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SWEDISH band ABBA released their first studio album in 40 years on Friday (11/5), but fans expecting new songs may be disappointed as this could be ABBA’s last work.
“I think the other three people will say ‘this will be the last,'” said Bjorn Ulvaeus, one of ABBA’s songwriters who made hits like ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Money, Money, Money’ together. Benny Anderson.
“I’m not saying we won’t be working anymore. There’s always a chance. I hate to say this… I’m just saying it looks like we won’t be recording a new song.”
ABBA, formed by two married couples in 1972, have sold more than 385 million albums since the hit ‘Waterloo’, they reached number one on the world’s charts until their disbandment in the early 1980s.
ABBA Gold, a compilation of their hit songs originally released in 1992, recently passed its 1000th week on the UK album charts.
“Voyage” is the first album containing new songs since ‘The Visitors’, in 1981, released before the group’s disbandment which coincided with the end of their member Agnetha Faltskog’s marriage to Bjorn and Benny’s marriage to Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
Rumors circulated for years that ABBA would be playing together again. But many of its members turned down offers, including a US$1 billion offer to tour again.
“In that case, the reason is health … for reasons beyond money, just for health,” Ulvaeus told Reuters in an interview before the launch of Voyage.
This new album is born out of ABBA’s new concert project, also called Voyage, featuring digital representations of ABBA members created with motion-capture technology.
“Voyage” contains 10 songs, all of which have never been released other than ‘Just a Notion’ which was recorded in 1978.
Ulvaeus said he and Benny weren’t trying to make music the way it is today and this album might be more appealing to longtime ABBA fans.
“You can definitely feel 40 years have passed. There’s depth to the sound, the music and the lyrics. There’s an element that comes with age, I think in all albums,” he said.
Ulvaeus explained that they reveal the secret behind songwriting success. Just writing the melody and lyrics is good enough.
“Not easy, but simple. Whether it will be successful, depends on the listener. We just do our best,” Reuters quoted Sunday (11/7). [antaranews/photo special]
