ABBA blog

Well I never...! Who would have thought that ABBA would return with two brand new songs. I belonged to those who were convinced there would never be an ABBA reunion, in whatever shape or form. When asked about it in interviews, I usually added the "never say never" caveat, but from what the four members had been telling the media over the past decades, my conclusion was that it would never happen. They had, to coin a phrase, Moved On.

Now, of course, I'm very much looking forward to hearing the two new songs, I Still Have Faith In You and Don't Shut Me Down. After the initial surprise announcement, and the many requests from the media to comment on the news, as the entire thing has sunk in I've come to realise that for me, the best part of this "reunion" is that we'll get to hear Agnetha and Frida sing together again. As the male half of the group are keen to point out, it's the ladies' voices together that make up the main part of the ABBA sound. I honestly can't wait to hear that "third voice" again.

Will these recordings, made for the upcoming "abbatar" project, pave the way for more sessions? No-one seems to know, certainly not me. For now, I prefer to think of the two new songs as an epilogue, an additional chapter to the ABBA story. A potentially interesting and exciting chapter, for sure, but separate from the 1972-1982 era, when ABBA existed for real.

Speaking of additional chapters, I have to say that I'm now even more happy that I decided to put together a companion volume to ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions. Not only will I be able to include all the fun stuff I've already promised, but, naturally, the new songs will be covered as extensively as possible - all dependent, of course, what kind of information I'll be able to extract about them.

Obviously, I'm not going to be able to publish the companion volume until the new songs are out, so probably sometime in the late spring or early summer of 2019. We'll have to see how the "abbatar" project pans out, though.

In the meantime, to learn all about ABBA's classic-era recordings, please order your copy of ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions here: abbathecompleterecordingsessions.com