Books about ABBA and related subjects

The book ABBA On Record - Packaged Promoted Reviewed is the follow-up volume to the revised and expanded edition of ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions. The book is presently scheduled for publication in 2023, and if you pre-order ABBA On Record you will get your copy signed with a personal dedication from the author.

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABBA On Record - Packaged Promoted Reviewed started out as a companion volume to ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions. Essentially, if the first volume explored ABBA's own creativity and the stories behind the songs, then ABBA On Record tells the reader what happened after the music had left the studio: single by single, album by album it presents the stories behind the iconic album sleeves, explores how the record companies worked with ABBA releases in presenting them to the record-buying public, shows what kind of success – or lack thereof – they enjoyed, and presents a selection of review excerpts to give a flavour of how the singles and albums were received by the media at the time.

The book also features five supplementary sections, essential to anyone who enjoyed ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions:

• The Music That Inspired Them – a detailed essay exploring the four members’ musical influences, or simply the music that they themselves enjoyed as children, teenagers and up until the ABBA era ended in 1982.

• What Is A Schlager? – an attempt at explaining in more detail this genre of music from continental Europe, an important ingredient in ABBA’s mix of influences throughout their career.

• Lyrics Sentiment Analysis – an ABBA fan who works in statistics and data analysis has analysed ABBA’s lyrics with some interesting results.

• The Michael B. Tretow Tapes – hours of unheard recordings from the archives of ABBA’s trusted sound engineer. These include Tretow's on-the-side tapes, capturing in real time what was going on during a recording session; alternate versions of familiar songs; previously unheard tunes that were never recorded properly; tracks that were considered for the 1994 box set Thank You For The Music and/or that box set’s 23-minute medley of outtakes, ABBA Undeleted, including some recordings that were rejected, and some that made it into the medley but are featured on the Tretow Tapes in more complete form.

• Voyage – ABBA’s 2021 album will be discussed in the book, using the same diary format as ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions: song by song, day by day – if possible. Please note: At the time of writing, it is unclear what kind of information the author will get access to, or how detailed it will be, but he will do his best with the material available.

It's very easy to pre-order a copy of ABBA On Record (you can choose between an ebook or a hardback copy). Everything is covered by your order: the price of the book + shipping to your address. You won't have to do anything else.