Agnetha Fältskog & Frida (ex ABBA): Albums Collection (1982-2004)

Agnetha Fältskog Biography

Although she had made a name for herself as a solo artist in Sweden, Agnetha Fältskog will always be best known as one-fourth of ABBA, one of the most commercially successful and internationally beloved pop acts of all time. Born on April 5, 1950, Fältskog was encouraged to pursue her love of music from an early age and was already performing with two school friends as the Cambers by the time she was a teen. Leaving school at 15 to pursue her music, Fältskog soon found herself singing with Bernt Enghardt's band and attracting a following. Through Enghardt, she secured a record deal and she soon topped the charts in Sweden with her first release. Fältskog's homeland success continued throughout the rest of the '60s, but her future with ABBA was secured when she met and became engaged to Björn Ulvaeus in 1969. The two were married in 1971, but Fältskog continued to record and perform as a solo artist, although she was singing backup, along with Anna-Frid Lyngstad, on Ulvaeus' and songwriting partner Benny Andersson's recordings. In 1974, the four, as ABBA, took the Eurovision song contest prize with "Waterloo" (having lost the prior year with "Ring Ring") and within weeks the song was topping the charts all over the continent.

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Agnetha Fältskog & Frida (ex ABBA): Albums Collection (1982-2004)

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For the next eight years, ABBA would be one of the most successful pop acts in the world, earning numerous gold and platinum awards in innumerable countries. The quartet's commercial fortunes were not mirrored by critical appreciation. In fact, it was the winsome, good looks of the two female singers that drew more accolades, highlighted by Fältskog being crowned with the title of "Rear of the Year" in 1975. During the group's hit-making period, Fältskog's marriage to Ulvaeus would crumble, chronicled in the heart-wrenching "The Winner Takes It All," which featured possibly her finest vocal performance. During what was intended to be a mere break for the band in 1983, she began to record her solo English debut with producer Mike Chapman. Released later in the year, Can't Shake Loose proved to be more successful in European markets, but the title track did climb into the Top 30 in the U.S. ABBA's extended break soon became a break-up (despite no formal announcement), leaving Fältskog to continue her solo career.

Between 1983 and 1987, Fältskog released three albums – Wrap Your Arms Around Me (1983), Eyes of a Woman (1985), and I Stand Alone (1987) – which all were big hits in Sweden and performed respectably throughout Europe but never made inroads within the U.S. As the '80s wound to a close, Fältskog went into an unofficial retirement, retreating from the spotlight and ceasing to make new music. In 1996, she published an autobiography called As I Am; it was accompanied by a new compilation called My Love, My Life, released only in Europe. ABBA's music was the subject of a jukebox musical called Mamma Mia! Premiered in 1999, the stage musical gained considerable popularity over the next five years, its success helping push Fältskog out of retirement in 2004 to record My Coluring Book, a collection of covers that was a big hit throughout Europe and peaked at 11 on the U.K. charts. Following that album, she went quiet again, appearing in public with her ABBA mates toward the end of the decade to promote the theatrical adaptation of Mamma Mia! Fältskog returned to recording in 2012, teaming with Jörgen Elofsson – a producer/songwriter best known for his work with Kelly Clarkson – to record her first collection of brand-new material since 1987. A, the resulting album, was released all around the world in May of 2013.

by Tom Demalon

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Agnetha Fältskog & Frida (ex ABBA): Albums Collection (1982-2004)

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Frida (Anni-Frid Lyngstad Fredriksson Andersson):

Frida, whose full name is Anni-Frid Lyngstad Fredriksson Andersson, was a Scandinavian solo singer in the 1960s and 1970s before she joined a group being put together by her boyfriend (and later husband), Benny Andersson, ABBA. ABBA was a massive international success especially during the second half of the '70s; the group disbanded at the start of the '80s, and Frida, who divorced Andersson, returned to solo work with the Phil Collins-produced Something's Going On in 1982. Among her other releases were 1984's Shine and 1996's Djupa Andetag.

by William Ruhlmann

Mike Chapman's production of ABBA's Agnetha Faltskog gave birth to the Top 30 hit "Can't Shake Loose," which charted in the autumn of 1983. Though it's a good song, it is not as memorable as Phil Collins' production of ABBA cohort Frida, whose "I Know There's Something Going On" went Top 15 eight months earlier. That Russ Ballard composed both hits for both exiled ABBA woman is worth noting. Truly the gals couldn't "shake loose" or supersede the fame they found in ABBA, and that's a pity as the music here, from the innovative first track, "The Heat Is On" (not the Glenn Frey tune from two years later), to "Shame," is all radio friendly and so much more refined than a lot of the dreck the major labels were issuing at the time. If anything the album covers as much stylistically as it can within the format that this singer was identified with. "Stay" would be perfect for Celine Dion as would "To Love" on side two, and that both Agnetha and Frida didn't become as well-known individually as Laura Branigan or even Debbie Gibson says something about the unkindness of the music industry. "Once Burned, Twice Shy" is grown-up girl group, taking a theme Ian Hunter worked and creating an irresistible mini-pop masterpiece. This album is not only fun, it has much depth. "Mr. Persuasion" is a throwback to Lesley Gore/Patty Duke/Shelley Fabares days. Tiffany eat your heart out. The title track, "Wrap Your Arms Around Me," is some strange mixture of 1973's "Love's Theme" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra morphing into 1978's "Love Is in the Air" by John Paul Young. The second Russ Ballard contribution, "I Wish Tonight Would Last for Ever," on the other hand, is a nice about-face, like much of this record, shifting tempos and ideas, a departure from the formula of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's hit machine that was ABBA. Chapman's production work is appropriate and solid, the album feeling much like a similar Polygram release from around this time, Robin Gibb's How Old Are You? – another member of a hugely successful group stepping out of the safety zone to create a dance-pop album of substance. At 46 and a half minutes, Wrap Your Arms Around Me is a healthy serving of charming melodies, Agnetha even penning a decent song she calls "Man." "Stand by My Side" concludes the disc in ABBA fashion, the only tune emulating the band she came from. That composition, like this album, is a real gem.

by Joe Viglione

Tracklist:

01. The Heat Is On [0:03:54.02]
02. Can't Shake Loose [0:04:22.35]
03. Shame [0:03:38.25]
04. Stay [0:03:19.35]
05. Once Burned, Twice Shy [0:03:45.15]
06. Mr. Persuasion [0:02:43.03]
07. Wrap Your Arms Around Me [0:05:13.30]
08. To Love [0:03:53.02]
09. I Wish Tonight Could Last Forever [0:04:14.43]
10. Man [0:03:33.52]
11. Take Good Care Of Your Children [0:03:45.17]
12. Stand By My Side [0:04:18.58]
13. Never Again [0:03:55.23]
14. It's So Nice To Be Rich (7" Version) [0:03:44.10]
15. P&B [0:04:03.30]
16. The Heat Is On (Super Dance Music Mix) [0:08:01.15]
17. Ya Nunca Más [0:03:55.57]

Lushly produced by 10cc's Eric Stewart, with all the lavish attention to detail that one would expect, Agnetha Faltskog's second English-language solo album is a lean and occasionally brooding hybrid of overstated '80s adult rock and boisterous Euro-pop, a blend that is epitomized by the opening cut, Jeff Lynne's "One Way Love," and never goes away thereafter. It makes for discomforting listening. Her final recordings with ABBA, after all, placed Faltskog in a fascinating position, a dark, doomed chanteuse capable of wringing crippling emotion from the most innocuous lyric. Only occasionally, however, does Eyes of a Woman even glance back in that direction (most notably on the title track), with Faltskog preferring elsewhere to disguise even the most distinctive elements of her voice beneath the overwhelming power balladry that was so characteristic of the age. Producer Stewart's own "I Won't Be Leaving You" emerges a lovely, sad song, comparable to any of the ballads he contributed to latter-day 10cc albums, while "I Won't Let You Go" (a Stewart/Faltskog collaboration) and Justin Hayward's "The Angels Cry" are both powerful enough to break through the album's overall sheen. Unfortunately, they are the exceptions. Elsewhere, Faltskog seems content simply to voice the words laid before her, an apparent disinterest that was broadcast even further first by her refusal to promote the album, then by her almost total disappearance from the public gaze. The eyes of this woman had obviously seen too much.

by Dave Thompson

Tracklist:

01. One Way Love [0:03:37.17]
02. Eyes Of A Woman [0:03:56.68]
03. Just One Heart [0:03:46.02]
04. I Won't Let You Go [0:03:40.48]
05. The Angels Cry [0:04:25.00]
06. Click Track [0:02:54.62]
07. We Should Be Together [0:03:58.58]
08. I Won't Be Leaving You [0:05:33.65]
09. Save Me (Why Don't Ya) [0:04:38.35]
10. I Keep Turning Off Lights [0:03:40.37]
11. We Move As One [0:04:07.03]
12. You're There [0:03:30.57]
13. Turn The World Around [0:04:18.20]
14. I Won't Let You Go (Extended Version) [0:06:04.05]
15. The Way You Are (Duet with Ola Håkansson) [0:03:46.05]
16. Fly Like The Eagle (Duet with Ola Håkansson) [0:03:03.23]

Whatever convinced Agnetha to break her no-travelling rule and fly to Malibu, California to record this, her third English solo record, was nothing short of a miracle. With the help of Chicago frontman Peter Cetera, self-confessed recluse and media shy Agnetha produced the strongest record of her career.

From the slightly dark lead single `The Last Time' to the bubbly `Let It Shine', Agnetha gives her all in some stellar performances. The ballad `Maybe It Was Magic' is perhaps the best solo recording of her career, `We Got A Way' is `Beach-Boys-in-the-eighties' surf and sun, whilst `I Stand Alone' is a Roxette-eque mid-tempo about feminism (!) Add in a couple of Diane Warren ballads and gorgeous pop tunes like `Little White Secrets' and you have a rather well-rounded record.

My favourite song has to be the criminally underrated `I Wasn't The One (Who Said Goodbye)', a duet with Cetera which went largely unnoticed when released as a single. A shame, because it's pop power ballad brilliance, on par with Cetera's duet with Cher `After All' at around the same time. Perhaps the success of the latter overshadowed the Agnetha collaboration? In any case, `I Stand Alone' remains Agnetha's strongest and most engaging solo release to date. It has a very Californian pop feel to it which works wonders with Faltskog's sweet, unaffected vocal style. Add to that, the gorgeous album photos which see Agnetha with lengthy spiked hair and black leather pants! I can give or take her debut release, and `Eyes Of A Woman' is quite a strong set, but if you feel the desire to purchase one of Agnetha's three English studio albums this is definitely the wisest purchase.

By Chris, amazon

Tracklist:

01. The Last Time [0:04:15.15]
02. Little White Secrets [0:04:07.17]
03. I Wasn't The One (Who Said Goodbye) [0:04:11.73]
04. Love In A World Gone Mad [0:04:10.20]
05. Maybe It Was Magic [0:04:10.35]
06. Let It Shine [0:04:00.12]
07. We Got A Way [0:03:52.25]
08. I Stand Alone [0:04:51.28]
09. Are You Gonna Throw It All Away [0:04:55.62]
10. If You Need Somebody Tonight [0:03:31.00]

With the musical Mama Mia selling tickets so strongly in 2005 that it seems destined for a Broadway run through at least 2009, it's easy to forget the existence of the singers who were ABBA. My Colouring Book was Agnetha Faltskog's new album for 2004, and it's distinctly in a pop vein, comprised of music that she's known throughout her life, starting with the Kander & Ebb title track. Even her rendition of Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk in the Room," despite a heavy beat from Dan Stromkvist and some highly amplified guitar playing from Magnus Bengtsson, is very orchestra-heavy. Though the settings in no way parallel anything done by ABBA, Falktskog's voice retains the simple purity of tone and expression that she brought to the group's sound 30 years earlier, enough so that serious fans are likely to enjoy this CD, especially attributes such as her stripped-down rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" and her covers of standards such as "Sealed With a Kiss" and "The End of the World." The sound is excellent and the playing is impeccable, in settings that range from an instrument or two right up to a full band and orchestra accompaniment.

