Exactly .. the arrange studio orchestra ... Not really many pop bands or even rock bands went so crazy about the full scale orchestra in the background...
Its mostly called soccer in America and 1970's uk lol... The clue is in the action.... foot- ball... lol.... Funny how Rugby in America was converted to... American football... when the ball is mostly carried.. lol... Football is the sport of the world.... except America.. as you say.
@@xoxxobob61 wow but had ABBA toured the USA more often they wouldve been so big i dont think eagles the beatles or queen wouldve been that big. They wouldve started a frenzy not even the beatles started
Abba has a place in the music hall of fame. Not because they are Swedish, not because they were two married couples who split, but because they knew good music and delivered on that. Yes they can be kitchy. But they can sing, they can supply the song, and they are good performers.
Agnetha, the singer, was actually telling the truth. Her huband (guitarist) left her. It must have been so heart-breaking for her singing this song. Brave.
Prolly my fav ABBA-song. Agnethas voice is in my opinion one of the best ever used by one of the best singers ever! The range! The power! The control! OMG! Well, nowadays there are all kinds of effects to improve/change how a singer/voice sounds. Agnetha is amazing! Like an angel.
The thing about ABBA is that they didn't cover songs by other artists. They wrote their own songs. Benny and Bjorn wrote most of them (Agnetha, the blond, wrote one of their songs in Swedish, which Bjorn then rewrote in English. She wrote several songs for her Swedish solo albums). The Winner Takes It All was primarily written by Bjorn about his divorce from Agentha. ABBA also recorded Spanish language versions of some of their songs. Anni-Frid (Frida) and Agentha could speak English by this time, as they were interviewed on TV speaking it, although it's true that Agnetha wasn't as comfortable with it as the other three were, and are.
ABBA was huge in Australia, which only goes to show Aussies have great taste in music Those who didn’t admit to liking them, listened in private, got caught knowing the lyrics. Their songs were very cleverly crafted, always got ones fingers and toes tapping. So many good songs “Thank you for the music “ is still my guilty pleasure.
Released in 1980 and went straight to No1 in The UK, also No8 in The USA. One of their finest songs. Nobody can sing this like Agnetha , she own's it. A Classic PS, The song isn't about her "Apologising" It's about a woman who fell in love, played by the rules but sadly got cheated on which destroyed her self confidence, she has somehow met up with him again and all the sad memories come back, she's reflecting on it all. Very real to many people.
As far as I know, Benny did the melody, Björn did the lyrics and Agneta performed it. Bottom line: This is a song about love lost, as genuine as you will ever see or hear. The only discrepancy is the fact that in a divorce there rarely are "winners" and the children born in that relationship are ALWAYS the losers.
Exactly, even back when they grew up English was a must to learn in Swedish schools, they knew English. Besides if they didn't speak any English, how could they have written so many songs in English? Dictionaries existed, sure, but they'd have been better off writing only Swedish if they had to use dictionaries to translate every word. And the lyrics would take ages to write and make actually sound good while still telling the same story.
And besides, we don't dub television shows or movies. We subtitle everything - even back then. Hearing English all the time has been the norm for ages. 😉
Yes but most Swedish people don’t use it on a daily basis and pronunciation would be far from perfect. Remember they grew up in a time when maybe English wasn’t taught at importantly, even if they knew English before it was a struggle for them to pronounce things and their time in fame was extremely difficult.
This is the Song of her Devorce, He wrote it and if she read the lyrics in the studio , she began to cry, tears fallin from her eyes and then she sung it so perfect.
Fun Fact: When ABBA started neither Anni-frid or Agnetha spoke English and they performed their early English songs phonetically. I remember their first American TV appearance (on the Mike Douglas Show) and it was clear the ladies could not speak English. Both of them learned to speak English fairly quickly and became functionally fluent, Anni-frid still is. Apparently Agnetha doesn’t feel comfortable with her level of English anymore and she doesn’t speak it in public.
ABBA ...Eurovision Winners ,still got the album with them in the helicopter.Reminds me of my brothers wife singing ABBA in the garden in the last weeks before passing away with breast cancer.
Im Danish and this song was great in my youth, so it means a lot to me. Strangely enough, the same emotions come back as I felt when ABBA was a very large part of my life then. I do best if these memories are treated with respect !! they are definitive!
This Band sold worldwide something between 400 and 500.000.000 ( place 6 in the all time record list) Records! Thats all you can say about them. They had a lot of great hits. formed in 1972 and parted in 82....so it was only 10 years....but i heard they still sell up to 3 million CDs every year. Thanks for this reaction.I still love this Band.
This song was written way before they divorced. She speaks different languages. She’s from Sweden. She was famous before ABBA. She’s got a great voice. She’s still alive. Mamma Mia the Movies is about all these songs. She can read and write music notes. She’s been through terrible tragedies. Her mother committed suicide I think. So heartbreaking. But they are doing a album right now I THINK. JUST STUDIO. Great Reaction.
