SOMETHING'S GOING ON  -  FRIDA

YEAR:  1982
LABEL:  Atlantic
TRACK LISTING:  Tell Me It's Over,  I See Red,  I Got Something,  Strangers,  To Turn the Stone,  I Know There's Something Going On,  Threnody,  Baby Don't You Cry No More,  The Way You Do,  You Know What I Mean,  Here We'll Stay
IMPRESSIONS:  The album's very pink.  This and Frida's membership in the extremely poppy ABBA would give the impression of bubble gum.  However, from the opening track's driven, rock-oriented (albeit early 80's) sound, Frida announced that she was going for a harder-edged sound.  And while the album features it's fair share of softer ballads, Frida managed to give us a surprisingly eclectic mix of rather strong material provided by a bevy of superstar songwriters.  By this point, ABBA was spending less and less time together and Frida was going through her divorce with bandmate Benny Andersson so she decided it was time to do a solo album; this time in English and designed to appeal to the current international music scene.  After obsessively listening to Phil Collins' solo album "FACE VALUE" and the "In the Air Tonight" single "...non-stop for eight months...", Frida's record label Polar Music approached Collins and offered him the producer's chair for her album.  Collins accepted and Polar Music announced the project and solicited suitable songs from publishing houses and songwriters around the world.  Over 500 songs were submitted and songs by Stephen Bishop, Bryan Ferry, Rod Argent, Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte among others were selected for the project.  Frida asked future Roxette member Per Gessle to set Dorothy Parker's poem "Threnody" to music and she also chose to cover "FACE VALUE" track "You Know What I Mean"; a song which had become very important to her.  The album closer was to be a cover of the Sonia Jones 1980 Eurovision Song Contest pre-selection "Here We'll Stay" as a duet with producer Phil Collins.  The "FACE VALUE" Phil Collins sound is extremely evident in the gated drum sound, the brassy brass stings of the Phenix Horns (all over contemporary Phil Collins and Genesis albums) and the harder-rock sound of some of the songs.  However, while some songs evoke the sound of "No Reply At All" or "Turn It On Again", the album features a vast array of styles from the cod-reggae beat of "I See Red" to the dreamy "Strangers" to the chilly cold early 80's sound of "I Got Something" to the incredibly lush romanticism of "The Way You Do".  Some tracks naturally work better than others (the duet with Phil Collins is particularly weak) while others stand up to this day (the phenomenal hit single "I Know There's Something Going On", the mandolin-like "Threnody", the aforementioned Bryan Ferry confection "The Way You Do").  The album itself has quite a few features which mark it as a "divorce album"; both Frida and Collins were going through divorced in which they both claimed to be the injured party.  Perhaps that contributes to the nice edge in the listening experience.  All these years later, "SOMETHING'S GOING ON" remains a surprisingly strong and entertaining album.  The album received mostly good reviews with Billboard magazine saying "ABBA's auburn-haired songstress makes a bold solo project a stunning success" and Rolling Stone's Album Guide calling it "...a sharp, rock-oriented, delightfully eclectic album."
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Tell Me It's Over,  I See Red,  Strangers,  To Turn the Stone,  I Know There's Something Going On,  Threnody,  The Way You Do
GUEST ARTISTS:  Phil Collins (producer, drums and percussion, songwriter on "You Know What I Mean", vocals on "Here We'll Stay"),  The Phenix Horns (brass)
FACT SHEET:  SOMETHING'S GOING ON is Frida's first solo album in English; her previous solo albums were in Swedish.  Frida's real name is Ani-Frid Lyngstad and she is one quarter of the Swedish super-group ABBA.  The album was produced by Phil Collins with Hugh Padgham as sound engineer at Polar Music Studios in Stockholm.  Earth, Wind & Fire's horn section The Phenix Horns came to Stockholm for two days to record their brass section.  Strings, orchestra and harp were recorded at Sir George Martin's Air Studios in London with Martin and Paul McCartney in attendance.  "Tell Me It's Over" was written by Stephen Bishop.  "To Turn the Stone" was written by Pete Bellotte and Giorgio Moroder for Donna Summer's 1981 double album "I'M A RAINBOW" which would remain unreleased by Geffen Records until 1996.  "I Know There's Something Going On" was written by Russ Ballard.  "Threnody" is a poem written by Dorothy Parker set to music by future Roxette member Per Gessle.  "Baby, Don't You Cry No More" was written by Rod Argent.  "The Way You Do" was written by Bryan Ferry.  "You Know What I Mean" was written by Phil Collins.  The cover portrait of Frida was painted by Yves Poyet.

