Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

jacko10 - 13.08.2007, 22:19
Trying to Conform? During the Eighties
Hi All

Long time No speak, But still pop in to read, Hope everyone is well!

I have been listening to Agnetha today (whats new you say? hehe)
Wonderful artiste!

And I was thinking to myself that the early calloborations in the eighties (after Abba) Found Agnetha taking some risks with songs. Personally I think Agnetha is more at home singing love songs and I also believe My Colouring Book proves this. along with the songs like Wrap your Arms around Me, Man, I wish tonight could Last forever, and now having listened to the Pre Abba years (De Forsta Aren) there a lot of Love songs on those discs.

And I was Wondering? was Agnetha slightly Pressurised into trying tracks like Click track, We Should be together and Take good Care of your Children and the Heavier rockish tracks from I stand alone. As I was thinking of the Electronic Music of the Eighties. and thinking was there Pressure to try the same type of music?

Even though Agnetha can do no wrong singing in my eyes, I do think some tracks were not suited to her voice or Personality.
Am I alone thinking this? I love her singing the Love songs and she seems far more relaxed. I also understand the need to try and find yourself After a split up from such a Massive Group as ABBA

I am so pleased Agnetha brought out My Colouring Book And to me she found herself in her Love songs

What do you think?
Best wishes Everyone
Jack

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Anonymous - 13.08.2007, 22:43

I surely think that both Agnetha and Frida were under pressure from Stig to record songs written by Tomas Ledin, which turned out to be the worst tracks on their albums. Tomas was a Polar recording artist and the husband of Stig's daughter. That's why he also got a solo spot on ABBA's 1979 tour.

Well, this is all pure speculation of course, but I have always felt that both Agnetha and Frida were quite willing to record the songs they did record for their 80s albums. Their judgement may not always have been so good in hindsight, but they probably felt right about these songs at the time.

Agnetha is great at singing ballads, but she is also great on songs like Lay All Your Love On Me, As Good As New, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Can't Shake Loose, The Heat Is On, etc.

I totally agree with you that Agnetha's best solo albums are My Colouring Book...and Elva kvinnor i ett hus and När en vacker tanke blir en sång.

Einar

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

johnny59 - 13.08.2007, 23:17

Hi Jack, great to have you back!

I think I know what you mean. I don't believe that Agnetha ever let herself be "forced" into anything, but concerning Chapman, for example, the producer of the "Wrap your arms around me" album, he seemed to have a big ego as well. So surely yes, I think it was the producer's influences who wanted to deliver something that was somehow diffrent from the ABBA sounds.

Concerning Click-track, I really hated the thing until somewhere down the line I read a post from our Marry-Me-Agnetha-Daniel discussing and explaining the song and it kinda began to grow in me. It's still not among my favourites but I have stopped skipping it. I think this still was in the old site's times.

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

skm - 14.08.2007, 04:11

I doubt if she was "forced" to record any particular song. No doubt some songs may not be the best vehicle for her, on hindsight. I believe that Agnetha loved to experiment and try new things in the studio. Thankfully she didn't try to stray too far from her comfort zone to the extent of trying something punkish or new wave, which would be so out of character for her. I believe she and her co-producers tried to find a nice balance of slow and up-tempo songs for each cd. Little did they know that her fans favourite album would later turn out to be a cd of old romantic covers.

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

DancingQueen - 14.08.2007, 11:19

You made a good point there. I wondered about this all myself too once, but again I'm not so sure. The rocky-style was never really her cup of tea, we can be pretty sure about that. But these long-live-hapiness songs as you described them were already made years after years by ABBA, exept for The Visitors' album and parts of Super Trouper of course. Both A/A wanted to do something different - try new styles besides the soft ABBA tunes, and maybe it turned out not to fit her best maybe.

I think it's partly because of the personal circumstances you know, and marketing ones. Don't forget that I Stand Alone (which is still the most outstanding solo album for me) was made during the 80's and Agnetha was in the middle of this music style. Her albums simply would not have sold as much as they did without that rocky-style we mentioned. It might be true she wanted to try something else, but there can be no doubt another main reason for recording the three albums was making money of the lady's name. She already was a big star and since ABBA created the whole 70's image, it would have been pretty weird to record something totally different from the main stream in the 80's wouldn't it?

Whatever her reasons might have been: it worked out. I like Eyes Of A Woman, I prefer Wrap Your Arms and I simply love I Stand Alone.

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

kitty-cat - 14.08.2007, 14:47

I do feel that both Agnetha and Frida were influenced by Mike Chapman and Phill collins, and also i felt that Stig was a little bit protective and wanted someone from the polar camp to be involved with their solo work. I also agree that Tomas ledin's contributions were the weakest on both Agnetha and Frida's albums. As for MCB well i adore it, it is an amazing album, and i especially love When You Walk In The room, and If I thoughtYou'd Ever Change Your mind. She seemed a lot happier recording the album as all the choices of songs were personal to her. I also believe that she seemed happier with Peter Cetera and Bruce Geisch.

PS: Hi, Jack its nice to have a topic off you again :D

Gill xx

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

DancingQueen - 14.08.2007, 18:08

Carribean wrote: I think it was more his business sense to have Agnetha and Frida record songs he already owned the rights to.

