Honestly, I didn't expect it would move me so much.
A friend was bugging me for days about upcoming "something" from Abba and nobody knew what it is for sure but we expected release of the few songs, first new material in 40 years since they quietly disbanded. (There was never a big official announcement that group will stop, basically as two couples divorced, they find it distasteful to continue working together and they simply stopped.) And to be honest, I dreaded the disappointment. The more my friend was getting hysterical, the more I wanted to tell him "Stop it! What if they embarrass themselves? What can they possibly do in pop music now as 70+ years old? What if the new music is not close to iconic heights achieved decades ago?" So I wasn't really looking forward, specially now when we have social media and tons of hatred floating around in cyberspace. I thought maybe it would have been better to leave it as it was, safe in the memories and not attempt to compete with the new pop stars.
Than the day arrived - 2.September - only 24 hours after my birthday which was miserable - and I actually got really excited. Set my alarm on mobile phone not to forget to tune in youtube live announcement because I was at work, hoping to dear God that guests would not arrive in hotel exactly at that time. And trough all those annoying TV presenters and crying audience, I could not hide my joy when both Björn and Benny came for an interview and announced that not only they prepared some kind of hologram/avatar Abba show (to be played in London, venue specifically built for this) but they actually recorded a whole album of new songs, to be released later in the year. Yes, all four of them went together in the studio and worked for first time in 40 years as a band again. And both guys were serious about the fact that they would not do anything if they were not 100% standing behind the music and are proud and satisfied with the results. I knew about planned hologram tour and had a feeling that guys were excited about the possibility of virtual immortality of the band, but never imagined that they would actually want to make music together. And they did.
So far they presented two new songs - majestic, moody Nordic ballad "I Still Have Faith in You" and catchy, classic Abba-pop "Don't Shut Me Down". I must say that I was moved to tears. Seriously and genuinely. Listened them over and over, crying my eyes out from sheer joy. Because contrary to my fears, they were still on top of their game and the magic is still there. All those gorgeous harmonies, delicate little musical touches, melancholy and melodrama, everything is surprisingly intact. And when ladies joined the voices together, my heart wanted to burst. I even felt a little embarrassed that I ever doubted them. Musically they didn't broke any new ground - they are exactly where we left them 40 years ago and this is a good thing, because they separated at the peak of their powers, just as their music turned darker and serious - now they are older, mature and everything is more reflective. In my mind Abba bloomed as a flower - initially bursting with contagious joy, than blossoming into bittersweet colours and later growing darker as both couples divorced (at this point they were not fun anymore and it reflected in their music). I never expected that they will even want to work together but here they are, 40 years after and the magic is still here. All four of them were sporadically working in music trough the years (guys more so as composers, ladies kind of half-heartedly because it was impossible to escape Abba's shadow and comparisons) but honestly I never expected they would do this again.
Scanning the media this morning, I see return of critics again - same people who never accepted Abba in the first place, still bowing to Led Zeppelin and somehow finding faults in everything that could be loved by mainstream. And I thought, how interesting, these same people are not listening music for itself but for the opinion of others, because they need to appear hip and cool. Luckily I was never concerned with this and I listen music for the joy and beauty of it. In fact, I couldn't give a fig for the opinions of others. I saw Abba's popularity going up and down and up again, so they have definitely survived the test of time much more than countless other bands. This morning the sun finally came out after what appears to be infinite rainy month and honestly I felt so happy with new Abba songs playing constantly - the world just feels as so much better place with them around.
No comments:
Post a Comment