Moopy's Top 50 ABBA Songs - FULL RESULTS ON PAGE 14

Pingu said:
35. The Piper
Album track from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 7.84

It was nice to see Me And I's appearance in the Top 50 come as a pleasant surprise to some, but I have to say this is one that I really wasn't expecting. Other than the 5s listed below, The Piper got a pretty respectable crop of scores including one 11, which isn't bad for a song I had assumed to be one of their absolute obscurest.

It's a track that could easily have slotted into The Visitors, with its lyrics dealing with dictators and the fear another Hitler could come along showing where Bjorn's songwriting tendencies were heading. Benny was also branching out with his composition as well, with brooding minor chord verses, Medieval instrumentation, upbeat folky choruses and even a Latin chant thrown in, all tied together in typical ABBA hooky fashion. Still, the signs were there that the two Bs would soon tire of the standard pop song format.

Highest scores: @Suomi (11)
Lowest scores: @Hak (5), @dUb (5)

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It really grew on me as a result of the sync! Love it now
 
Imagine a Visitors tracklisting where Two For the Price of One is swapped out for The Piper
 
33. When You Danced With Me
Album track from Voyage
Released: 2021
Score: 7.91

Back to the present now, and here's one that really felt like an ABBA are back moment. The unison lead vocals, Benny's Super Trouper-era synth, the folky overtones, and even the political undertones (Bjorn has remarked that parts of it refer to Brexit), this is ABBA cryogenically frozen and thawed in 2021.

Even though Bjorn envisaged an Irish village fair when writing the song, with a delightfully innocent-yet-bitter lyric about a smalltown girl singing to a former lover who abandoned her for big city life, the music couldn't be more Swedish, and left @Suomi so emotionally shaken after the first listen he couldn't bring himself to finish the album for two months.

Highest scores: @Suomi (10), @Jark (10)
Lowest scores: @ZenGiraffe (5), @BoysForSeles (6), @Sheena (6)

 
Fantastic for The Piper and Me & I. I’ll assume we may also get another album track from that album as well (I don’t think it was a single anyway).
 
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32. Happy New Year
Album track from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 7.91

Here's a glimpse at one of Benny and Bjorn's attempts at writing a musical together during their time in ABBA. The original concept was of a group of friends on New Year's Eve reflecting on a year and contemplating what lies ahead. They courted John Cleese to write the book, but when he wasn't interested (and it's probably not totally surprising given the less than inspiring plot idea) they abandoned the notion, but this song survived and was recorded for the Super Trouper album.

It's among the most delightfully dismal sets of lyrics you'll ever hear on an ABBA song, and it's always fun to have some unsuspecting partygoer put this on at 1am on New Year's Day and be greeted with sentiments like "Seems to me now that the dreams we had before are all dead, nothing more than confetti on the floor." Take A Chance On Me it is not. Anyway it shouldn't be surprising given the time in which is was written and some of their other lyrical output at the time, but apparently it's all a Cold War metaphor, which does explain the tone somewhat.

Highest scores: @Pingu (10), @Penelope (10), @Hak (10)
Lowest scores: @Oh just have a fucking guess (3)

 
Happy New Year is the first one I've wished was lower. And significantly so.
 
31. Money, Money, Money
Single from Arrival
Released: 1976
Score: 8.02

More musical theatre japes now, with a song that toys with the style even if it wasn't ever meant to be in one. Money, Money, Money started life with the working title Gypsy Girl, and there are a few musical clues that point towards the Romani themed track they were originally going for.

History would thank them for going in a less controversial direction, with Money, Money, Money becoming a big hit, although its #3 peak in the UK does mean it breaks up what would otherwise have been a staggering run of seven consecutive number one singles. Of course even though it wasn't actually written for a musical, like most of ABBA's hits it has now ended up in one, doing a decent job of introducing Donna and her plot in Mamma Mia!

Highest scores: @Lockhart (10), @Hak (10)
Lowest scores: @dUb (4), @Tisch (6), @dmlaw (6)

 
I think Money Money Money was the first single I remember from the time - seeing the single on TOTP when I would have been 5. It was so dark and dramatic.

It's probably the single of theirs that most varies in score for me. Some days I'd give it a 10, others a 7. Think i went with a 9 for the rate, but it wouldn't have been one of the many 9s that were marked down from an initial 10.
 
lolly said:
I think Money Money Money was the first single I remember from the time - seeing the single on TOTP when I would have been 5. It was so dark and dramatic.

It's probably the single of theirs that most varies in score for me. Some days I'd give it a 10, others a 7. Think i went with a 9 for the rate, but it wouldn't have been one of the many 9s that were marked down from an initial 10.
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I’ve no idea what my first ABBA experience was. I just grew up knowing the hits probably due to my aunts having Friday night kitchen discos and as ABBA were a staple for years have no idea of the chronology.
 
Pingu said:
32. Happy New Year
Album track from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 7.91

Here's a glimpse at one of Benny and Bjorn's attempts at writing a musical together during their time in ABBA. The original concept was of a group of friends on New Year's Eve reflecting on a year and contemplating what lies ahead. They courted John Cleese to write the book, but when he wasn't interested (and it's probably not totally surprising given the less than inspiring plot idea) they abandoned the notion, but this song survived and was recorded for the Super Trouper album.

It's among the most delightfully dismal sets of lyrics you'll ever hear on an ABBA song, and it's always fun to have some unsuspecting partygoer put this on at 1am on New Year's Day and be greeted with sentiments like "Seems to me now that the dreams we had before are all dead, nothing more than confetti on the floor." Take A Chance On Me it is not. Anyway it shouldn't be surprising given the time in which is was written and some of their other lyrical output at the time, but apparently it's all a Cold War metaphor, which does explain the tone somewhat.

Highest scores: @Pingu (10), @Penelope (10), @Hak (10)
Lowest scores: @Oh just have a fucking guess (3)

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On reflection, I'd mark this down further still as I've just remembered some JOYLESS CUNT put this on at a Hogmanay Party and KILLED THE MOOD.

ABBA should have been more careful with what they handed teenagers with iPods.
 
Money, Money, Money is one of ABBAs best kiddie songs. The banal lyrics would of course have to be reworked to suit a grown up audience but the instantaneously dramatic atmosphere and overacted moodiness of the song makes this perfect for a 3rd grade slumber party.
 
30. Eagle
Single from The Album
Released: 1977
Score: 8.02

In terms of the progression of ABBA's sound, most fans seem to agree that there was a clear leap in quality between ABBA and Arrival albums. Personally however, I feel the real step change came with The Album. It may not be their strongest complete work, but the songwriting ambition and overall scale of their sound came on leaps and bounds from the top notch - but frothy - pop on Arrival. This is illustrated perfectly in the majestic album opener, Eagle.

The 5:51 running time (it's the longest track they ever recorded), the improvised guitar effects, the soaring vocals and the lofty, poetic lyrics about striving for freedom all combine to tick off the "epic" box, and the song is a perfect example of the group's attempts (not always succeeding at this stage) to make everything "bigger" from this point. It was technically a single, although it received a limited release and a fairly shonky music video to boot. Somebody has been kind enough to turn the far superior visuals from ABBA: The Movie into an alternative video that I've posted below.

Highest scores: @Iguana (11), @Marilyn (10), @Sheena (10)
Lowest scores: @ZenGiraffe (2), @dUb (6), @Devil (6)

 
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29. Our Last Summer
Album track from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 8.07

The most 10s we've had so far now for this one, a lovely piece of nostalgia from Super Trouper. The starting point of the lyrics was a summer romance Bjorn had had in his teenage years in Paris, a concept that had originated in the demo for My Love, My Life. Of course, the songwriting had got that little bit more sophisticated since then, and just to give it that extra layer of melancholy, there's that excellent final verse that brings the story to the present day, describing how mundane the protagonists' lives are now.

Frida does a great job on vocals here - the heavy vibrato might not be to everyone's taste, but it does give the recording a touch of the French chanteuse. Whether it complements or clashes with the music, which is essentially a light rock ballad (even featuring a guitar solo) is up for debate. Thanks to its inclusion in a sweet scene in the Mamma Mia! stage show (and a slightly less sweet one in the movie), there seems to be much more awareness of this one among the great unwashed these days, and rightfully so.

Highest scores: @dmlaw (10), @Penelope (10), @Tisch (10), @BoysForSeles (10), @Devil (10), @Lockhart (10)
Lowest scores: @ZenGiraffe (0)

 
What was the average score ZG gave out? (Mean and median)
 
I've said it before but Our Last Summer would make a great Christmas song with a lyric change.

#ABBAfanfiction
 
I'm shocked anybody could give Our last summer a zero. It's just stunning.
 
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28. Keep An Eye On Dan
Album track from Voyage
Released: 2021
Score: 8.16

It's fair to say that in the madness of the momentous day last September when the extent of ABBA's comeback was finally confirmed, no song title piqued people's interest more on the tracklist of their forthcoming album than the intriguing and seemingly bonkers Keep An Eye On Dan. It certainly seemed like the consensus prediction was that Bjorn hadn't been able to resist including a "knockabout fun novelty track" with himself on lead vocal in the vein of Two For The Price Of One (which incidentally has finished at #81 on this countdown, sorry Bjorn fans).

Who could have predicted that it would turn out to be one of the best slices of dark domestic melodrama on the album? The lyrics are once again incredibly specific and mundane, but the relatability, plus the fantastic string and synths arrangement and Agnetha's fragile delivery help elevate the act of dropping your son off to his dad's to a life-or-death crisis. It's actually the only song on the entire Voyage album in a minor key, and as such it does help give the album some much-needed teeth, and I can only speak for myself, but the cheeky little reference at the very end of the song feels earned.

Highest scores: @Suomi (10), @Penelope (9.5)
Lowest scores: @BoysForSeles (6)

 
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I look forward to the disturbing revelation that ZenGiraffe has given his 11 to ‘Hey Hey Helen’ or something like that.
 
Madison said:
What was the average score ZG gave out? (Mean and median)
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I'll give you a rundown of the most (and least) generous voters with mean scores.

Most generous
1. @Lockhart (7.53)
2. @Pingu (7.52)
3. @Iguana (7.43)
3. @Penelope (7.43)
5. @Marilyn (7.39)

Least generous
20. @dUb (5.68) Voting system: assigning a numerical value to the notes he made in preparation for our podcast episode
21. @Suomi (5.1) Voting system: leaving the early albums until a very hung over Sunday morning, resulting in an avalanche of zeroes
22. @ZenGiraffe (4.2) Voting system: being a twat
 
Wait, are Don't Shut Me Down's verses in a major key?! Either way, only one minor key track on the album is perverse (and actually no surprise for why it isn't great)
 
My 6 for Dan feels a bit stingey but I had to try and be relative to what I was giving better tracks.
 
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