Some Great Abba Sounds. (Super Trouper - ABBA)

Member Name: daseaford

Product:	Super Trouper - ABBA
Date:	07/05/01 (116 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great background music.

Disadvantages: Tracks very similar.

There is a unique sound to Abba music that no other group seems to have copied.

I was once told that this sound was achieved during recording sessions by an echo of their voices being added to the soundtrack a split second later. I don’t know if that is true but it certainly is a different sound. (Perhaps anybody who knows if this story is true could leave a comment for me.)

A lot of Abba music is very similar and if you just left this album playing as background music then a lot of the time you would not even notice the change of tracks, which I suppose for background music is not a bad thing. I suppose one reason for this is that every track was written by the group themselves.

I do enjoy this album, but after having it for over 20 years I must admit I do not play it as much as I used to. But after it resurfacing today I must admit I am beginning to drive the family mad as I keep playing it over and over again.

There are ten tracks on the album and these are:

Super Trouper.
This is the title track of the album and certainly is classic Abba music. A very jolly little song with a very catchy chorus, that very soon you find yourself joining in with. I wonder how many times this song has been sung at Kareokee evenings?

The Winner Takes It All.
This is a slower track with piano accompaniment that is strongly sung and was one of Abba’s greatest songs.

On And On And On.
There is a bit of a rock and roll feel to this track, well as close as Abba get to rock and roll anyway. This is a good dance track and was popular in disco’s at that time.

Andante Andante.
This is the gentle sound of Abba, softly sung. The story of young love and the gentle loving of young lovers.

Me And I.
This faster track has much more strength in the instruments, rather than just the singing voices of the girls, that tend to dominate most of the tracks. This slightly different sound
is quite good.

Happy New Year.
I wonder when this track was written for? I think it was a bit too corny for real New Year celebrations and never caught on. It is a bit slow for my liking, I prefer music for New Year to be lively and fun.

Our Last Summer.
This is a story of a Summer in Paris. This is the longest track on the album and has a good feel to it and easily lets you drift off to the delights of Paris in your mind.

The Piper.
This track sounds quite different to all of the other tracks on the album and is my favourite track. There is a real feel of medieval England in the style of this track. The sound of the flute is quite addictive and the singing is very powerful and strong. To me this track is timeless and sounds as good now as it ever did. When you listen to this track you can imagine a scene inside a castle of the Middle Ages and all of the local people being drawn to the piper playing.

Lay All Your Love On Me.
This track is back to the traditional style of Abba music. A fast track with strong harmonies from the girls.

The Way Old Friends Do.
The shortest track finishes off the album, which is a bit different as it was recorded live at a concert in the Wembley Arena in November 1979. As this was performed with a full orchestra there is a very powerful production feel to this song. It is a traditional folk music finale to a concert, which is slow and meaningful. The words are quite touching and if you listen carefully to them you can feel quite emotional.

There is a neat trick on the end of the vinyl copy of this album as the cheering from the crowd continues onto the groove in the centre of the record and so the cheering is endless.

On the cover of my vinyl LP is a competition to win a Saab car. Unfortunately I did not win the competition, but obviously these two great exports from Sweden were happy to be associated together.

I know this album does not have all
of the greatest Abba records on it, but in my opinion it was their greatest album and one I would certainly replace if it got lost or damaged.

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