Hit record songs, yes. That '20 %' Lemmon talked about might be influence from the Polar label which did not wanted them simply to record anything they wanted: it needed to be recorded with the kind of a hitfactor, as easy as that. I don't think both solocareers and albums were 'just for fun' but for material reasons as well, because of the label which was involved too.

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Hades - 15.08.2007, 09:58

Agnetha herself talks about her eighties solo-albums in her book:
'Today, when I hear my last three LPs after ABBA I'm no longer pleased by them. It's a fact that when you're in the middle of working on a new record you think it's fantastically good. Perhaps it's instinctive to feel like that so that you manage to finish it. You give it your all and believe that the recordings are better than they are. When I listen to them now I sometimes wonder why on earth we did certain songs. A lot of them don't feel nearly as good as they did then. It's probably the first LP, 'Wrap your arms around me', that I feel best about and from that I like 'The heat is on' most of all. It felt powerful from the beginning.'
Unfortunately, Agnetha doesn't mention which are those 'certain songs'. That would be very interesting.
Personally, I don't think Agnetha or Frida made compromises when they were working on their records. They probably chose most of the material together with their producers. But also several songs were their own choices. I remember reading somewhere that Phil Collins wasn't thrilled about 'Threnody' but Frida wanted it on the album because she liked the poems by Dorothy Parker. Also, she picked 'I know there's something going on', as she is saying on her DVD. I don't think Agnetha or Frida would have taken the Tomas Ledin songs, if they hadn't liked them. I don't think Stig was very involved in the creative side. When he listened to the SGO album when it was finished, he reportedly said: 'there are no singles'. If he had been involved he would have known that before.
On the other hand, it is clear that Stig tried several times to push Tomas Ledin's international career with the help of ABBA (a solo song on their 1979 tour, the duet-single with Agnetha, a song written by him on their first solo albums).

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Anonymous - 15.08.2007, 13:46

Hi! Jack, good to see you again.

I also love Agnetha's voice, could listen to it for hours on end. As for being Pressurised, no I don't think she was. Influenced, is more likely.

I can understand why she feels 'Wrap Your Arms Around Me' was her best album. As the collection of songs are better on this album. That's not to say the other two albums were rubbish, they weren't be a long chalk.
I Won't Let You Go, We Move As One, I Stand Alone and of course my favourite The Last Time are just a few examples.

I also agree with you when you say that her voice fits better on Love songs but as Einar said, she packs a punch with songs like Lay All Your Love On Me, As Good As New , Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and one of my favourite solo tracks Stand By My Side. This little lady can deliver, boy can she deliver.

As for my coloring book, She has out shined her previous English albums by a long way. What else can I say about this album but she has more then delivered with these recordings.

And all of us in our line of work have done things which later in life we think we could have done better. I'll be the first to hold my hand up to say that! We also in hind sight realise that we were influenced
by those around us without realising it till later.


All I can say is if it was pressure, influence or her own choice. Thanks Agnetha you've done a great job in Keeping a lot of people happy!!

(Ps that last statement goes for Frida and The Boys to!)

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Maxi-saxi - 16.08.2007, 06:46

jacko10 wrote: Nantes wrote: This little lady can deliver, boy can she deliver.



Well said that man!

Well said guys.


I find Agnetha's points about her work interesting I wonder What MCB would have been like It Mick Tretow had of been working On It.
Would it have been a little different.

As we all know he was taken ill I believe during the early stages of the Recording. I often wonder if his understanding Of Agnetha's qualities as a singer and because he knows her so well if the Album would have turned out any differently.

I just love MCB

Maxi-saxi

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Maxi-saxi - 17.08.2007, 05:42

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Interesting


Maxi-saxi

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

drimnagh - 05.01.2009, 18:10

I missed this thread first time around so I'll give my tuppence worth.

I'm sure Agnetha felt some 'pressure' to move away from her comfort zone during the eighties but only in so much as she would have wanted to assert her individuality and not be seen as simply one quarter of ABBA striking out. But I don't buy into this whole 'Agnetha should stick to ballads' thing- she's so much more than that, even if she doesn't think so herself! Yes, she can twang on the heartstrings like no other but she can also give a bit of attitude and belt it out when she wants to.

If anything I feel she should've taken MORE 'risks' and pushed herself. Let's face it, the 80's weren't particularly kind to anyone (that 80's sound makes me cringe-it's on everything- the horror that is the 'power ballad') but I think she came out of it relatively unscathed.

IMO, Agnetha can do ballads AND a bit of 'large'.

I like both voices equally.

If she felt any pressure, it most likely came from herself; to do her best.

I'm certain she's a perfectionist. Why else would it take her so long to finish MCB?

Well worth it, I might add!

J

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Maxi-saxi - 06.01.2009, 03:58

Good point there Ron You would have thought The Last Time would have been included on her last compilation CD, I reckon one of those duets could have been taken off instead.

Maxi-saxi

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

johnny59 - 07.01.2009, 10:02

Carribean wrote:
Agnetha will be cold and bored Erwin! :lol: :wink:

Ron. :roll: Don't force him to tell us what he has in mind to make her warm and unbored.

:lol:

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Carribean - 07.01.2009, 21:46

You guys crack me up! Agnetha will love it...

:wink:

Re: Trying to Conform? During the Eighties

Carribean - 07.01.2009, 21:59

And we will leave it there Erwin!

:wink: