ABBA is a quintessential "singles" band- undoubtedly fantastic band but the album provides an overall good experience where a studio album cannot do them justice like a compilation can. Some of the stuff is really great- the odd time signatured "Soldiers" or hit single "One of Us," and nothing here is rough. It's just nothing more than pleasant as a record.
Too many songs feel like pastiches of better artists' songs: I hear Paul McCartney, (lots of) Led Zeppelin, and even Tom Waits- lending the record an identity crisis. Just go full alt rock, or full blues, or full "marimba rock" or whatever those first few songs were. Blue Orchid makes for a great opener, though. This is ultimately Greta Van Fleet-core with better production.
Really solid- not a bad song here, makes for an easy listen with excellent instrumentation and production alike, sounding very mid-90s for being a 1989 record. "She Bangs the Drums" is the clear best but everything is very good.
Super chilled-out and smooth. Not a single moment where I'm not enjoying what I'm listening to. I think the organ kind of outclasses every other instrument here, though. Would definitely vibe out to this again- actually super calming.
Iconic stuff. Super ahead of its time when it's great, and kinda sappy when it's not. Overall a pretty good listen though.
Very solid listen. Pleasant voice and instrumentation, pleasant experience. Sounded like a 90s record, in all honesty.
Really great album of top-notch early 70s psychedelia on top of its iconic cover. Blah blah blah Student Demonstration Time sucks.
At first, I was disappointed in its kind of lackluster sound. I do think it won me over a bit by the end. That one spoken word about the maiden was pretty funny and I thought a few tracks here were actually really great. Its main issue is its genre-leaping. It's hard to feel invested in the sound when at any moment it breaks its own cohesion song to song.
It's alright. She's got a pretty voice, and I dug their blend of British folk and old-timey American folk, but I did not get much out of it beyond being calmed a bit while listening
Not a dull moment to be found on this impeccably recorded, excellently presented, approachable yet artful piece of art. Incredibly impressive stuff that I will be relistening to as soon as possible.
A celebrated artist that I do not "get." I don't find his voice interesting at all, and his lyrics are not nearly ear-catching for me to get the appeal. The songs all sound the same to me, too, though I appreciated the orchestral aspects here
Might be the most obnoxious rapping I've ever heard. The same staccato, slurred flow on every track. Illustrative because it shows not every album here is redeemable and that the early 90s had some hot garbage music amidst an excellent string of years in music history. Plus it's nearly an hour long?! Why?
Not bad- but everything here is secondhand in comparison to the big single "Back 2 Life"
Probably my 100th listen. Every song is fantastic- even the interludes! Ian Anderson remains one of my favorite musicians of all time and this is my favorite project of his.