This is probably my favourite ABBA song. Yet a sad song. Her voice is beautiful. She has recently released an album after years in ‘retirement’ and I saw her interviewed about how much emotion she drew upon to sing this sad song about her own divorce.
At one stage, Abba were making more for Swedish exports than Volvo. Global superstars. How they wrote this song when the band was falling apart (much like Fleetwood Mac and 'Go Your Own Way') is pretty amazing..
I can think of many that were more talented, even though I love Abba. Benny and Bjorn were great at writing and producing pop songs and produced some real pop classics. However, when it comes to musical talent, musicianship, innovateness and influence, there are numerous bands that outclass them. The same is even true, albeit to a lesser extent, when it comes to songwriting. If you believe that Abba were more talented than groups such as, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen etc etc, then you are deluding yourself.
Codex7777 That’s why I said “pop”, or at least pop as I understand it. Although I understand that line is not clearly stablished. Let me explain how I figured it out: 1. If a group uses electric guitars, bass and drums, and their music is based of riffs, and has some influence from blues, that group is a a rock band: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, etc. 2. To me “pop” as we currently know is more based on keyboards, piano, synth, typical the guitar used is acoustic guitar, and a large part of the actual sound comes from production and mixing, at the studio room. Examples: ABBA, Michael Jackson, Eurythmics, Bjork, Billie Joel.
@Carlos Arias - I take your point re' pop, I was replying to the OP, thus I didn't address it to anyone, as is the convention. Though there are 2 definitions of pop music. One is general and refers to all popular music. The other refers to a genre, whose only definition appears to be that it's not certain other genres... but even that doesn't always stand up. It's probably the vaguest musical genre of the lot, tbh. For instance al the bands I listed used piano and keybords extensively. Two of them also used synths, as have many non 'pop' bands. Abba themselves used electric guitar, drums and bass guitar extensively. The Beatles covered many genres, including both rock and, what is now referred to as, 'pop'. Back then anything in the charts was 'pop music' and many still use that general term. All the acts I listed also had more success in the pop charts than Abba too. Re' the genre definition, I've always wondered why rock and classical are not allowed to be called 'pop' when virtually every other genre is, to some extent at least. Mind you, both the Beatles and Queen were both pop as much as rock. The Beatles in particular. I've even heard/seen people refusing to acknowledge the Beatles as rock at all. Though, until you, I hadn't heard/seen anyone claim that they weren't a pop band. Probably because they, very obviously, were. You also mention production as a defining characteristic of pop bands. Again, all the bands I listed were renowned for their production and even invented many of the techniques used today. All were production innovators. More so than any 'pop' act, tbh. As for genres, as well as pop, re' The Beatles and Queen, all incorporated styles from many genres, including blues, folk, classical, jazz, music hall/vaudeville etc. I could go on but you get the point... For me, I think the only really defining characteristic of pop, that stands up, is that pop artists tend to be single orientated, whilst non pop bands tend to be album orientated. Another could be that pop artists, in general, are less likely to write their own music, or play musical instruments. Putting all that aside, by ANY definition the Beatles are the greatest and most succesful pop band of all-time, even if they did create some rock songs too. In terms of sales Abba re the 10th biggest group of all-time. However, as all the others, bar The Beatles, are predominantly rock bands, it COULD be argued that they're the SECOND greatest pop group in history... but definitely not the first. If we're using the general definition, or talking about anything other than sales, then , much as I love them, Abba don't even come close to the top spot.
I did as you asked and you're doing a great job my friend. ABBA is a favorite of mine which is how I found your page. I will be watching your past posts and looking forward to your future reactions.
When punkrock came around in the mid to late seventies, the music journalists were going "GREAT, this will finally rid us of ABBA!" but much to their surprise, the opposite happened. The Punkrock community, instead of rejecting ABBA, embraced them, The Sex Pistols' "Pretty vacant" aped ABBA's "Mamma Mia", The Clash' "Spanish Bombs" went for an ABBA song structure and Elvis Costello's "Oliver's Army" had Bennie Anderson type of Piano riffs. So what was the connection? Well Punkrock was all about singing it like you lived it, singing about being angry about the government, being unemployed, being angry with your girlfriend. And what were ABBA doing? THE SAME, songs about boring every day life (The day before you came), songs about missing out seeing your children grow up (Slipping through my fingers), songs about divorce (The winner takes it all, Knowing me knowing you, one of us) and it all was sung as they lived it, look at Agnetha's face in this music video, that's a look that's impossible to fake. And the punkrockers respected that, lyric-wise ABBA was just as angry and frustrated as any punk rock song was.
BACKSTORY: The 2 guys and the 2 girls in ABBA were married to each other, but both couples eventually got divorced. However the band kept on working together. The guy without the beard, Bjorn ....was married to the blonde singer. After they split, he wrote this song for her to sing. Apparently when she first went through the lyrics in the studio... she broke down in tears. Great singer.... great vocals....especially considering the circumstances.
They did some pretty bad stuff-I have the entire albums collection & they did a lot of substandard filler. But singles wise you cannot really go wrong-them & the record company were very smart about what was released.
Both had amazing voices. I don`t think Agnetha could have done the Abba -sound alone: the magic happened when the two fantastic voices sung in harmony. The sound of Abba.
They're actually ranked the 10th biggest selling group. Well behind the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen and The Rolling Stones. The actual official figure, for Abba, is around 150m, with only about 60m of that figue being certified sales. Their record company is the only one claiming figures above that. No one in the music industry believes their figures. 500m would put them on a par with The Beatles and Elvis Presley! They only released 8 studio albums. The biggest selling of these was Arrival, which sold about 9m copies worldwide. Abba Gold, their greatest hits album, was their only album to sell more, with worldwide sales of about 28 million. It's plain to see that even 150m is probably stretching it.
SHE'S the WINNER! I've been listening to this song for DECADES and never noticed that very last verse of the song. SHE won, NOT him, like I always thought.... Thanks for the Reaction, MRM.
This song has always brought me to tears! And after watching a doc, on the band. And hearing the story has really touched my heart. And YES!!! This song came out in 1980!!
My wife and I love Abba. We also were born and live in the city that made them famous in 1974, when they won the Eurovision Song Contest at The Dome in Brighton U.K.. This is probably my all time favourite track that they recorded
The ABBA music were released around mid seventies. I only begam listening to their music in the "Mama Mia" movie in 2008 and now the current movie" Mama Mia" Here we go again
They are Swedish, yes, but I dont know who told you they didnt speak any English: their English is and was close to perfect, like is not unusual from Scandinavians.
Early in ABBA's career, only the guys in the group knew English; the two ladies had to sing it phonetically. But they did learn it quickly when they became international stars.
@@vwestlife We study english in school. Also we have subtitles so we listen to english everyday. Many jobs and at university you get text in english. Many as i the music business, collaborate with other countries.
There is a difference between learning English in school and being able to speak it fluently. They all certainly knew at least some English from the beginning, but if you watch ABBA's early interviews, the guys do most of the talking and especially Agnetha (the blonde one) doesn't say that much and doesn't seem that comfortable talking in English. Also the early ABBA songs had very simple, repetitive lyrics (like "Ring Ring", "Honey, Honey") because it was easier for them to write and sing until their English got better.
@@vwestlife You're right about it being different being a native speaker and learning later. But you totally skipped what I wrote about all the other areas where we learn english. You also state to be an expert on Abba even if you're not swedish. Did you even live during they hay day. You state the women didn't know english and that Agneta was especially bad it- You totally ignore that the man were writing the music and the women only sang it. You totally ignore that someone can be apprehensive when talking in public or to strangers. Agneta became an reclusive after her carrier, she's very shy and sensitive. You totally ignore that light pop songs have simpe lyrics. Claiming that light english pop songs are profoundly deeply poetic is just arrogant. When they made it big Björn and Benny they make the music they really wanted to do. They made for example an musical "Kristina från Duvemåla" based on "The Emigrants" by Wilhelm Moberg. ruclips.net/video/a2idVI73ais/видео.html
Enjoying some of your videos after just finding your channel. Love ABBA and everything other posters have said is mostly true. Bjorn (her husband guitarist, the one without the beard) wrote this song about their recent divorce. All that pain you see and hear was very real. Agnetha (the singer) was probably the least proficient in English but they all spoke English very well. Anyway, thanks for your videos!
Bjorn did grow a beard a year after The Winner Takes It All was released & it was in the video for One Of Us was where he was first shown with a beard.
Woah, Bjorn and Benny spoke fluent English when they formed the group. They were the ones that wrote the lyrics. Frida could speak some English at the time. It was Agnetha who had little English speaking abilities at the start, and had to learn it.
Incredible nobody to this day can sing like those two women. It takes a cast of people for example Mama Mia even to come close to their level. Don't think we will ever hear this type voice purity ever again.
I believe this song was a tale of them meaning Abba closing I'm going their separate ways. They were two couples and when the couple's divorce, they ended up swapping partners. When they were going to break up they did this song The Winner Takes It All
Sorry. I didn’t wait. I just liked and subscribed lol. I knew you were gonna be kewl when you first started speaking lol so you have a new Aussie subscriber 🙏🏼👍🏼🇦🇺
@Modern Renaissance Man thank you for reacting to ABBA Would Like you to react to Waterloo next. Then the list next is The Name Of The Game Fernando Knowing Me Knowing You SOS Does Your Mother Know and last One Of Us
This was their last popular album - their lyric content was too mature for the new teen crowd displacing the Baby Boomers and Saturday Night Fever. The Visitors is a great album - very adult - but the kids were now into Punk and New Wave and the Second British Invasion.
This is a great song. For me though, their final album was their greatest. Have a listen to, 'The Day Before You Came' The title track, 'The Visitors' is also great. As is often the case with ABBA, the latter song combines upbeat music with hearbreaking lyrics. In this case the subject is about the descent into madness. Possibly the onset of a nervous breakdown...
Codex7777 I always thought The Visitors was about madness too. Waiting for the arrival of the men in white coats to take them away. Björn, a few years back admitted it’s about Soviet dissidents!
