1001 Albums Summary

This production style reminds me of some of Pete Townshend's solo stuff. Especially The Big Sky. I get All the Best Cowboys/White City vibes from it. Maybe it's just a sign of the times. Under Ice - I'm getting Peter Gabriel here. The backup vocals, the dark tones. Waking The Witch could have been produced by New Order. Picturing Tim Curry's devil from Legend in my mind here. Probably just me, but at the start of Hello Earth, I was waiting to hear "This transmission is coming to you..." Don't know if this makes sense, but Kate's voice is unique in an almost generic way. There's something quintessentially 80's about it. It's simultaneously ethereal and grounded. It evokes hairspray and neon and fog on the hilltop. As a whole, this album is very good. I don't know that I'd listen to the point of consuming it into the fabric of my musical being, but I don't often do that anymore anyway. Not with whole albums. I'll probably give it another go to see if there's anything to add to my larger playlist.

This is going to be tough. Historically, I haven't liked ABBA at all. Let's see what happens... When I Kissed the Teacher - Didn't like it. Dancing Queen - Obviously I've heard it before. I was ok with it this time. Dum Dum Diddle - I hate this... Literally "hate." Knowing Me, Knowing You - I don't hate this. There's something decent happening here. Money, Money, Money - The minor key helps. It's not a good rock song, but I feel like it could be part of a European opera. Don't hate it. That's Me - nah Why Did it Have to be Me? - Nothing particularly in either direction here. Tiger - oof no Arrival - No vocals definitely helps Fernando - Not terrible. I'd rather to hear someone else play it with a talented Spanish acoustic guitarist. Happy Hawaii - I'd rather hear this in a Hawaiian style recorded by Don Ho. Or anyone else. Fuck, AC/DC would have made a better version of this. I feel like this album (and all of Abba) is part of the Eurotrash origin story. I forced myself to listen to the whole thing. I won't be listening to it again. Goddamnit, I hate Abba.

Dark. Classic. Still relevant.