Story of a heart | 28 May 2009
May 2009 is a good month for ABBA fans: we got the really fun Hotel Rival commercial "2nd best to none" video (and song). Then we also got another new B&B song: Story of a heart by the Benny Andersson Band. After a few years of musical silence we have new material from the people whose music we have liked for such a long time now. I have listened to "Story" a couple of times and here's what I think of the song: There's a bit (well more than that) of Gemini-like vocals, a bit of Heaven help my heart texture and drama, a very 80s production, the flute from The Piper, a nice melody and nice lyrics. It's catchy, but not catchy enough to be a hit in this decade. What really stands out: it's very well sung by Helen Sjöholm. The song might deserve a much more modern production, but the production IS classy and has all the B&B trademarks. All 'n all it's not a very spectacular track, but a decent old school pop song with ditto production. To be honest: I don't blame B&B for being old school. They're in their sixties now. And let's face it: they're far more modern than any fan who compares everything B&B do with what they did back in the ABBA days :) You just can't compare this with ABBA. You just can't. This track has nothing to do with the music from a pop group that disappeared from the pop scene 27 years ago. I really don't understand why some fans link it back to ABBA or even think that this is some long forgotten ABBA gem. It's not. It's a new song. Maybe it is from the vaults? Maybe it is a brand new track? Who knows? And more importantly: who cares? After the Mamma Mia fuzz from the past decade it's good that they recorded new material. I prefer NEW music from either A, B, B or F over rereleased ABBA stuff anytime! Oh yes: ANYTIME! I know the music might never be as good as the ABBA recordings, but ABBA was thirty odd years ago. The fact that B&B still record music is a bonus for every ABBA fan out there. That's why I am a happy fan: B&B have done something NEW for a change. The verdict: 7 out of 10. |
![]()
All editorials:
|
Subscribe to the ABBA Plaza mail service and receive site update notifications by e-mail.