The Dreamworld entro is AWESOME!! .And I remember Benny saying they used the big old fashioned organ that sat in the reception of Polar Offices…I saw a photo of it on some A8BA website once…I think its in the POLAR brochure too. I’m so glad they put this full entro back on…I just love it!!!
Jos Willems
a great album, nicely remastered, too bad IHAD is still on it 😉
and sadly, nothing we haven’t seen or heard before !
Richard Knight
Terry: I don’t understand your joke I’m afraid. It’s gone right over my head.
I checked the lyrics in the inner sleeve of the original vinyl LP – and it doesn’t actually show that part of the last chorus. So that’s why I probably got it wrong. It’s still my favourite track on the album.
Terry Malloy
@ rICHARD- WHAT JOKE? No joke matey…always I’ve thought they sing "the world is all erupt" ..like the man’s world is all blowing down around him as he has lost "his crown" ..
Terry Malloy
Bjorn did not have an affair with Liz Mitchell from Boney M…you’re right Richard. He was photographed with her but was already living with Lena (2 weeks after leaving Agnetha). The guests on ABBA In Switzerland were Kate Bush, Roxy Music and Ted Gärdestad, and David Niven in a balloon to Eagle. NOT Boney M …they were recorded on the same stage for "Seaside Special". a BBC summer show on Saturday nights.. Hi to all fellow fans! 😉
Richard Knight
Hi Terry, just to put you right on the last part of you post – I hope you don’t mind.
It wasn’t a Seaside Special Boney M appeared in during this filming period. They were in two shows – Disco In The Snow and ABBA Snowtime – retitled Christmas Snowtime Special in the UK.
In Disco In The Snow they performed Hooray! Hooray! It’s A Holi-Holiday and Mary’s Boy Child (Oh My Lord) for the Christmas Snowtime Special.
ABBA appeared in a Seaside Special in 1975 performing Waterloo outdoors and SOS in the Big Top tent. The episode ABBA were in was filmed in Torbay – Devon.
As the Jacksons were also around – I wonder if ABBA ever met Michael. Of course, this was before he became a mega star.
RE: The King Has Lost His Crown and "the world is all erupt"- I can’t quite hear it myself, but I understand you now. It’s all so quite funny.
Terry Malloy
Hey Richard-ofcourse I don’t mind being corrected..It’s why we are on here discussing n getting answers and facts right and loving our heros!! Hugs to you(if thats ok..lol!!) Terry 😉
Chris
Hey Terry, I don’t know wich version you have of the voulez vous deluxe,but on mine dvd the jokes of agnetha (cold nights in sweden)benny’s reaction (cuddle up)and Frida saying writing songs are definite on the dvd.Perhaps you saw the dvd by selecting the songs,but I think when you play all the dvd without selecting the song,then you must see the jokes their making.I don’t think that there are 2 different dvd,do you?I really like this version of voules vous.
It’s a shame that ABBA playback on a lot of songs,but happy to see them perform The king has lost his crown,kisses of fire and lovers and of course the long intro of does your mother know.I still remember the broadcasting of ABBA in switserland here in Holland.But the scene of Chiquitita from christmas snowtime special was new to me.The use of the original Polar logo on cd and dvd is very well done.Here in Holland we always had the dull logo of polydor.Nice to have dream world now as an aproved song on an album.Thank you Bjorn and Benny.A lot of fans find this song very good,and I’m one of them.Well let’s keep our fingers crossed,and see what Universal has planned for Super Trouper deluxe.
Chris,The Netherlands.
colinthebruce
Hmmm. Succummed and bought it. REALLY don’t like the mix. On my brand spanking new amazing amp, it all sounds really bassy and "dull". Not crisp at all.Endless tinkering does not improve it. (You can’t beat the original vinyl LP in my opinion)
Rudolf Ondrich
Hi all
Here is my analysis of sonic quality of the 2010 Deluxe Remaster of Voulez-Vous.
Just remember too that this is all my personal opinion ? I am not the ultimate word or expert in these matters – In fact I am writing an essay in philosophy class about how detrimental ?experts? can be in the search for knowledge ? very nerdy stuff! Personal taste and preference should always guide you on what you think sounds the best.
Even before we listen to the audio, the booklet credits the mastering to ?Masters of Audio, Stockholm? and does not mention an engineer?s name. However, from an email that I received from Carl Magnus Palm he tells me that ?the remastering was made by Henrik Jonsson and his team.? I suspect that no name was written in the mastering credits as the engineer might not have been sure how fans (like us!) would respond to the remastering, and therefore would have preferred to remain anonymous than to get the flak if the remastering was poor. Just think of the amount of flak Astley and Jonsson (2005 to 2008) got for their remastering jobs!- It appears with Jonsson at least though that he was told by others (presumably UMG people) to compress the audio to the extent that he did and that he isn?t fully to blame. This whole notion of ?louder is better? is a complete and utter fallacy, and thankfully it seems like record companies are starting to get that message ? take the 2009 Beatles Remasters as a good example.
Thankfully the remastering on the 2010 CD, whilst not perfect, is far from being poor and is a marked improvement over all other previous CD versions
If you listen to the bass in the CSR version it sounds quite ?fake? ? like the engineer artificially increased it when remastering. The 2010 remaster on the other hand has a much more smoother and realistic bass. The CSR also has this awful pumping sound to it, which is a result of overcompression. The 2010 remaster lacks this pumping sound. I think that mixdown tapes may have indeed been used to prepare the 2010 remaster due to the smoother bass and treble. Dare I say that the micro-dynamics on the 2010 are larger than the Polydor 1984 CD version! (The 1984 Polydor would have used an LP cutting tape, which would have been equalised and compressed a bit).
The fadeouts also seem to go slightly longer on the 2010 remaster than previous CD versions. This to me also suggest that the mixdown tapes and not the LP cutters were used.
Special mention must go to the tracks Angeleyes, If It Wasn?t For The Nights, Lovers (Live A Little Longer) and the Extended Promo Remix of Voulez-Vous. The clarity on these tracks is amazing! The drums on Lovers is so realistic and full sounding ? I nearly fell over when I heard it the first time! I can finally turn up VV Extended to a high volume without it sounding irritating and without my ears bleeding! Summer Night City also sounds pretty good as well.
My only major criticism of the mastering is the amount of limiting used. True, the amount of limiting is not catastrophic, and is far far far less than the limiting used in 2005, but it is still a bit irritating to me. To me this is most noticeable on Voulez-Vous (the album version) Angeleyes (I love the clarity but the limiting is a bit too much for my taste) and Does Your Mother Know. If only the engineers spared 3 DBs or so than the audio would breathe slightly more. It would still sound pretty loud even with 3 DBs saved.
Dreamworld also seems to lack the detail found on previous versions. It is also slightly harshly equalised and is much louder and compressed than the other tracks on the CD. Wasn?t Dreamworld slated for release as a single in 1978 or so? If so my theory is that they may have used a vinyl EQed tape for this CD release. (The mixdown tape seems to have some damage at the beginning and was the reason why the track faded in on previous versions). The song also has some ?scrunchy? sounds at the end ? maybe the tape used has some damage as well?
Despite the limiting issue (which could be fixed and prevented) and Dreamworld (which might n
Ryan
Just got my copy of VV!!! 🙂 Sounds soooo good. So many sound issues corrected from the 1997/2001 releases, BUT am I the only one who noticed a little audio Blip at 0:17 of Gimme! Gimmie! Gimmie! in the left speaker? I never noticed it on any other version I have of the song (must check… pops in old 1997 Super Trouper album… Nope, no blip!) I guess one little dissapointment is ok… Still kinda sad! If you guys don’t get the same blip, please let me know!
Pete
I like the CD/DVD set, but I have to admit that watching the "ABBA in Switzerland" TV special now in 2010 really shows how oddly poor the production was in terms of the outdoor footage. ABBA made lots of money, and surely the production companies behind the TV special collectively had lots of cash to npump into such a project, so I find it a little puzzling in retrospect that more effort wasn’t made into trying to make the entire special, including the font and graphics used in the opening sequence’s titles, a little more polished and professional.
