Abba - The Visitors
#591
By Chris Roberts
November 30 1981
ABBA
The Visitors
Genre: Abbacoda.
Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Chris’ Rating: 3.9 out of 5.
Highlights:
The Visitors
One of Us
Two For The Price of One
I don’t recall hearing ABBA’s hits on the radio in the 70s or 80s, but I must have. In addition to “Dancing Queen” or “Take A Chance On Me” they had 12 more top 40 hits in America (and worldwide, they’ve sold as many records as U2). By the early 90s, thanks to either Muriel’s Wedding or Erasure, ABBA Gold was #1* in my CD collection (*alphabetical ranking)! I like ABBA, just not enough to see Mamma Mia. You know who really LOVED Abba? Australian teens! In prep for this review, I sat through the Australian ABBA documentary, Thank You For The Music, and the teenage fans in that movie act like they are waiting to see The Beatles.
I always saw ABBA as more like The Carpenters for the rest of the world. I like the Carpenters. I recently reviewed The Carpenters bittersweet 1981 swansong, Made In America. Made In America wasn’t terrible, just disappointing and hopelessly old-fashioned, and largely colored by a behind-the-scenes breakup. I knew that The Visitors was Abba’s final album, released in 1991, and was recorded after both couples had split up. So I braced myself for another embarrassing, last gasp from the 70s.
But The Visitors is fine. Unlike The Carpenters, ABBA have a history of good LPs. Usually there’s a couple hits, some theatricality, great melodies and good, poppy times. There’s filler, but not too many slow moments or big ideas, but they can pull on the heartstrings. Functional lyrics, in English, written by Swedes. It’s music for young people. Also unlike The Carpenters, ABBA got good material out of their own personal troubles. One of their best songs is the 1980 hit, “The Winner Takes It All,” which was heavily marked by Bjorn and Agnetha’s break up. It’s from the 1980 Super Trouper, and like that album, The Visitors gets weighed down with some slower adult-oriented material. But in general, The Visitors is a decent career-capper for the hyper-professional Swedes.
The title track mildly suggests ABBA is headed in a new direction. There’s an echoey, sinister guitar, coin-op SFX and Missing Persons style vocals. Paranoia, ABBA-style? Nope, just an extended opener. As the smoke machine powers down, the melody tinkles to life, and Frida’s voice slinks through the 80’s synths. At over five minutes, it qualifies as an ABBA-epic!
The next three are goodish. “Head Over Heels.” An Agnetha song, in the style of the earlier hit, “Money, Money, Money,” trading cabaret for the tango. Another song that paved the way for the musicals. Then comes “When All Is Said And Done,” Frida and Benny’s play by play of divorce. It’s not exactly Shut Out The Lights. But thematically, it works as ABBA’s farewell to the fans single. “Soldiers” is something of a mixed bag. Another great melody, and there’s something appealing about the alliteration, but I’m unsure what this song is about. It sounds like they’re saying something meaningful… but this is Abba. The line “if the bugler starts to play, we too must dance” gets unintentional chuckles.
Side Two opens with the biggest hit (and best song) on the album, “One of Us.” It’s a lesser known song in the US because it wasn’t released as a single until after ABBA broke up, and failed to chart. But it’s filled with the commercial emotion only ABBA can provide. It’s followed by “Two For the Price of One,” which is the requisite Bjorn-sung track. Normally, I don’t usually care for the Bjorn songs (or marching bands, or songs that feature phones ringing) but this song has all that and is redeemed by a fantastic melody and chorus. Love it, but get ready for an earworm.
There’s clunkers. “I Let The Music Speak” is slower, a bit of a sad snooze, as are the closing tracks “Slipping Through My Fingers” and “Like An Angel Passing Through My Room.” But I suppose for those Australian teens in 1981, this was a meaningful vibe. It was their Let It Be. It certainly was for ABBA, who captured the spirit in the cover photo. After jamming themselves into a chopper for the cover of Arrival, the The Visitors cover finds them standing apart, in low-lighting, preparing for solo careers.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5nPd21zawIBLrCaMEJrq3P?si=MXqabw4GRu6UVzVnZXYryQ
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