When they successfully blend the elements, they create a song which can be placed into a musical’s storyline, as we’ve seen with the oddly specific Mamma Mia! songs. And while Bumblebee still holds on to strong imagery, it seems to conflict with the sound of the song itself. There’s intense imagery and a strong theme to the song, which permeates through all of its elements. The first song's lyrics match perfectly within the vibe of the song. For example, there are two very Celtic sounding songs on this album: When You Danced With Me, a song about Kilkenny- a region in Ireland and the memories it holds, and Bumblebee which is just about a bee as far as I can tell. There are times when ABBA nails the parallels of music production and storytelling, and sometimes they just seem to miss the mark. Regardless, I’m hesitant to blame ABBA for the inclusion of Little Things if they want their farewell album to include a Christmas song, then so be it. When you look at the ‘Voyage’ cover art, a piano ballad Christmas song isn’t the first, or even the last thing you'd expect to see on this album. The song itself isn’t very memorable and it’s a confusing piece to be included in the album as a whole. A children’s choir sings the outro, bringing out the child-like quality of the song. This same lullaby sound is continued with Little Things, a song in which a grandma sings about her favorite things during the Christmas season. ‘Voyage’ starts off with I Still Have Faith in You, a beautiful piano ballad that sounds like a triumphant march which encourages the band to move forward with this album “But I remind myself of who we are / How inconceivable it is to reach this far / Do I have it in me? / I believe it is in there / For I know I hear a bittersweet song / in the memories we share.” It’s a tender song and the vocals of 71-year-old Agnetha and 75-year-old Anni-Frid give it a sweet lullaby-like quality, like a couple of grandmothers serenading their grandchildren. This album is packed with ballads, powerful lyricism and that tangible sadness ABBA loves to play with. The song closes with the same chord progression that’s played in SOS, a song about a failing relationship, making their use of storytelling that much more smart and intentional. The pairing of traumatic lyrics with a bouncy beat is not lost on ABBA and I’m sure we all saw it coming back, but it somehow catches me by surprise every time.
It's about a woman losing full-custody of her child, Dan, and while it might seem shameful to jam out to a song with such a depressing storyline, the catchiness of the piece is too freaking good. It starts in a very similar way to Mamma Mia as both songs make use of apprehensive chords in their intros, but because of its subject matter, Keep an Eye on Dan takes a bit longer to enter into the disco world. The star of this album, however, is Keep an Eye on Dan. The background vocals add a nuance that provides an even more joyful sound with a hint of rock and roll fit for a production of Grease. It feels appropriate to dub this song as the ‘happy’ pairing to Don’t Shut Me Down. Immediately followed on the album is Just a Notion which is in the exact same wheelhouse as Waterloo.
Don’t Shut Me Down also includes the best line of the album, which is the perfect affirmation as we’re headed into 2022, “I'm fired up, I'm hot, don't shut me down.” It ends unresolved which could feel very odd, but works as another storytelling quality that they can employ. Melodrama accompanying a somber story, flipped into a relatively quick paced dance beat which is very “two-steppable.” This is the ABBA that I’m familiar with twinkling piano, a steady beat and just the right amount of synth. Emphasis on possible.ĭon’t Shut Me Down begins with the same feel as Chiquitita. There’s a reason why ABBA’s top songs are the kind that can be danced to all night long- these are the most fun and energetic and what we all were hoping to get with ‘Voyage.’ Although most of the songs are more chill, there are a few that stood out to me as possible Dancing Queen contenders.