Un vistazo al nuevo CD-single de Agnetha "WHEN YOU REALLY LOVED SOMEONE" ("Cuando realmente quisiste a alguien"). El video lo puedes ver AQUÍ. Incluímos información en inglés sobre las distintas canciones del álbum.
Take a look at Agnetha's new CD-single "WHEN YOU REALLY LOVED SOMEONE". You can watch the video HERE. Including a track by track review of the album.
“A” - Agnetha Faltskög’s new album
Track-by-track review
The One Who Loves You Now
Precision styled like an ABBA song, even to the point of softly strumming guitars with a nod to the supergroup’s overlooked I’ve Been Waiting For You. Sadly, Frida’s plaintive vocals are much missed in the chorus, which could have helped propel this to classic ABBA status. A sweet midtempo tune featuring Agnetha in fine voice, it was chosen as the album’s first single in Germany, fact fans.
Starting off a little like Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn hit from the 90s, this radio-friendly track delicately places Agnetha’s voice in a new modern soundscape it hasn’t featured in before…and it’s a good fit. Deftly managing to escape the clutches of powerballad clichés via its soaring chorus, When You Really Loved Someone makes a good single choice (though it should have been #2 or #3).
Perfume In The Breeze
Giving a gentle acknowledgement to Madonna circa her Ray of Light and William Orbit era comes a title that could only have arisen from the pen of a writer using English as a second language. Despite the poor vocab choices (rainbows, shadows and tarot cards all manage to sneak in here somehow) it’s pleasant enough fluff, but with the distinct whiff of filler, or ye olde b-side, to it.
I Was A Flower
No, it’s not the theme for yet another torrid Twilight sequel, but a twinkly piano ballad blended with moody synth strings. Again this particular Flower wilts under the heavy-handed weight of some sub-standard lyrics filled with a mesh (and a mess) straight out of the “Rhyming English For Dummies” dictionary. Still, Agnetha elevates this material to something better than it deserved to be.
I Should’ve Followed You Home
After two sub-par tracks arrives Agnetha’s highly touted teaming with Gary Barlow – talk about great cougar duets of our time! Starting as a soft, pleading ballad, by the time the chorus kicks in it has transforms into a toe-tapping pop song (think The Winner Takes It All) with glossy Swedish production channelling Britney and, yes, Take That at their best. Should’ve been the first single, actually.
Past Forever
On what would have been the first track on side “B” of the album version it’s piano ballad time again. With words courtesy of songsmith Carole Bayer Sager this is a definite step up in the lyrics stake and a true highlight. Anyone who got a tad misty-eyed during Agnetha’s ABBA ballad moments (S.O.S., The Winner Takes It All, One Of Us to name but three) will find this tear-inducing forever more.
Dance Your Pain Away
Did someone suddenly flick a switch labelled Voulez-Vous turning on a throbbing mirrorball? Oh yes they did! Here’s dancing queen Agnetha zipping up her boots imploring us to get back to our dancefloor roots. With more than just a casual throwback to 70s eurodisco (a la Madonna’s Hung Up) this will be a big crowdpleaser at every gay pride this year…and for years to come. Painfully good!
Bubble
Suddenly we’re in the chillout lounge. It’s post-party after the crowds have fled, the booze is wearing off and you’re making out with a handsome stranger. That’s the Bubble you’re locked in. Though “rainbow skies, northern lights” get trotted out, the moody, sensual, shuffling musical backdrop gives off just the right hint of seduction here. The bubble is “made for two”, incidentally. Lovely stuff.
Back On Your Radio
The dial, and the tempo, gets cranked back up a few notches with this pleasant if forgettable tongue-in-cheek recognition of how Agnetha’s voice has been missing on the radio “in the longest time”. Unfortunately BOTR sags under the weight of a chorus the Spice Girls would have rejected as too twee, straying unpleasantly from adult contemporary into easy listening territory. Change the channel.
I Keep Them On The Floor Beside My Bed
It’s the return of the plinky pianos and our melancholy Swedish songstress at first coming on like she’s trapped in a 70s mono car radio. It matches the Carpenters-like music courtesy of Agnetha herself. It’s the first piece of music she’s written since the 80s. With its guitar solo/strings break it could easily have fallen off an early ABBA album, amongst the strident hits. A classy finish to A.
An A- for A
With a running time of less than 40 minutes and a neat 10 tracks, A heralds Agnetha Faltskög’s first new material since 1987’s American-aimed I Stand Alone (since 2004’s My Colouring Book was a well-received collection of her favourite covers). So was it worth a few decades’ wait? While sometimes writer/producer Jörgen Elofsson’s overly lush handiwork (and join-the-dots lyrics) lets individual songs down, overall it’s a superb record. This particular A stands for both a welcome return and a true return to form.