Re languages. They recorded all their songs in English but also in Swedish, Spanish and also did some shows where they sang a song in German. After they won the Eurovision Song contest in 1974 they almost faded away cause they couldn't get record companies to record/play their follow up songs. What saved them? Australia saved them when a DJ with a top 10 TV program played their demo tapes on air first then on TV and they went straight to the top of the charts. Aussie immediately called for them to come over and do a TV special and some shows. 300,000 turned up to greet them at the airport. Yes, 300,000! Then England realised they weren't a one hit wonder (Waterloo) and started promoting their songs. The whole of Europe followed especially when they also recorded in Spanish. They are the second most successful group of all time behind the Beatles in terms of singles/albums sold.
The song was written about a divorce .she was married to the guy on the guitar . He actually wrote the song . It says the Winner takes it all but theres no winners in divorce .I believe they were trying all the emotions involved in that situation . They were on of my favorite groups. The other two were involved too and broke up band did not last much longer.
Very cool Video. This is is a very good song and also a good clip. You must make more ABBA reaction video. E.g. "Super Trouper" (1980), "That's Me", "Summer Night City" (1979), "Tiger" (1976), "Head Over Heels" (1981) and "Money Money Money" (1976)
Wiki: "'The Winner Takes It All' is the song where Bjorn admits that the sad experience of his and Agnetha's divorce the previous year left its mark on the lyrics." The apology is not about a woman apologising to a man. It's about feeling hurt by the divorce. Context. The guy who co-wrote these lyrics was married to Agnetha the singer.
One of the most perfectly crafted pop songs ever.
Exactly .. the arrange studio orchestra ... Not really many pop bands or even rock bands went so crazy about the full scale orchestra in the background...
ABBA is like soccer. Did okay in the US. Colossal success everywhere else in the world.
They werent soo big in usa
Actually they were a lot bigger in the U.S. than soccer ever was
Its mostly called soccer in America and 1970's uk lol...
The clue is in the action.... foot- ball... lol....
Funny how Rugby in America was converted to... American football... when the ball is mostly carried.. lol...
Football is the sport of the world.... except America.. as you say.
@@samthehikingman9484 Btw, the full name for rugby is "rugby football".
@@xoxxobob61 wow but had ABBA toured the USA more often they wouldve been so big i dont think eagles the beatles or queen wouldve been that big. They wouldve started a frenzy not even the beatles started
This was written by Bjorn, Agneta's husband when they were splitting up. She was genuinely broken singing this song. Poignant and strong.
Abba has a place in the music hall of fame. Not because they are Swedish, not because they were two married couples who split, but because they knew good music and delivered on that. Yes they can be kitchy. But they can sing, they can supply the song, and they are good performers.
And very clever lyrically despite English being their second language
@@personalcheeses8073 And they grew up in a time when they weren't as exposed to the English language as young people are now.
Most hits of all time. They have enough hits to make 3 separate albums.
I love that ABBA still resonates with the younger generation. They're classic.
So do I!
With a grown up song...
Agnetha really gives it all in this song... So much emotion transferred into her performance.
The blue eye shadow is iconic.
Lisa Clough Yes the band were two couples that split while still having to perform together
Amazing voice, very underrated.
She was a Hitler baby, one of the ones Hitler took her mother and a German officer, and she was the result.
@@hadassah356 She was born in 1950 dude. I think you mean Anni-Frid.
Agnetha, the singer, was actually telling the truth. Her huband (guitarist) left her. It must have been so heart-breaking for her singing this song. Brave.
Prolly my fav ABBA-song. Agnethas voice is in my opinion one of the best ever used by one of the best singers ever! The range! The power! The control! OMG! Well, nowadays there are all kinds of effects to improve/change how a singer/voice sounds. Agnetha is amazing! Like an angel.
@Freelaxx - Agreed, no AutoTune back then!
The thing about ABBA is that they didn't cover songs by other artists. They wrote their own songs. Benny and Bjorn wrote most of them (Agnetha, the blond, wrote one of their songs in Swedish, which Bjorn then rewrote in English. She wrote several songs for her Swedish solo albums). The Winner Takes It All was primarily written by Bjorn about his divorce from Agentha. ABBA also recorded Spanish language versions of some of their songs. Anni-Frid (Frida) and Agentha could speak English by this time, as they were interviewed on TV speaking it, although it's true that Agnetha wasn't as comfortable with it as the other three were, and are.
ABBA was huge in Australia, which only goes to show Aussies have great taste in music Those who didn’t admit to liking them, listened in private, got caught knowing the lyrics. Their songs were very cleverly crafted, always got ones fingers and toes tapping. So many good songs “Thank you for the music “ is still my guilty pleasure.
Released in 1980 and went straight to No1 in The UK, also No8 in The USA. One of their finest songs. Nobody can sing this like Agnetha , she own's it. A Classic
PS, The song isn't about her "Apologising" It's about a woman who fell in love, played by the rules but sadly got cheated on which destroyed her self confidence, she has somehow met up with him again and all the sad memories come back, she's reflecting on it all. Very real to many people.
I saw the RUclips of ABBA’s induction into the Rock Hall of Fame. Faith Hill sang this song in tribute. You are correct. She didn’t do it justice.
@@davewhitehead5116 .. I love the line "Spectators of the show, Always staying low" it say's so much.
As far as I know, Benny did the melody, Björn did the lyrics and Agneta performed it. Bottom line: This is a song about love lost, as genuine as you will ever see or hear. The only discrepancy is the fact that in a divorce there rarely are "winners" and the children born in that relationship are ALWAYS the losers.
It's about their break up.
I belive her husband wrote this and they are all divorced
She gets you right in the Heart and that's all we can ask of artists.
"They´re from Sweden so they don´t talk English" HAHAHAHAHA. Everyone in Sweden speaks English....EVERYONE!!!
It's not mew-zik, it's mew-sick...
Exactly, even back when they grew up English was a must to learn in Swedish schools, they knew English. Besides if they didn't speak any English, how could they have written so many songs in English? Dictionaries existed, sure, but they'd have been better off writing only Swedish if they had to use dictionaries to translate every word. And the lyrics would take ages to write and make actually sound good while still telling the same story.
And besides, we don't dub television shows or movies. We subtitle everything - even back then. Hearing English all the time has been the norm for ages. 😉
Most Europeans speak very good English.
Yes but most Swedish people don’t use it on a daily basis and pronunciation would be far from perfect. Remember they grew up in a time when maybe English wasn’t taught at importantly, even if they knew English before it was a struggle for them to pronounce things and their time in fame was extremely difficult.
I love their prom song Dancing Queen. But this song is good too but very sad. Agree she has a beautiful voice.
This is the Song of her Devorce, He wrote it and if she read the lyrics in the studio , she began to cry, tears fallin from her eyes and then she sung it so perfect.
After the divorce of the 2 couples ABBA wrote the song One Of Us telling the tale of the end of a love story in a group
Her ex-husband wrote the song, and she sang it.
@@lorrilewis2178 i always found that incredible. how could he be able to write the song that way,for her? what an understanding of each other.
Aik Richter i hate my exs😐
I wouldn’t be able to sing with them she is a talented individual to do that🤗🤗
Benny told in an intervju that the song is fictional ,U can see Agnetha still got a ring on her finger in the liveversion.
Hard to believe this classic is nearly 40 years old. Magnificent from start to finish. A heartbreaking masterpiece
I love this song and ABBA
Now you just have to listen to every other ABBA song because all of their songs are wonderful 🙂
刘凯琳 agreed
Fun Fact: When ABBA started neither Anni-frid or Agnetha spoke English and they performed their early English songs phonetically. I remember their first American TV appearance (on the Mike Douglas Show) and it was clear the ladies could not speak English. Both of them learned to speak English fairly quickly and became functionally fluent, Anni-frid still is. Apparently Agnetha doesn’t feel comfortable with her level of English anymore and she doesn’t speak it in public.
ABBA ...Eurovision Winners ,still got the album with them in the helicopter.Reminds me of my brothers wife singing ABBA in the garden in the last weeks before passing away with breast cancer.
Im Danish and this song was great in my youth, so it means a lot to me.
Strangely enough, the same emotions come back as I felt when ABBA was a very large part of my life then.
I do best if these memories are treated with respect !! they are definitive!
This Band sold worldwide something between 400 and 500.000.000 ( place 6 in the all time record list) Records! Thats all you can say about them. They had a lot of great hits. formed in 1972 and parted in 82....so it was only 10 years....but i heard they still sell up to 3 million CDs every year. Thanks for this reaction.I still love this Band.
1 in 16 people has one of their albums.
ABBA connects with all generations . Feel the emotion in the lyrics and Agnetha's voice.
I am still sad about Agnetha and Björn's divorce, this song was the most beautiful masterpiece in history
This song was written way before they divorced. She speaks different languages. She’s from Sweden. She was famous before ABBA. She’s got a great voice. She’s still alive. Mamma Mia the Movies is about all these songs. She can read and write music notes. She’s been through terrible tragedies. Her mother committed suicide I think. So heartbreaking. But they are doing a album right now I THINK. JUST STUDIO. Great Reaction.
ABBA's "Our Last Summer" is a calm, tranquil song looking back on a summer fling. It's beautiful like this song.
But the couple in the song are still together - he's now a family man and a football fan...
This was their farewell song as both of the marriages were or had already collapsed.
This is probably my favourite ABBA song. Yet a sad song. Her voice is beautiful. She has recently released an album after years in ‘retirement’ and I saw her interviewed about how much emotion she drew upon to sing this sad song about her own divorce.
At one stage, Abba were making more for Swedish exports than Volvo. Global superstars. How they wrote this song when the band was falling apart (much like Fleetwood Mac and 'Go Your Own Way') is pretty amazing..
"Knowing me, knowing you" is my favourite.
ABBA was the most talented musical group I can imagine.
Beatles Tim.
The Beatles is the greatest rock band ever.
ABBA is the greatest pop band ever.
I can think of many that were more talented, even though I love Abba. Benny and Bjorn were great at writing and producing pop songs and produced some real pop classics. However, when it comes to musical talent, musicianship, innovateness and influence, there are numerous bands that outclass them. The same is even true, albeit to a lesser extent, when it comes to songwriting. If you believe that Abba were more talented than groups such as, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen etc etc, then you are deluding yourself.
Codex7777 That’s why I said “pop”, or at least pop as I understand it. Although I understand that line is not clearly stablished. Let me explain how I figured it out:
1. If a group uses electric guitars, bass and drums, and their music is based of riffs, and has some influence from blues, that group is a a rock band: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, etc.
2. To me “pop” as we currently know is more based on keyboards, piano, synth, typical the guitar used is acoustic guitar, and a large part of the actual sound comes from production and mixing, at the studio room. Examples: ABBA, Michael Jackson, Eurythmics, Bjork, Billie Joel.
@Carlos Arias - I take your point re' pop, I was replying to the OP, thus I didn't address it to anyone, as is the convention. Though there are 2 definitions of pop music. One is general and refers to all popular music. The other refers to a genre, whose only definition appears to be that it's not certain other genres... but even that doesn't always stand up. It's probably the vaguest musical genre of the lot, tbh.
For instance al the bands I listed used piano and keybords extensively. Two of them also used synths, as have many non 'pop' bands. Abba themselves used electric guitar, drums and bass guitar extensively. The Beatles covered many genres, including both rock and, what is now referred to as, 'pop'. Back then anything in the charts was 'pop music' and many still use that general term. All the acts I listed also had more success in the pop charts than Abba too. Re' the genre definition, I've always wondered why rock and classical are not allowed to be called 'pop' when virtually every other genre is, to some extent at least. Mind you, both the Beatles and Queen were both pop as much as rock. The Beatles in particular. I've even heard/seen people refusing to acknowledge the Beatles as rock at all. Though, until you, I hadn't heard/seen anyone claim that they weren't a pop band. Probably because they, very obviously, were. You also mention production as a defining characteristic of pop bands. Again, all the bands I listed were renowned for their production and even invented many of the techniques used today. All were production innovators. More so than any 'pop' act, tbh. As for genres, as well as pop, re' The Beatles and Queen, all incorporated styles from many genres, including blues, folk, classical, jazz, music hall/vaudeville etc. I could go on but you get the point... For me, I think the only really defining characteristic of pop, that stands up, is that pop artists tend to be single orientated, whilst non pop bands tend to be album orientated. Another could be that pop artists, in general, are less likely to write their own music, or play musical instruments.
Putting all that aside, by ANY definition the Beatles are the greatest and most succesful pop band of all-time, even if they did create some rock songs too. In terms of sales Abba re the 10th biggest group of all-time. However, as all the others, bar The Beatles, are predominantly rock bands, it COULD be argued that they're the SECOND greatest pop group in history... but definitely not the first. If we're using the general definition, or talking about anything other than sales, then , much as I love them, Abba don't even come close to the top spot.
All the more poignant when they are singing about their own divorce.
I did as you asked and you're doing a great job my friend. ABBA is a favorite of mine which is how I found your page. I will be watching your past posts and looking forward to your future reactions.
When punkrock came around in the mid to late seventies, the music journalists were going "GREAT, this will finally rid us of ABBA!" but much to their surprise, the opposite happened. The Punkrock community, instead of rejecting ABBA, embraced them, The Sex Pistols' "Pretty vacant" aped ABBA's "Mamma Mia", The Clash' "Spanish Bombs" went for an ABBA song structure and Elvis Costello's "Oliver's Army" had Bennie Anderson type of Piano riffs.
So what was the connection?
Well Punkrock was all about singing it like you lived it, singing about being angry about the government, being unemployed, being angry with your girlfriend.
And what were ABBA doing? THE SAME, songs about boring every day life (The day before you came), songs about missing out seeing your children grow up (Slipping through my fingers), songs about divorce (The winner takes it all, Knowing me knowing you, one of us) and it all was sung as they lived it, look at Agnetha's face in this music video, that's a look that's impossible to fake.
And the punkrockers respected that, lyric-wise ABBA was just as angry and frustrated as any punk rock song was.
BACKSTORY: The 2 guys and the 2 girls in ABBA were married to each other, but both couples eventually got divorced. However the band kept on working together. The guy without the beard, Bjorn ....was married to the blonde singer. After they split, he wrote this song for her to sing. Apparently when she first went through the lyrics in the studio... she broke down in tears. Great singer.... great vocals....especially considering the circumstances.
This is one of my favorite ABBA tunes. Another great one is, "The Day Before you Came."
I enjoy all of ABBA's music. That being said, some, such as this song, has a melancholy feel to it.
Shes is not acting, she went thrue it 4 real. Amazing band✌️🇸🇪
ABBA is the best of pop music. They are so original and set the mark for this kind of music.
At one point in the 70s they were the biggest, most successful group ever.
The feel of the song and of abba he is talking about is often "bittersweet Nostalgia".
Abba one of the few artists at the time in the seventies that young people and the older generation at the same time liked.
You an't go wrong with 'Abba!
They did some pretty bad stuff-I have the entire albums collection & they did a lot of substandard filler. But singles wise you cannot really go wrong-them & the record company were very smart about what was released.
@Ziggy Stardust Thanks Ziggy! That is awesome news, I will check this out!
@Ziggy Stardust Oh wow, they are going to do a world tour, as avatars, wicked!!
Not only is she a great singer but she is a real Beauty
Abba's success was about 80% due to Agnetha's extraordinary vocals. The rest was window dressing.
Both had amazing voices. I don`t think Agnetha could have done the Abba -sound alone: the magic happened when the two fantastic voices sung in harmony. The sound of Abba.
ABBA the greatest Band after the Beatles in the World. having sold over 375 million singles and albums
Probably well over 400 million by now , that 375 figure has been around for years.
They're actually ranked the 10th biggest selling group. Well behind the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen and The Rolling Stones. The actual official figure, for Abba, is around 150m, with only about 60m of that figue being certified sales. Their record company is the only one claiming figures above that. No one in the music industry believes their figures. 500m would put them on a par with The Beatles and Elvis Presley! They only released 8 studio albums. The biggest selling of these was Arrival, which sold about 9m copies worldwide. Abba Gold, their greatest hits album, was their only album to sell more, with worldwide sales of about 28 million. It's plain to see that even 150m is probably stretching it.
Loved the joke brother! You got your fam laughing over here!
You are good man, you are real. Love it!
When all is said and done is about the divorce of Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson.
Their marriage came under attack.
I always liked frida
SHE'S the WINNER! I've been listening to this song for DECADES and never noticed that very last verse of the song. SHE won, NOT him, like I always thought.... Thanks for the Reaction, MRM.
Simply the best song of the best band
Pop music with depths.. Awesome...
This song has always brought me to tears! And after watching a doc, on the band. And hearing the story has really touched my heart. And YES!!! This song came out in 1980!!
Modern Renaissance Man you truly are talented i stay on you tube ..I will say Buddy your more interesting then tv .......Love your channel
Love can hurt but love ended, especially one that has lasted awhile can tear you apart. Beautiful voice, awesome performance. Ty, you silly.
I absolutely love your videos. They always have a way of cheering me up. Thank you.
My wife and I love Abba. We also were born and live in the city that made them famous in 1974, when they won the Eurovision Song Contest at The Dome in Brighton U.K..
This is probably my all time favourite track that they recorded
I appreciate that you actually listened to the music, and didn’t spend every second pausing to make a joke. A true reaction and review. Subscribed 👍
The ABBA music were released around mid seventies. I only begam listening to their music in the "Mama Mia" movie in 2008 and now the current movie" Mama Mia" Here we go again
They are Swedish, yes, but I dont know who told you they didnt speak any English: their English is and was close to perfect, like is not unusual from Scandinavians.
Early in ABBA's career, only the guys in the group knew English; the two ladies had to sing it phonetically. But they did learn it quickly when they became international stars.
@@vwestlife Again, that is simply not true
@@vwestlife We study english in school. Also we have subtitles so we listen to english everyday. Many jobs and at university you get text in english. Many as i the music business, collaborate with other countries.
There is a difference between learning English in school and being able to speak it fluently. They all certainly knew at least some English from the beginning, but if you watch ABBA's early interviews, the guys do most of the talking and especially Agnetha (the blonde one) doesn't say that much and doesn't seem that comfortable talking in English. Also the early ABBA songs had very simple, repetitive lyrics (like "Ring Ring", "Honey, Honey") because it was easier for them to write and sing until their English got better.
@@vwestlife You're right about it being different being a native speaker and learning later. But you totally skipped what I wrote about all the other areas where we learn english. You also state to be an expert on Abba even if you're not swedish. Did you even live during they hay day. You state the women didn't know english and that Agneta was especially bad it- You totally ignore that the man were writing the music and the women only sang it. You totally ignore that someone can be apprehensive when talking in public or to strangers. Agneta became an reclusive after her carrier, she's very shy and sensitive. You totally ignore that light pop songs have simpe lyrics. Claiming that light english pop songs are profoundly deeply poetic is just arrogant. When they made it big Björn and Benny they make the music they really wanted to do. They made for example an musical "Kristina från Duvemåla" based on "The Emigrants" by Wilhelm Moberg. ruclips.net/video/a2idVI73ais/видео.html
Bro u always a great deal in pulling brave songs of all time
Enjoying some of your videos after just finding your channel. Love ABBA and everything other posters have said is mostly true. Bjorn (her husband guitarist, the one without the beard) wrote this song about their recent divorce. All that pain you see and hear was very real. Agnetha (the singer) was probably the least proficient in English but they all spoke English very well. Anyway, thanks for your videos!
Bjorn did grow a beard a year after The Winner Takes It All was released & it was in the video for One Of Us was where he was first shown with a beard.
I grew up listening to ALL kinds of music! I actually love this song!!!
You and your videos are entertaning glad to be a subscriber ....Keep up the good work my friend .....
The Winner Takes It All is not only the best song that Abba ever made but in my humble opinion it is the 3rd best song ever released.
Woah, Bjorn and Benny spoke fluent English when they formed the group. They were the ones that wrote the lyrics. Frida could speak some English at the time. It was Agnetha who had little English speaking abilities at the start, and had to learn it.
Incredible nobody to this day can sing like those two women. It takes a cast of people for example Mama Mia even to come close to their level. Don't think we will ever hear this type voice purity ever again.
My teen years were full of Abba, Air Supply, and loads of country while others my age were Kiss and Ac/DC fools. Love these guys.
I believe this song was a tale of them meaning Abba closing I'm going their separate ways. They were two couples and when the couple's divorce, they ended up swapping partners. When they were going to break up they did this song The Winner Takes It All
ABBA was the greatest pop group then and still is.
A good job looking sad? This was recorded after hers and the guitarists marriage had dissolved. She should have been sad.
Nordics are world class at melancholy...
Sorry. I didn’t wait. I just liked and subscribed lol. I knew you were gonna be kewl when you first started speaking lol so you have a new Aussie subscriber 🙏🏼👍🏼🇦🇺
ABBA has always and will always be relevant!
Left eye did sent the house on fire. ABBA is amazing
Abs song is so deeply spiritual that touching soul n chilling
Just watching this again love your reactions
One of the best pop voices .. ever.
Totally right, they have their own sound, ABBA is just ABBA.
@Modern Renaissance Man thank you for reacting to ABBA Would Like you to react to Waterloo next. Then the list next is
The Name Of The Game
Fernando
Knowing Me Knowing You
SOS
Does Your Mother Know and last
One Of Us
Waterloo and Fernando are my faves! But I love all their other songs too. Dang that brought back memories, lol.
Lay All Your Love On Me !
William Kyle Yep. This is the best one of them all. 🙂
3:30 hahaha I’m dead 😂 you’re just too funny! I always enjoy your reaction videos! 🙌🏼♥️
ABBA is one of the greatest bands of all time.
The greatest!!!
ABBA rules with true, deep talent!
This was their last popular album - their lyric content was too mature for the new teen crowd displacing the Baby Boomers and Saturday Night Fever. The Visitors is a great album - very adult - but the kids were now into Punk and New Wave and the Second British Invasion.
Love ABBA💚
This is a great song. For me though, their final album was their greatest. Have a listen to, 'The Day Before You Came' The title track, 'The Visitors' is also great. As is often the case with ABBA, the latter song combines upbeat music with hearbreaking lyrics. In this case the subject is about the descent into madness. Possibly the onset of a nervous breakdown...
Codex7777 I always thought The Visitors was about madness too. Waiting for the arrival of the men in white coats to take them away. Björn, a few years back admitted it’s about Soviet dissidents!
She did a good job of being sad because this song is about her real life divorce from Bjorn the guitar player in Abba who wrote the song.
Re languages. They recorded all their songs in English but also in Swedish, Spanish and also did some shows where they sang a song in German. After they won the Eurovision Song contest in 1974 they almost faded away cause they couldn't get record companies to record/play their follow up songs. What saved them? Australia saved them when a DJ with a top 10 TV program played their demo tapes on air first then on TV and they went straight to the top of the charts.
Aussie immediately called for them to come over and do a TV special and some shows. 300,000 turned up to greet them at the airport. Yes, 300,000!
Then England realised they weren't a one hit wonder (Waterloo) and started promoting their songs. The whole of Europe followed especially when they also recorded in Spanish. They are the second most successful group of all time behind the Beatles in terms of singles/albums sold.
Great song and just a fabulous voice.
One of my favorite ABBA songs.
This is my favorite Abba song!
The song was written about a divorce .she was married to the guy on the guitar . He actually wrote the song . It says the Winner takes it all but theres no winners in divorce .I believe they were trying all the emotions involved in that situation . They were on of my favorite groups. The other two were involved too and broke up band did not last much longer.
That-introduction-is a great paradoxical way to get subscribers.
They were divorcing so he writes a song and she sings it ,magical
The song " El perdón " by .DIANA NAVARRO
Happy 70th birthday Agnetha, love u.
She still looks great!
The two women names are
Princess Anni-frid synni of reuss aka the Brunette and Agnetha faltskog the blonde
Very cool Video. This is is a very good song and also a good clip. You must make more ABBA reaction video. E.g. "Super Trouper" (1980), "That's Me", "Summer Night City" (1979), "Tiger" (1976), "Head Over Heels" (1981) and "Money Money Money" (1976)
Wiki: "'The Winner Takes It All' is the song where Bjorn admits that the sad experience of his and Agnetha's divorce the previous year left its mark on the lyrics." The apology is not about a woman apologising to a man. It's about feeling hurt by the divorce. Context. The guy who co-wrote these lyrics was married to Agnetha the singer.
This is their 'divorce' song - as the band i s breaking up (off their second-last album)