Digression #7: Happy New Year 2013!!!!!!!!

Hello all,
In terms of this blog, 2012 has certainly been the best year, but it's been uneven.
If I'm not mistaken, about half of the albums/samplers that I've posted have been marked as copyrighted/non-distributable by mediafire (some more than once).
Realistically, I am unlikely to re-up any older albums, as some of the albums I re-uploaded were deleted by mediafire within days of my posting them.
With that said, I am unsure about the future of this blog. I enjoy assembling samplers, so I may post a few here and there, but with so many being taken down, I'm not sure how motivated I will be to consistently post new things. I do not wish to make any promises, as my track record with keeping them is not very good.
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Anyway, enough with my rant...
I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and thank you all for visiting this past year.
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ABBA-Esque Music Sampler (NEW LINKS)

UPDATE: Just 1 day after re-uploading disc 2, mediafire has blocked it again, so unfortunately that spells the end of disc 2. Disc 1 remains available and downloadable.
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(Originally posted 2 June 2012)
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As a follow-up to a blog post from two years ago, I have assembled a collection of forty ABBA-esque songs. Almost all of the songs are from my personal CD collection, with a few coming from various internet blogs. I haven't anything else to add about it; the content speaks for itself. See my earlier post for a brief overview of some of the artists presented here.
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So, without further ado, here is the track listing of this two-disc compilation...
Disc 1 can be downloaded here.
DISC 2 BLOCKED PERMANENTLY. :(
The two discs can be downloaded and unpacked independently of each other.
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#	Title	Artist	Album
1.01	Angeleyes	ABBA	Voulez-Vous [1979]
1.02	Angelo	Brotherhood Of Man	Images [1977]
1.03	I’m In Love For The Very First Time	Maywood	Different Worlds [1981]
1.04	Valentino	Champagne	Champagne [1977]
1.05	Telegram	Silver Convention	Summernights [1977]
1.06	Highwayman	Brotherhood Of Man	Images [1977]
1.07	El Lute	Boney M	Oceans Of Fantasy [1979]
1.08	My Man	Luv’	With Luv’ [1978]
1.09	Make Love Whenever You Can	Arabesque	Arabesque IV [1980]
1.10	Writer Please Write Me A Song	Dolly Dots	P.S. We Love You [1981]
1.11	Jimmy	Boney M	Boonoonoonoos [1981]
1.12	Oh Boy (The Mood I’m In)	Brotherhood Of Man	Oh Boy! [1977]
1.13	Cara Mia	Baccara	Baccara [1977]
1.14	Rio	Maywood	Different Worlds [1981]
1.15	Lucifer’s Lover	Arabesque	Arabesque II: City Cats [1979]
1.16	Plantation Boy	Boney M	Love For Sale [1977]
1.17	Figaro	Brotherhood Of Man	B For Brotherhood [1978]
1.18	Viva Torero	À La Carte	Viva À La Carte [1981]
1.19	Ann-Maria	Luv’	True Luv’ [1979]
1.20	Oh Me, Oh My, Goodbye	Champagne	Champagne [1977]
2.01	Cassandra	ABBA	Single B-Side [1982]
2.02	I Know Him So Well	Elaine Paige	Chess [1984 Studio Cast]
2.03	Story Of A Heart	Benny Andersson Band Feat. Helen Sjöholm	Story Of A Heart [2010]
2.04	Since I Met You	Maywood	Different Worlds [1981]
2.05	Slowly	Frida (Of ABBA)	Shine [1984]
2.06	Mother, How Are You Today?	Maywood	Maywood [1980]
2.07	The Winner Takes It All	ABBA	Super Trouper [1980]
2.08	The Queen Of Hearts	Agnetha Fältskog (Of ABBA)	That’s Me: The Greatest Hits [1999]; Recorded 1981
2.09	Hurting Each Other	Carpenters	A Song For You [1972]
2.10	Casanova	Luv’	Lots Of Luv’ [1979]
2.11	Somewhere In Paradise	Baccara	Single B-Side [1978]
2.12	Red Indian Drums	À La Carte	Do Wah Diddy Diddy Round [1980]
2.13	Black Jack	Champagne	Single A-Side [1979]
2.14	Hooray! Hooray! It’s A Holi-Holiday!	Boney M	Oceans Of Fantasy [1979]
2.15	Give Me Back My Love	Maywood	Maywood [1980]
2.16	Lullaby	Brotherhood Of Man	Images [1977]
2.17	Wanted (Jean Le Voleur)	À La Carte	Viva À La Carte [1981]
2.18	To Turn The Stone	Frida (Of ABBA)	Something’s Going On [1982]
2.19	The Sign	Ace Of Base	The Sign [1994]
2.20	Alejandro	Lady GaGa	The Fame Monster [2009]

Maywood- "Different Worlds" (1981)

Hello,
I previously posted the first of two "ABBA-esque" albums, 1977's Images by Brotherhood of Man.
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Here is the second: Dutch duo Maywood's Different Worlds, released in 1981. Their second album, it is probably their most consistently good work (along with their third album, Colour My Rainbow [1982]) and catches them at their height. A few of the songs here were included in the "ABBA-esque Sampler" that I posted a while back.
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For this album, please follow the link below to go to the DiscoToGo Blog.
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01. Rio
02. It's A Different World
03. Gone Without A Reason
04. You're The One
05. Since I Met You
06. Pasadena
07. I'm In Love For The Very First Time
08. Mano
09. What A World
10. Distant Love
11. Just A Little Bit Of Love
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Get it at the Disco2Go Blog. Enjoy!

ABBA International: Svenska, Deutsche, Español, Français (Sampler)

Hello all,
For today's post, I have assembled a collection of ABBA songs in four languages other than English (Swedish, German, Spanish, and French).
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Included is every (or so I hope) non-English recording by ABBA of songs they had originally recorded in English.
In addition, ABBA recorded a few songs in Swedish only ("Åh, Vilka Tider" and birthday songs for Görel Hanser and Stig Anderson), and those are also included.
"Hej Gamle Man," credited to Björn & Benny but featuring backing vocals by Agnetha and Frida, was the quartet's first hit, and was also recorded in a German version included here.
Furthermore, the individual members of ABBA recorded a few ABBA songs in Swedish as solo artists. In fact, Frida's Swedish version of "Fernando" was the original recording of the song, and its success prompted ABBA to record an English version as a group.
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All ten tracks from ABBA's 1980 album "Gracias Por La Música" are included here (tracks 2-11 on disc 2). "Gracias Por La Música" is notable as the only full-length studio album that ABBA recorded in a language other than English (Spanish), and was intended to be the group's big breakthrough into the Latin American market. Not only did the album succeed, but the Spanish version of Chiquitita proved a very popular song in Spanish-speaking countries (such as Mexico, where it was a Number 1 single for 30 weeks!).
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Included are five songs performed by artists other than ABBA (four by Lena Andersson and one by Mireille Mathieu).
Although not a member of ABBA, Lena Andersson performed backing vocals in their 1977 tour (she can be seen in "ABBA-The Movie"). Her one Swedish- and three German-language recordings featured the original ABBA backing tracks and were intended as the "official" recordings of those songs in their respective languages, hence their inclusion. If I remember correctly, all four are from Youtube and vary in sound quality.
Mireille Mathieu was of course not an ABBA member, but her French-language recording of "The Winner Takes It All" is included as it was produced by Björn and Benny and includes Frida in the backing choir.
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UPDATE: I realise I don't have the French/Swedish medley of "Waterloo" in my iTunes library, so I overlooked it. When I have a chance to re-rip my CD copy of the TYFTM box set (which is currently stored in another city) I will update the download links to include it.
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Disc 1: Germanic Languages

Swedish:

01. Hej Gamle Man! (Björn & Benny, 1970)
02. Det Ken Ingen Doktor Hjälpa (Björn & Benny, 1971)
03. En Karusell (Björn & Benny, 1972)
- Swedish version of "Merry Go Round."
04. Åh, Vilka Tider (ABBA, 1973)
- The only officially-released song credited to all four members that was never recorded in English.
05. Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal) (ABBA, 1973)
06. Waterloo (ABBA, 1974)
07. Honey, Honey (ABBA, 1974)
08. Hasta Mañana (Lena Andersson, 1974)
- This recording featured the original ABBA backing track and was (presumably) Stig-produced.
09. S.O.S. (Agnetha Fältskog, 1975)
10. Fernando (Frida, 1975)
- This recording predates the English-language ABBA version.
11. Mina Ögon (Agnetha Fältskog, 1975)
- Swedish version of "Disillusion."
12. Sång Till Görel (ABBA, 1979)
- Recorded for Görel Hanser's 30th birthday; released as a private-issue one-sided single (Rare!).
13. Hovas Vittne (ABBA, 1981)
- Recorded for Stig Anderson's 50th birthday; released as a promo single for those attending the party (Rare!).
14. Tivedshambo (ABBA, 1986)
- Live vocal version of Stig's first hit, recorded 16 January 1986.
- This public broadcast was ABBA's first and only reformation after their "split" in 1986, making it both rare and historically significant.

German:

15. Hey Musikant! (Björn & Benny, 1973)
- German version of "Hej Gamle Man!"
16. Ring Ring (ABBA, 1973)
17. Wer Im Wartesaal Der Liebe Steht (1974)
- German version of "Another Town, Another Train."
18. Waterloo (ABBA, 1974)
19. S.O.S. (Lena Andersson, 1975)
20. Hasta Mañana (Lena Andersson, 1975)
21. Fernando (...Und Der Himmel War Zum Greifen Nah) (Lena Andersson, 1976)
- Tracks 19-21 feature the original ABBA backing tracks and were (presumably) produced by Stig.

Disc 2: Romance Languages

Spanish:

01. Ring Ring (ABBA, 1973)
02. Gracias Por La Música (ABBA, 1980)
- Spanish version of "Thank You For The Music."
03. La Reina Del Baile (Reina Danzante) (ABBA, 1980)
- Spanish version of "Dancing Queen."
04. Al Andar (ABBA, 1980)
- Spanish version of "Move On."
05. ¡Dáme! ¡Dáme! ¡Dáme! (Amor Esta Noche) (ABBA, 1980)
- Spanish version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)."
06. Fernando (ABBA, 1980)
07. Estoy Soñando (ABBA, 1980)
- Spanish version of "I Have A Dream."
08. ¡Mamma Mia! (ABBA, 1980)
09. Hasta Mañana (ABBA, 1980)
10. Conociéndome, Conociéndote (ABBA, 1980)
- Spanish version of "Knowing Me, Knowing You."
11. Chiquitita (ABBA, 1980)
12. Andante, Andante (ABBA, 1980)
13. Felicidad (ABBA, 1980)
- Spanish version of "Happy New Year."
14. No Hay A Quien Culpar (ABBA, 1981)
- Spanish version of "When All Is Said And Done."
15. Se Me Está Escapando (ABBA, 1981)
- Spanish version of "Slipping Through My Fingers."

French:

16. Waterloo (ABBA, 1974)
17. Bravo, Tu As Gagné (Mireille Mathieu, 1981)
- French version of "The Winner Takes It All," produced by Björn and Benny with Frida in the backing choir.

Multilingual:

18. Ring Ring (ABBA, 1973)
- Medley of Swedish, Spanish, and German versions from the "Thank You For The Music" box set in 1994.
Bonus:
19. Tivedshambo (ABBA, 1981)
- Instrumental recording of Stig Anderson's first hit, included as the B-Side of the "Hovas Vittne" promo single.

Get Disc 1 here and Disc 2 here!

P.S. You can get a collection of ABBA covers in French here.

Enjoy!
And, as always, any comments are much appreciated. :)

A Few ABBA-Related Downloads

Hello all,
Just a quick post for today. I'd like to highlight a few ABBA-related downloads from around the internet.
As many of these are bootlegs, in some cases the sound quality is quite poor, I wouldn't recommend any of these if you are only a casual fan. Start with the officially-released studio albums, and if they leave you wanting more, by all means... :)

The "ABBA Just Like That" blog has a post chock-full of ABBA bootlegs. My favourites are:
- Live in London (from the original BBC Transcription Disc; GREAT sound quality)
- The Polar Music Vaults, Vol. 1 & 2 (full of rarities in GREAT sound quality)
- "Sång Til Görel" and "Hovas Vittne," both of which are VERY rare
- Live in Japan
- Live in Milwaukee (wonderful sound for a bootleg fan recording, and full of energy)
- Live in Sydney
- Agnetha 12" Remixes
- Odds & Ends

You can find a review of ABBA covers in French at "Reprises des Chansons d'ABBA en Français," and if you scroll down the page you can download an album containing most of the songs. Some of the renditions are ABBAsolutely splendid (others less so, but such can be expected).

At the "bTd ABBA MIDI Archive" you can find a good number of MIDI files of ABBA songs.

Also, Mikory's ABBA Blog is updated daily with an "ABBA Pic of the Day" and other interesting posts.

Finally, you are more than welcome to check out my ABBA posts:
- Random ABBA Info
- ABBA-esque Sampler

Have an ABBAsolutely awesome day :)
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And, as a bonus, here is a video of Mireille Mathieu singing (lip-sync) "Bravo, Tu As Gagné," the French version of "The Winner Takes It All."