The real standout here is the surging ABBA-esque Dance Your Pain Away, sure to be much requested on dancefloors across the Northern Summer (not to mention the Southern Winter) this year. Another highlight is the Gary Barlow duet I Should’ve Followed You Home that knowingly borrows some of its abrupt tempo shifts from ABBA’s The Winner Takes It All and perhaps would have been a much better choice as first single in every territory.
So, most importantly of all, does Agnetha’s new album herald a possible ABBA reunion? Well, ABBA’s Bjorn and Benny have just composed We Write The Story, the theme song for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, together with hot Swedish DJ/producer Avicii. It will premiere worldwide during the telecast, handily being held this year in Stockholm, on May 18. That means the only member of the one-time Swedish supergroup not currently active, and yet to return to the super trouper lights of fame, is Frida.
Perhaps when the doors of that long-overdue ABBA Museum are finally flung open in Stockholm in May (now there’s fortuitous timing!) it might inspire our fab foursome to do some moresome for us. For now though, the charming A is released ahead of all of this ABBA-related euphoria (Loreen, you can sit down again now!) from May 10 worldwide. It’s like Agnetha never really went away, when all is said and done.
This is ”A” (Gunnar Moe's review)
The essence of the album – if you ask me; Why is love so hard to understand!
Things suddenly came flying my surprised way and I’ve had the wonderful privilege to listen to Agnetha Fältskogs totally faaaaabulous album “A”. I can tell that for all of us this will be the very pop-album of 2013 (and Agnethas best since ABBA if you ask me!)! Musically “A” has no surprises but presents our dear star back where she belongs; in pure pop-heaven for real songs – produced as we loved them in the seventies! And yes – it’s 2013 and this sounds so fresh and 2013 even if it sounds yesterday so to say!
“The One Who Loves You Now” – We do know this single! It’s absolutely brilliant!
“When You Really Loved Someone” – The first worldwide single – totally wonderfull!
Then… the rest of “A”….
“Perfume In The Breeze”: A mid-tempo pop-song theme love (of course) with a light breeze all over. Agnethas vocal is light and easy. When she starts singing you feel a split second that she is revisiting “I won’t be leaving you”. A song for sunny summerdays with cute whistling, harmonies and very recognisable Agnetha.
“I Was A Flower”: The first of the albums two fabulous drama-ballads! This one really grows on you. The mature Agnetha does this one just beautifully. “I was a flower – now look what you have done….” This will be a favourite to many fans I guess!
“I Should’ve Followed You Home” : There is a lot of expectations to this duet with Gary Barlow. Years ago the Agnetha-duet “Fly Like The Eagle” did maybe not create pop-history! There is – sorry to say – nothing outstanding with this Barlow-duet (if you ask me) - going from ballad to nicely radiofriendly midtempo in a way one has heard endlessly. It has a strong chorus and is produced very well. There are some nice echoing backing vocals here as well (by Agnetha I guess). Even if they were not recording together, their vocals blend very well together.
“Past forever” : Back to a wonderful and strong Agnetha ballad….
“Dance Your Pain Away” : The intro makes me think on german ESC; “Djengis Khan” or violins for Earth, Wind & Fire, Boney M or Baccara… hehe! Get ready for the disco!! Very seventies but I don’t get the ABBA-references mentioned to this one. Vocally the young Agnetha was maybe more powerfull for “As Good As New” or “Lay All Your Love On Me”. At the first listen through I felt this one lacked a bit more motivated vocals… that she should have given a bit more! Now I just adore it! In the chorus she sings lines such as; “Let there be rumours / Pay no attention…” With her vocal, Agnetha is the disco-queen of coolness! I imagine a dull coctailparty from 1977 that suddenly explodes into this track. At fifth time on repeat you just beg for another gin tonic before it all starts again. It’s for sure a real fun discoparty-thingy that grows on you for every listen and a perfect choice to be played at G-A-Y on May 4th.
“Bubble” : Another wonderful ballad in recognisable Agnetha-land! :)
“Back On Your Radio” : An irresistible suggarcute chorus in almost ABBA-sound (well it lacks Frida of course). It could have been even more up-tempo, but it is something very tempting about this one. I guess fans will either find it a bit sort of childish or love it. I LOVE it…hehe! Agnetha as a flirty teaser on the radio…couldn’t be better!
“I Keep Them On The Floor Beside My Bed” – with the line; “Why is love so hard to understand”. Agnetha's composition – a big ballad….. and what a fabulous composer she once again proves to be! I cried… at second listen! The torch song of the album… enough said… and yeah well – my favourite! The song sums up everything that is Agnetha Fältskog (as we know her)! Respect and thank you so much for this one Lady A!
I simply totally LOVE these songs!
Gunnar
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