One other thing comes to mind and it is about missing content from the Canadian broadcast that I saw back in 1979. I could swear that I saw "Does Your Mother Know" and "Voulez-Vous" both performed in a darker club/disco setting. The inside sleeve photos (in film strip style) of the group even show the exact performance footage I am speaking about, and yet these "inserted" video performances are missing from the 2010 version of "ABBA in Switzerland", along with Roxy Music and Kate Bush as someone already mentioned. Now that I think of it, I can still clearly see Frida and Agnetha standing very close to one another, side by side, and they say something about how happy they are that Roxy Music has gotten back together again, and then the two women give a game-show-model sweep of their left arms in tandem as they introduce Roxy Music and step backward out of the camera’s view.
What I find even more oddly amusing to myself is that it struck me at the time, so much so that I was waiting for it, that Frida announces that 1979 was the "Year of the Child" and she goes on to talk about how ABBA participated in the UNICEF benefit concert, which I also remember quite clearly. What I found odd is that Frida talked about the "Year of the Child" and ABBA’s participation in the concert, and then she goes on to say that for those people who might have missed the UNICEF concert and for those who didn’t…. "Here’s a song". Here’s a song????? I remember even to this day, 30 years afterward, how odd that sounded to me. "Here’s a song", and then the song wasn’t even "Chiquitita" which is the song ABBA donated to the UNICEF efforts. Funny how such a small thing struck me as being that odd that I would remember it so clearly, and once Frida introduced "a song" I knew the program would then show children playing outside on sleds and such and "Mamma Mia" would play in the background. I guess I was really into ABBA because all of the costumes looked instantly familiar, and even the backdrop curtain and the collage of flags from various countries around the world and the way they were hung were immediately familiar to me. You would think that such a small thing like the way flags were hung would be forgotten, but I remembered it all very clearly.
A fun time watching the DVD, in a timewarpsort of way… 🙂
..Thx Pete from( Aug 16th)..I now am having flashbacks to abba in Switerland ,and “here’s a song”…thinking hmmm what,s wrong here.! I saw this in my native country of Canada and god…… The Raes were the host of this..that um..lovely Canadian duo…cheers!
The Dreamworld entro is AWESOME!! .And I remember Benny saying they used the big old fashioned organ that sat in the reception of Polar Offices…I saw a photo of it on some A8BA website once…I think its in the POLAR brochure too. I’m so glad they put this full entro back on…I just love it!!!
a great album, nicely remastered, too bad IHAD is still on it 😉
and sadly, nothing we haven’t seen or heard before !
Terry: I don’t understand your joke I’m afraid. It’s gone right over my head.
I checked the lyrics in the inner sleeve of the original vinyl LP – and it doesn’t actually show that part of the last chorus. So that’s why I probably got it wrong. It’s still my favourite track on the album.
@ rICHARD- WHAT JOKE? No joke matey…always I’ve thought they sing "the world is all erupt" ..like the man’s world is all blowing down around him as he has lost "his crown" ..
Bjorn did not have an affair with Liz Mitchell from Boney M…you’re right Richard. He was photographed with her but was already living with Lena (2 weeks after leaving Agnetha). The guests on ABBA In Switzerland were Kate Bush, Roxy Music and Ted Gärdestad, and David Niven in a balloon to Eagle. NOT Boney M …they were recorded on the same stage for "Seaside Special". a BBC summer show on Saturday nights.. Hi to all fellow fans! 😉
Hi Terry, just to put you right on the last part of you post – I hope you don’t mind.
It wasn’t a Seaside Special Boney M appeared in during this filming period. They were in two shows – Disco In The Snow and ABBA Snowtime – retitled Christmas Snowtime Special in the UK.
In Disco In The Snow they performed Hooray! Hooray! It’s A Holi-Holiday and Mary’s Boy Child (Oh My Lord) for the Christmas Snowtime Special.
ABBA appeared in a Seaside Special in 1975 performing Waterloo outdoors and SOS in the Big Top tent. The episode ABBA were in was filmed in Torbay – Devon.
As the Jacksons were also around – I wonder if ABBA ever met Michael. Of course, this was before he became a mega star.
RE: The King Has Lost His Crown and "the world is all erupt"- I can’t quite hear it myself, but I understand you now. It’s all so quite funny.
Hey Richard-ofcourse I don’t mind being corrected..It’s why we are on here discussing n getting answers and facts right and loving our heros!! Hugs to you(if thats ok..lol!!) Terry 😉
Hey Terry, I don’t know wich version you have of the voulez vous deluxe,but on mine dvd the jokes of agnetha (cold nights in sweden)benny’s reaction (cuddle up)and Frida saying writing songs are definite on the dvd.Perhaps you saw the dvd by selecting the songs,but I think when you play all the dvd without selecting the song,then you must see the jokes their making.I don’t think that there are 2 different dvd,do you?I really like this version of voules vous.
It’s a shame that ABBA playback on a lot of songs,but happy to see them perform The king has lost his crown,kisses of fire and lovers and of course the long intro of does your mother know.I still remember the broadcasting of ABBA in switserland here in Holland.But the scene of Chiquitita from christmas snowtime special was new to me.The use of the original Polar logo on cd and dvd is very well done.Here in Holland we always had the dull logo of polydor.Nice to have dream world now as an aproved song on an album.Thank you Bjorn and Benny.A lot of fans find this song very good,and I’m one of them.Well let’s keep our fingers crossed,and see what Universal has planned for Super Trouper deluxe.
Chris,The Netherlands.
Hmmm. Succummed and bought it. REALLY don’t like the mix. On my brand spanking new amazing amp, it all sounds really bassy and "dull". Not crisp at all.Endless tinkering does not improve it. (You can’t beat the original vinyl LP in my opinion)
Hi all
Here is my analysis of sonic quality of the 2010 Deluxe Remaster of Voulez-Vous.
Just remember too that this is all my personal opinion ? I am not the ultimate word or expert in these matters – In fact I am writing an essay in philosophy class about how detrimental ?experts? can be in the search for knowledge ? very nerdy stuff! Personal taste and preference should always guide you on what you think sounds the best.
Even before we listen to the audio, the booklet credits the mastering to ?Masters of Audio, Stockholm? and does not mention an engineer?s name. However, from an email that I received from Carl Magnus Palm he tells me that ?the remastering was made by Henrik Jonsson and his team.? I suspect that no name was written in the mastering credits as the engineer might not have been sure how fans (like us!) would respond to the remastering, and therefore would have preferred to remain anonymous than to get the flak if the remastering was poor. Just think of the amount of flak Astley and Jonsson (2005 to 2008) got for their remastering jobs!- It appears with Jonsson at least though that he was told by others (presumably UMG people) to compress the audio to the extent that he did and that he isn?t fully to blame. This whole notion of ?louder is better? is a complete and utter fallacy, and thankfully it seems like record companies are starting to get that message ? take the 2009 Beatles Remasters as a good example.
Thankfully the remastering on the 2010 CD, whilst not perfect, is far from being poor and is a marked improvement over all other previous CD versions
If you listen to the bass in the CSR version it sounds quite ?fake? ? like the engineer artificially increased it when remastering. The 2010 remaster on the other hand has a much more smoother and realistic bass. The CSR also has this awful pumping sound to it, which is a result of overcompression. The 2010 remaster lacks this pumping sound. I think that mixdown tapes may have indeed been used to prepare the 2010 remaster due to the smoother bass and treble. Dare I say that the micro-dynamics on the 2010 are larger than the Polydor 1984 CD version! (The 1984 Polydor would have used an LP cutting tape, which would have been equalised and compressed a bit).
The fadeouts also seem to go slightly longer on the 2010 remaster than previous CD versions. This to me also suggest that the mixdown tapes and not the LP cutters were used.
Special mention must go to the tracks Angeleyes, If It Wasn?t For The Nights, Lovers (Live A Little Longer) and the Extended Promo Remix of Voulez-Vous. The clarity on these tracks is amazing! The drums on Lovers is so realistic and full sounding ? I nearly fell over when I heard it the first time! I can finally turn up VV Extended to a high volume without it sounding irritating and without my ears bleeding! Summer Night City also sounds pretty good as well.
