Visitors, The [Remastered] - Abba > Reviews > The vistors are about to leave

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Dire
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Average
Value for Money	Very Poor

Advantages:	Great pop songs
Disadvantages:	ABBA breaking up soon after

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I'm sorry about my last review of this. I wrote it when I first joined Ciao, and I have now edited it to my usual standard. Enjoy!

This album was released a month before ABBA- The first ten years LP was released. However, this turned out to be ABBA- The Last 10 years. Agnetha Faltskog went to record 4 (including My Colouring Book from 2004) english solo albums, Bjorn and Benny went to write musicals, and Frida released 3 solo albums also in English.

1. Visitors (Crackin' Up). This song is one of ABBA's most famous songs, although it flopped in the charts. It is about preparing for a dinner party, and it is very electronic. Frida takes the lead vocals, and indeed it's brilliant! 9/10

2. Head Over Heals. Head over Heals is the song which told the world that ABBA had lost the plot, although I quite like it! Agnetha sings a song a girlfriend of hers who doesn't act her age (acted brilliantly by Frida in the video). The song sounds like it belongs on a stage with caberet dancers, which isn't very promising. 8/10

3. When All Is Said and Done. Another famous ABBA song, this was written after the break-up of Frida and Benny's marriage. It is a lot poppier than The Winner Takes It All (the song about Bjorn and Agnetha's break up), and it is fiesty and light hearted. 9/10

4. Soldiers. As the title shows, this song is very militaristic. It is in ¾ and both the girls take the vocal lead. Soldiers could have been on an earlier ABBA album as when you hear it, SOS haunts the chorus. 7/10

5. I Let the Music Speak. By this point in the album, you can see Benny and Bjorn's musical ambitions. I Let the Music Speak is a chilling song about…. It is hard to tell! The lyrics are very poor compared to other ABBA songs (I feel that I'm locked in some ancient fairy). Otherwise, this song is an enjoyable Ballard. 7/10

6. One of Us. Voted as one of ABBAs greatest songs, One of Us stands out on this album by miles. It is the only single to make top 5 (even top 10, 20 and 30), and no wonder that ABBA peaked in popularity again in 1982. If the rest of this album wasn't so experimental, I imagine that ABBA would have continued well into the 80s. 10/10

7. Two for the Price of One. Lead by Bjorn and Benny, this song is about getting off with a girl through the newspapers. It is another musical song, which lifts up your heart. Still, it is quite stale, and you want the girls to break through from the backing vocals throughout this track. 6/10

8. Slipping Through My Fingers. This song was written by Bjorn about the first day he saw his daughter Linda going off to school. Of course, it is sung by Agnetha, and it features on her greatest hits album, That's Me. There is one little thing I hate about this song. Frida always tries to take over the chorus! She is obviously trying to sing as loud as she can. However, this song is beautiful. 8/10

9. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room. Sung by Frida, Like An Angel Passing Through My Room is another musical number about trying to sleep. It is very experimental, with clock tickings and heavy reverb. Nevertheless, Frida sings beautifully in this timeless sleep song. 8/10

10. Should I Laugh of Cry. Originally chosen to be the first single off the album, the song ended up as the B-side of One of Us. This is a tragedy. It is a pop anthem about a break up, and Frida sings her heart out again. It caused contreversy after a line in it was 'I'm so tired after all the Germans I fought'. If you pick up this album, you'll here some heavy reverb over that line! 10/10

11. The Day Before You Came. Another ABBA classic comes off this album. The video was nominated at the first MTV Video awards under best international music video, and it was the song which really broke ABBA. It was released as the 4 th single off Visitors. Polydor had become annoyed at ABBA for doing so badly in the charts, and this is why 5 singles were released off this album (to prove ABBA is still in the music game). It missed the top 30 altogether, however great this Ballard is. Agnetha is singing about the day before her boyfriend came into her life, and the lyrics are hysterical (I don't think yet I've seen an episode of Dallas that I didn't see (?)). 9/10

12. Cassandra. Frida sings a song about a girl from a small village who is sad. It is very sweet, and it works with the ABBA synthesisers. It is very tropical (I think it has the same orchestration as Head Over Heal), and chilled. 8/10

13. Under Attack. ABBA's last single came out in 1983 when everyone had forgotten them. It did do better than all the other singles off the album (-One of Us), but it didn't do well enough. A rumour is that the moment the music video had finished filming, this was the last time the members of ABBA met until 1986. The song is like an Eurythmics b-side, and it deserved a lot more respect than it received. 9/10

I hope that you will all buy this album is it the most modern ABBA album. Did I mention that it got to Number 1 in the UK Charts?