by Bruce Eder

Tracklist:

01. My Colouring Book [0:03:27.66]
02. When You Walk In The Room [0:03:36.29]
03. If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind [0:03:15.39]
04. Sealed With A Kiss [0:02:34.41]
05. Love Me With All Your Heart [0:03:11.71]
06. Fly Me To The Moon [0:02:49.43]
07. Past, Present And Future [0:03:12.00]
08. A Fool Am I [0:03:32.29]
09. I Can't Reach Your Heart [0:02:39.32]
10. Sometimes When I'm Dreaming [0:03:15.15]
11. The End Of The World [0:02:35.23]
12. Remember Me [0:03:05.72]
13. What Now My Love [0:04:49.57]

Fans of Abba's sugary-sweet pop songs will no doubt be surprised by Something's Going On, the remarkably hard-edged 1982 solo album by Abba vocalist Anni-Frida Lyngstad, better known simply as Frida. Produced by Phil Collins, Something's Going On includes a wide range of material, including songs written by Bryan Ferry ("The Way You Do"), Stephen Bishop ("Tell Me It's Over"), and Gerry Rafferty ("I See Red"), and even includes a Dorothy Parker poem set to music ("Thernody"). Something's Going On boasts impressive guitar work by Daryl Stuermer, who has toured with Genesis as well as appeared on several Collins solo albums. Collins' drum work is also outstanding, particularly on the hard-hitting hit single "I Know There's Something Going On." Frida herself shows an unexpected emotional range given Abba's two-dimensional pop gloss. Sure, she still chirps and tweets like a bird, but the diversity of the material and the freedom of recording solo obviously allows her to enter different musical territory. Frida escapes the creative limitations of being a member of one of the world's most popular groups on this solid and often riveting album.

by William Cooper

Tracklist:

01. Tell Me It's Over [0:02:56.45]
02. I See Red [0:04:35.58]
03. I Got Something [0:04:05.15]
04. Strangers [0:04:06.37]
05. To Turn The Stone [0:05:19.08]
06. I Know There's Something Going On [0:05:30.50]
07. Threnody [0:04:17.12]
08. Baby Don't You Cry No More [0:02:59.28]
09. The Way You Do [0:03:38.70]
10. You Know What I Mean [0:02:39.42]
11. Here We'll Stay [0:04:03.45]






Tracklist:

01. Tell Me It's Over [0:02:52.67]
02. I See Red [0:04:33.48]
03. I Got Something [0:04:04.17]
04. Strangers [0:04:06.43]
05. To Turn The Stone [0:05:26.07]
06. I Know There's Something Going On [0:05:29.10]
07. Threnody [0:04:17.60]
08. Baby Don't You Cry No More [0:03:02.60]
09. The Way You Do [0:03:38.43]
10. You Know What I Mean [0:02:37.72]
11. Here We'll Stay [0:04:04.00]
12. I Know There's Something Going On (Single Edit) [0:04:07.50]
13. Here We'll Stay (Solo Version) [0:04:11.65]






Tracklist:

1. Fernando
2. Shine
3. Vill du låna en man
4. The Way You Do
5. Liv på Mars?
6. I Know There's Something Going On
7. Aldrig mej
8. Threnody
9. Ett liv i solen
10. Come to Me (I Am Woman)
11. Skulle de´va´skönt
12. Tell Me It's Over
13. Var är min clown
14. Here We'll Stay (duet with Phil Collins)

Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, better known to the world since 1973 as Frida and a member (and ex-member) of ABBA, had a fairly extensive recording career before joining the quartet. This double-CD set collects her various singles and LPs from that phase of her career, most of which were cut for the Swedish division of EMI Records. The hope is, obviously, that this collection will surprise and delight fans of ABBA, but there's considerable risk here as well – that at least the first two-thirds of the first disc will bore or appall those same fans. Those first 14 songs date from a period in which Lyngstad's goal (or, at least, that of her producer and/or manager) was for her to be Sweden's answer to Petula Clark. The fit is an awkward one, especially given the production on those early sides – thick-textured accompaniments that sound Italian, French, and anything but comfortable. Her work finally catches fire on this collection exactly where it did in history, when she commenced working with Benny Andersson, late of the Hep Stars, as her producer. Two-thirds of the way through the first disc, with "Peter Pan" (co-written by Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus), her voice is suddenly freed by Andersson's airy and open, light-textured yet distinctive production. The second disc opens with her version of "The Sound of Silence," sung as "En Ton Av Tystnad," which is beautiful, and is followed by "Suzanne" which, with its double-tracked vocals, is the first place where listeners get a preview, in very embryonic form, of "the ABBA sound." Those two tracks, along with all seven opening the second disc and the last four on disc one, are off of Lyngstad's 1971 Frida album, which marked the place where she adopted her more familiar performing name. The other material, including her duets with folksinger Lars Berghagen, is also quite beguiling, reminiscent of the work of Jim & Jean, and that parallel is even more pronounced as one of their recordings was a cover of Phil Ochs' "Changes." In the midst of these various later solo incarnations is a string of single A- and B-sides circa 1971, released by Polygram – "Min Egan Stad," "En Gang Ar Ingen Gang" (aka "There Goes My Everything"), "Vi Ar Alla Bara Barn I Borjan," and "Kom Och Sjung En Sang" (aka "No Sad Songs") produced by Andersson – that could easily have come off of that very first ABBA album in terms of sound. One can safely think of those and a handful of other tracks here as previews of the sound that would make Lyngstad (and Andersson) stars around the world, and if anyone ever decided to do an album of "ABBA missing links," they could start in worse places. The notes are in Swedish but beyond that drawback the sound is excellent, and fans of the singer or the group should certainly appreciate its contents and the surprises held therein.

by Bruce Eder

Tracklist CD1:

1. En ledig dag
- Weekend in Portofino -
(Matteo Chiosso, Bruno Defilippi, Bengt Sten)
2. Peter kom tillbaka
- Junge, komm bald Wieder -
(Lotar Olias, Olle Bergman)
3. Din
- Quiereme Mucho -
(Gonzalo Roig, Jerico)
4. Du är så underbart rar
- Can't Take My Eyes Off You -
(Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio, B.S. Bimen)
5. Simsalabim
(Gunnar Sandevärn)
6. Vi möts igen
- Where Are They Now? -
(Bradford Craig, Ty Whitney, Bengt Haslum)
7. Mycket kär
- Non Illuderti Mai -
(Daniele Pace, Mario Panzeri, Lorenzo Pilat, Stikkan Anderson)
8. När du blir min
- The Lonesome Road -
(Nat Shilkret, Olle Bergman)
9. Härlig är vår jord
(Ivan Renliden)
10. Räkna de lyckliga stunderna blott
(Jules Sylvain, Karl-Ewert)
11. Så synd du måste gå
- Comment Te Dire Adieu/It Hurts to Say Goodbye -
(Jack Gold, Arnold Golan, Stikkan Anderson)
12. Försök och sov på saken
- Surround Yourself With Sorrow -
(Bill Martin, Phil Coulter, Bo-Göran Edling)
13. Peter Pan
(Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus)
14. Du betonar kärlek lite fel
(Peter Himmelstrand)
15. Där du går lämnar kärleken spår
- Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) -
(Barry Mason, Tony Macaulay, Olle Bergman)
16. Du var främling här igår
- I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten -
(Clive Westlake, Patrice Hellberg)
17. Tre kvart från nu
(Arthur Rubinstein, Peter Himmelstrand)
18. Jag blir galen när jag tänker på dej
- Goin' Out of My Head -
(Teddy Randazzo, Robert Weinstein, Stikkan Anderson)
19. Lycka
(Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Stikkan Andersson)
20. Sen dess har jag inte sett 'en
(Trad. arr. Claes Rosendahl, Lars Berghagen)



Tracklist CD2:

1. En ton av tystnad
- The Sound of Silence -
(Paul Simon, Owe Junsjö)
2. Suzanne
(Leonard Cohen, Owe Junsjö)
3. Allting skall bli bra/Vad gör jag med min kärlek?
- Everything's Alright/I Don't Know How to Love Him (from Jesus Christ Superstar) -
(Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Owe Junsjö)
4. Jag är beredd
- And I'll Be There -
(Paul Leka, Denise Gross, Stikkan Anderson)
5. En liten sång om kärlek
- Five Pennies Saints -
(Sylvia Fine, Lars Berghagen)
6. Telegram för fullmånen
(Cornelis Vreeswijk, Georg Riedel)
7. Barnen sover
(Peter Himmelstrand)
8. En kväll om sommar'n (duett med Lars Berghagen)
- Changes -
(Phil Ochs, Lars Berghagen)
9. Vi vet allt, men nästan inget (duett med Lars Berghagen)
(Lars Berghagen)
10. Min egen stad
(Benny Andersson, Peter Himmelstrand)
11. En gång är ingen gång
- There Goes My Everything -
(Dallas Frazier, Stikkan Anderson)
12. Vi är alla bara barn i början
(Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus)
13. Kom och sjung en sång
- No Sad Song -
(Carole King, Toni Stern, Stikkan Andersson)
Bonus tracks (TV and radio appearances 1970):
14. Att älska i vårens tid
- Forårsnatt -
(Gunnar Nyström, Gösta Rybrant)
15. Ole Lukköje
(Ingrid Almqvist, Ingemar Malmström)
16. Vad gör det att vi skiljs för i afton
(Nils Jolinder, Karl-Ewert)
17. Min soldat
- Någonstans i Sverige -
(Nils Perne)
18. Barnen sover (Live)
(Peter Himmelstrand)

With the demise of ABBA in 1982, both of the group's female singers, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog, returned to the solo careers they had pursued before its formation. Lyngstad, billed as Frida, was out of the gate first (before the official announcement of the breakup, in fact) with 1982's Something's Going On, produced by Phil Collins, whose drumming was apparent on the album's U.S. Top 20 hit, "I Know There's Something Going On," and who provided duet vocals on the non-charting follow-up single, "Here We'll Stay." Faltskog followed in 1983 with Wrap Your Arms Around Me, which spawned a U.S. Top 40 hit in "Can't Shake Loose" and a U.K. one in "The Heat Is On." Frida's Shine (1984) and Faltskog's Eyes of a Woman (1985) were less successful and, after Faltskog's I Stand Alone (1988), the two singers essentially retired. The Voice of ABBA compiles tracks from each of Frida and Faltskog's first two solo albums, sequencing them alternately. Oddly, "Can't Shake Loose" is missing, as is Frida's U.K. chart entry, "Time," robbing the collection of the claim to being a hits compilation for the 1982-1985 period. ABBA fans will recognize Faltskog's sweet voice and Frida's slightly edgier one, of course, but that's as much of the sound of ABBA as they will hear. The two singers each tried to meet the early-'80s pop/rock marketplace, with its reliance on synthesizers and stop-start dance rhythms, rather than copying the homogenized, neo-'60s pop of ABBA. Just as they had with ABBA writer-producers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, they served as mouthpieces for whomever they were working with, whether Collins or someone else. For example, Frida's "Heart of the Country" sounded like a lost Big Country song for a reason: It had been written by the group's leader, Stuart Adamson.

by William Ruhlmann

Tracklist:

1. The Heat Is On 3:56
2. I Know There's Something Going On 5:30
3. You're There 3:32
4. To Turn The Stone 5:18
5. Just One Heart 3:46
6. That's Tough 5:06
7. Turn The World Around 4:18
8. I Got Something 4:05
9. We Should Be Together 3:59
10. Shine 4:42
11. I Won't Let You Go 3:39
12. Here We'll Stay 4:04
13. Wrap Your Arms Around Me 5:15
14. Heart Of The Country 4:37



All thanks go to olblackcat, bvstudio and Andrei Orlovich