the answer is yes. Mainly the remixes of ‘Stomp’ and ‘the Runner’. The former has a slight variation on their Nile Rodgers and Chic-Esque original, which samples ‘Everybody Dance’. ABBA drives the latter, and who doesn’t mind a bit of ABBA? My third choice would have to be ‘the Slightest Touch’. Again, it has that classic Steps hallmark to it with its uplifting instrumentation over melancholic lyrics—something mastered by the likes of the Smiths and Oasis when they were around. “Platinum Collection” is a journey from then until now, and you can see how they have evolved and managed to maintain their status. Not bad for potential one-hit wonders.

Song recommendations: ‘Stomp(Steps 25)’, ‘the Runner’, ‘the Slightest Touch’

8/10

Week 45: ABBA- Voyage

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

Well, everyone knows who ABBA is without even knowing who they are. Now, I am not a fan, but there is no denying that their music is funky and uplifting. At some point, whether at a party, school disco or wedding reception, the DJ has always played at least one of their iconic songs. The band split up 40 years ago, but through the request of Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus put their differences aside and reformed the quartet for a tour and new album in the here-and-now. 

The record is full of their signature sound, but somehow, they have managed to put a modern spin on it. That is what made “Voyage” enjoyable for me. I expected to hear the same old ABBA but was surprised by how modern yet retro the sound was. It is hard to describe precisely what I mean by this in words. You will have to listen to understand where I am coming from with that statement. There are even two songs based around Christmas, and my particular favourite off the album ‘Little Things’. It is a typical Christmas song with a children’s choir and all the other trimmings of a familiar, uplifting Christmas song. It will compete for the top spot for Christmas because this and the Lathums song ‘Krampus’ deserve to be at the acme. When was the last time an actual Christmas song was at number one for Christmas? I can only think of the Darkness’ ‘Don’t Let the Bells End’ in 2004. 

ABBA’s return has not been a damp squib as you find all four singers singing sublime harmonies with solid vocals. Whatever trials and tribulations they went through in the past have been put behind them as they appear as one on the record. Some bands struggle to see past conflicts, which can appear evident on the recordings of an album or even during live performances. Surprisingly, although the record does sound more modern yet retro with the melodies, the quartet has yet to succumb to the concept of using modern pop chart methods like including a rapper, auto-tune and those God-awful beats. For a start, ABBA has held back a track since 1979’s “Voulez-Vous” sessions. The track in question is ‘Just a Notion’; honestly, it was the only track I heard that seemed like ABBA of old. 

You could say that the modern yet retro sound is down to their use of modern technology. Benny and Björn have relished the opportunity of noodling with the technology that wasn’t available to them in the year of their split (Obviously.). And the retro part? Most of their songs utilise the typical minor to major to minor key. I enjoyed their implementation of strings on ‘Ode to Freedom’, the final track of the album. It is utterly orchestral and a terrific and glorious way to sign off.

There is room for Celtic pop and a ballad about the environment with ‘When You Danced with Me’ and ‘Bumble Bee’, respectively. ABBA foretell about their return on ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’, one of their teaser singles released in September. The other is ‘I Can be That Woman’, a story about rekindling a love lost through alcoholism. The protagonist, portrayed by Anni-Frid, has overcome alcoholism and wants another chance. However, an argument occurs in front of a dog, and she is visibly frightened by the heated exchange. Indeed, Anni-Frid mentions in the lyrics that the female dog jerks every time the male swears at his former lover. Although the song sounds great, the lyrics are far more sinister. Now, you might need to pick it up or pay more attention when listening to the track because the instrumentation conceals the subject’s realism. Still, when you check out the lyrics, you will realise just how sinister the subject is. In a way, it is like the Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’.

Another favourite of mine was ‘Keep an Eye on Dan’ (If you know why, you already know.). Another quite sinister track where a child called Dan (Again, obviously.) is being dropped off by his mother to spend time with his father as agreed during a custody battle in court. The mother appears anxious to let her son spend time with his father. 

Indeed, as she drops him off, she drives around the bend, punching the steering wheel as her heart aches. It might not be evident during the vocal delivery, but the lyrics depict a mother who is angry, frightened and full of anxiety at the thought of leaving her son in the hands of her former husband/lover. ABBA has appeared as the master of disguising melancholy within uplifting melodies on “Voyage”. The graphic shows should be something else with the broad sounds and subjects offered.

Song recommendations: ‘Little Things’, ‘Keep an Eye on Dan’, ‘I Can be That Woman.’