Random ABBA Info

NOTE: I wrote this a while back (for what I can't remember) and just re-discovered it, so I thought I might as well post it...

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I've never made any secret of the fact that my favourite music group is ABBA, and I just wanted to share a few random factoids. They were very successful around the world at the height of their careers. Although never nearly as successful in America as in, for example, Europe, the chart dominance that ABBA displayed during their time was quite remarkable nonetheless.

To give a sense of their success in the UK, ABBA are the eighth-highest selling singles artist in UK chart history. They had 9 number 1 UK charting singles (for a total of 31 weeks at the top spot), with all 18 singles released between 1975 and 1981 reaching the Top 10 in the UK charts (their other 6 singles all reached the Top 40). As a side note, when “Lay All Your Love on Me” was released as a single in 1980, it became the highest charting 12” single to date, reaching number 7. They also had 8 consecutive UK number 1 albums (49 weeks at the top spot), in addition to ABBA Gold, which has hit the number 1 spot 5 different times since its 1992 release, becoming the oldest album to reach number 1 in 2008 and the third highest selling album in UK chart history. Three of their albums have been the most successful album of the year in the UK: Greatest Hits in 1976, Arrival in 1977, and Super Trouper in 1980. The latter album held the record for most advance sales in the UK (about 1 million copies) until 1984, when it was surpassed. In addition, 4 other ABBA albums have been among the top 10 of a year, and 5 ABBA songs have been among the top 10 of a year.

ABBA were also very successful in Australia. “The Best of ABBA” was the best-selling album of 1976, while “Fernando” was the highest selling single of the year. In fact, “Fernando” became the highest-selling single in Australian chart history. 3 other singles and 3 albums were among the top 10 singles of a year. 6 singles (including “Fernando”) went to number 1, for a total of 42 weeks, and 4 albums went to number 1 (for at least 35 weeks).

In addition, ABBA had 16 number 1 singles in Belgium (for 61 weeks total), 9 in Germany, 13 in Ireland, 9 in Mexico, 8 in the Netherlands, 7 in South Africa, 7 in Switzerland, as well as number 1s in many other nations. “Fernando” was ABBA’s most successful international single, reaching number 1 in 13 countries (14 if you count the original Swedish-language solo single), and the top 10 in many other countries. “Dancing Queen” was ABBA’s second most successful single, hitting the number 1 in 13 countries. “Chiquitita” was a number 1 in at least 10 countries (remarkably, both the English and Spanish versions went to number 1 in Mexico on the respective language charts for 32 and 30 weeks). In addition, “Waterloo,” “Money Money Money,” “Take A Chance On Me,” and “The Winner Takes It All,” among others, were also worldwide hits. “ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits,” released in 1992, is ABBA’s highest-selling album, having sold at least 26 million units internationally, placing it among the top 40 highest selling albums of all time.

In the United States, ABBA were not as successful as they were around the world. Ultimately, they only had one number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 (Dancing Queen), and only 3 other singles made the top 10. Including these 4 singles, ABBA had a total of 15 Top 40 singles in the U.S. That said, ABBA also had three other number 1 singles on other Billboard charts: “Fernando” and “The Winner Takes It All” on the Adult Contemporary Chart and “Lay All Your Love On Me” (backed with "On And On And On" and "Super Trouper") on the Dance Charts.

In 1977, at the height of their success, ABBA toured Europe and Australia. Australia was one of the major focuses of the tour, with 11 shows played there to an estimated 160,000 people. Among the European shows, ABBA did two concerts in London’s Royal Albert Hall, for which tickets were only available by mail order. It was later revealed that 3.5 million requests were received, enough to fill the stadium 580 times. During their 1979 tour, ABBA played in North America and Europe, including 6 sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena in London.

An interesting and very random fact is that ABBA’s eighth and final studio album, The Visitors, was the first CD ever to be manufactured for commercial sale (in September 1982), and among the first titles released in the new format.

For those interested, ABBA’s 9 UK number 1 singles:

Waterloo (2 wks)

Mamma Mia (2 wks)

Fernando (4 wks)

Dancing Queen (6 wks)

Knowing Me, Knowing You (5 wks)

The Name of the Game (4 wks)

Take A Chance On Me (3 wks)

The Winner Takes It All (2 wks)

Super Trouper (3 wks)

P.S. See ABBA: The Worldwide Chart Lists for some more interesting info, including chart placing for all their singles in many countries, year-end rankings, etc.