My only major criticism of the mastering is the amount of limiting used. True, the amount of limiting is not catastrophic, and is far far far less than the limiting used in 2005, but it is still a bit irritating to me. To me this is most noticeable on Voulez-Vous (the album version) Angeleyes (I love the clarity but the limiting is a bit too much for my taste) and Does Your Mother Know. If only the engineers spared 3 DBs or so than the audio would breathe slightly more. It would still sound pretty loud even with 3 DBs saved.
Dreamworld also seems to lack the detail found on previous versions. It is also slightly harshly equalised and is much louder and compressed than the other tracks on the CD. Wasn?t Dreamworld slated for release as a single in 1978 or so? If so my theory is that they may have used a vinyl EQed tape for this CD release. (The mixdown tape seems to have some damage at the beginning and was the reason why the track faded in on previous versions). The song also has some ?scrunchy? sounds at the end ? maybe the tape used has some damage as well?
Despite the limiting issue (which could be fixed and prevented) and Dreamworld (which might n
Just got my copy of VV!!! 🙂 Sounds soooo good. So many sound issues corrected from the 1997/2001 releases, BUT am I the only one who noticed a little audio Blip at 0:17 of Gimme! Gimmie! Gimmie! in the left speaker? I never noticed it on any other version I have of the song (must check… pops in old 1997 Super Trouper album… Nope, no blip!) I guess one little dissapointment is ok… Still kinda sad! If you guys don’t get the same blip, please let me know!
I like the CD/DVD set, but I have to admit that watching the "ABBA in Switzerland" TV special now in 2010 really shows how oddly poor the production was in terms of the outdoor footage. ABBA made lots of money, and surely the production companies behind the TV special collectively had lots of cash to npump into such a project, so I find it a little puzzling in retrospect that more effort wasn’t made into trying to make the entire special, including the font and graphics used in the opening sequence’s titles, a little more polished and professional.
One other thing comes to mind and it is about missing content from the Canadian broadcast that I saw back in 1979. I could swear that I saw "Does Your Mother Know" and "Voulez-Vous" both performed in a darker club/disco setting. The inside sleeve photos (in film strip style) of the group even show the exact performance footage I am speaking about, and yet these "inserted" video performances are missing from the 2010 version of "ABBA in Switzerland", along with Roxy Music and Kate Bush as someone already mentioned. Now that I think of it, I can still clearly see Frida and Agnetha standing very close to one another, side by side, and they say something about how happy they are that Roxy Music has gotten back together again, and then the two women give a game-show-model sweep of their left arms in tandem as they introduce Roxy Music and step backward out of the camera’s view.
What I find even more oddly amusing to myself is that it struck me at the time, so much so that I was waiting for it, that Frida announces that 1979 was the "Year of the Child" and she goes on to talk about how ABBA participated in the UNICEF benefit concert, which I also remember quite clearly. What I found odd is that Frida talked about the "Year of the Child" and ABBA’s participation in the concert, and then she goes on to say that for those people who might have missed the UNICEF concert and for those who didn’t…. "Here’s a song". Here’s a song????? I remember even to this day, 30 years afterward, how odd that sounded to me. "Here’s a song", and then the song wasn’t even "Chiquitita" which is the song ABBA donated to the UNICEF efforts. Funny how such a small thing struck me as being that odd that I would remember it so clearly, and once Frida introduced "a song" I knew the program would then show children playing outside on sleds and such and "Mamma Mia" would play in the background. I guess I was really into ABBA because all of the costumes looked instantly familiar, and even the backdrop curtain and the collage of flags from various countries around the world and the way they were hung were immediately familiar to me. You would think that such a small thing like the way flags were hung would be forgotten, but I remembered it all very clearly.
A fun time watching the DVD, in a timewarpsort of way… 🙂
..Thx Pete from( Aug 16th)..I now am having flashbacks to abba in Switerland ,and “here’s a song”…thinking hmmm what,s wrong here.! I saw this in my native country of Canada and god…… The Raes were the host of this..that um..lovely Canadian duo…cheers!