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Remixes | 30 september 2003
When ABBA was active as a group, the market for remixes was not exactly very big. Sure they started to release 12" singles, but that was more because 12" singles simply sounded better than 7" singles. From 1979 towards the end of 1982, quite a number of ABBA 12" records have been made. Strangely ABBA never ever commercially released a remix of one of their dance singles. They could have made a huge remix of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! or The Visitors, but they choose not to. They made one attempt to be hipper than hip and Björn, Benny and Michael Tretow created an extended version of Voulez-Vous. But they only released it on a promo only 12" single to US discjockeys. A shame really, because this version was 1 minute longer than the album track and could or maybe even should have been the regular 12" single that accompanied the 7" single. The first proper dance 12" was the title track of Frida's Shine album from 1984. When Björn and Benny finally realized the potential, they also remixed some Chess songs and put them on 12". Now we're in 2003 and still we have no official ABBA remix available. I admit that the extended Voulez-Vous track has been included on The Definitive Collection, but that's it. However, dozens or maybe even hundreds of illegal remixes are available on bootlegs. And of course on the internet on peer to peer networks like Kazaa or WinMX. I have started to download a few and I find the average home-made remix a true disaster. People simply added some rhythm machines behind the track, they speeded up some tracks, or added some horrible effects. Until now, I have seen only ONE proper remix that gives a song a completely different feel or atmosphere. And that song is not even a dance song. It's the Christmas mix of Like an angel passing through my room. Life can be full of suprises and this is a very pleasant one. It makes you wonder if it isn't about time for Universal to ask Björn and Benny for a few proper remixes. Or maybe better Junkie XL could do that. He can look at a couple of tracks and he can come up with a new ABBA hit single. I mean, if a substandard Elvis track can dominate the world charts, why can't a remixed ABBA track do the same? |
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