STORMS - Various Artists

YEAR: 2003

LABEL: Cerpts Productions

TRACK LISTING: Storms - Fleetwood Mac, Knowing Me Knowing You - ABBA, Every Little Thing About You - Raul Malo, Lovesong - The Cure, Winter Kills - Alison Moyet, Blue - Sarah McLachlan, If I Could Reach You - The 5th Dimension, Back To Then - Darius Rucker, Blue - Barry Manilow & Sarah Vaughan, Don't Take Your Love From Me - Frank Sinatra, Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight & the Pips, No More Drama - Mary J. Blige, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore - Elton John, If I Could Only Stay Asleep - Patsy Cline, Ghost In This House - Allison Krauss, Trouble - Cat Stevens, Black - Pearl Jam, Who Am I Foolin' - Cheryl Wheeler, Two Star - Everything But the Girl

IMPRESSIONS: It was never my intention to put up a cd mix I made myself however there's no other I would consider before this one. The only cd mix I've made which has a fan base; everyone who has heard it declared it a classic. So who am I to argue with them? I would certainly say this is the one cd mix I consider a perfect jewel. Made on the 7th of January 2003, this cd was the result of a breakup and a broken heart ripped out of my chest and trodden on with golf shoes. Not only was the year 2002 a tough one for myself but for others I knew and this cd resonated strongly with all of us. Not only does it contain my number one favourite song of all time (Pearl Jam's "Black") but it also contains my number TWO favourite song (Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama"); both songs won Song of the Year Penguin Awards in their respective years. It features the song which had the most ever plays on my first ipod "City Lights" (Everything But the Girl's "Two Star" which had racked up 18 plays before I got my new ipod "Podzilla"). The cd also features the second saddest song ever recorded: The 5th Dimension's "If I Could Reach You" (the number one saddest song ever recorded, in case you're interested, is Stan Rogers' "First Christmas"). I am still extremely proud of the mood I managed to sustain on this cd and consider it my finest programming job.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Storms - Fleetwood Mac, Lovesong - The Cure, Winter Kills - Alison Moyet, Blue - Sarah McLachlan, If I Could Reach You - The 5th Dimension, Blue - Barry Manilow & Sarah Vaughan, Don't Take Your Love From Me - Frank Sinatra, Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight & the Pips, No More Drama - Mary J. Blige, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore - Elton John, Ghost In This House - Alison Krauss, Trouble - Cat Stevens, Black - Pearl Jam, Who Am I Foolin' - Cheryl Wheeler, Two Star - Everything But the Girl

FACT SHEET: STORMS is a Cerpts CD Mix which was compiled on January 7, 2003. The cover art is by Edward Gorey.

SUPER TROUPER - ABBA

YEAR: 1980

LABEL: Atlantic

TRACK LISTING: Super Trouper, The Winner Takes It All, On and On and On, Andante Andante, Me and I, Happy New Year, Our Last Summer, The Piper, Lay All Your Love On Me, The Way Old Friends Do (Live)

IMPRESSIONS: The pop juggernaut! This album was given to me as a birthday present by my grandmother in 1980 (along with the "GLENN MILLER - A MEMORIAL" record mentioned elsewhere on this blog; click the Glenn Miller label for more info). It is the only actual ABBA album (not being a "best of compilation") that I own and its pop wonderfulness got a lot of play back then. It contains probably my favourite ABBA song "The Winner Takes It All" and the album has something of an autumnal feel. After all, "The Winner Takes It All" was ABBA's last huge hit single and SUPER TROUPER was their last chart topping album. Even the upbeat songs have a hint of melancholy about them and there's an "end of the party" feel to the album (made explicit in the song "Happy New Year" and its accompanying video as well as the literal approach of autumn found in "Our Last Summer"). "On and On and On" is one of my favourite stompers and it's got a wonderful cynical edge to it not usually found in ABBA's oeuvre. The medieval silliness of "The Piper" is a lot of fun and I think channels the fascination with Dungeons & Dragons that was high in 1980 cultural consciousness.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Super Trouper, The Winner Takes It All, On and On and On, Happy New Year, Our Last Summer, The Piper

FACT SHEET: SUPER TROUPER is ABBA's seventh album. "Super Trouper" is a registered trademark owned by Strong Entertainment Lighting referring to their brand of directional spotlights used to follow an entertainer while performing on stage. The cover was designed by Rune Söderqvist and utilizes the "spotlight" theme with the band surrounded by the members of two circuses filmed at Europa Studios in Stockholm; the original concept was to have the cover photo staged in London's Piccadilly Circus until it was discovered there was a law preventing entertainers and animals in Central London. "The Winner Takes It All" made reference to the divorce of Agnetha and Björn the year before. "On and On and On" is about the band's experiences of Stockholm's night life. "The Way Old Friends Do" was recorded live during ABBA's 1979 world tour; it was usually performed at the end of the concert with the band members linking arms around Benny's accordion. On the original vinyl LP, the audience applause at the end continues into the run-off groove meaning that it will play continuously if your turntable doesn't have an autostop feature.