The recent reunion of the 1970s Swedish pop sensation quartet ABBA to issue a fresh recording adds timeliness to Chris Hunt's short feature documentary (whose 2019 copyright really indicates a desire to ride the coattails of the musical feature sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again). Otherwise, aside from a few updates (apparently there is now ABBA - The Dining Experience), the narrative adds only a few precious treats not already seen in Hunt's own pre-existing, longer Super Troupers: 30 Years of ABBA (2004). One is Bono Vox from U2 embracing the music of ABBA (when, he confesses, as a punk-era youth he would have gladly driven a stake through it).
The dizzyingly infectious melodies of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus had their roots in German "schlager" pop and Scandinavian folk. At its peak, the quartet—two married couples, Benny and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Bjorn and Agnetha Faltsgog—had a private island to retreat and record. There are revelations that ABBA did not enjoy substantial radio airplay in their native Sweden; it seems the band's success offended the leftist bias of station personnel (either that or somebody foresaw ABBA - The Dining Experience). In fact, after their smash "Waterloo" won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973, there seemed some doubt ABBA could have an encore. But the Andersson/Ulvaeus collaboration produced 19 subsequent chart-toppers and worldwide touring.
It was the latter, we are told, that helped end both marriages, though the ex-spouses still worked together occasionally and gave their blessings to the 2001 ABBA-based stage musical Mamma Mia! (acknowledgment is made of two Australian film comedies Muriel's Wedding and Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert for keeping the ABBA flame burning).
Drawn-from-life tunes such as the breakup anthem "The Winner Takes It All" are used to assert that this was not mere bubblegum music but deeply felt—and even when it was bubblegum ("Dancing Queen"), the two-octave range commanded by the ladies is formidable indeed.
Classic ABBA songs are rendered in extended vintage clips; it is a missed opportunity nobody discusses the amazing prescience of the band in promoting themselves via music-video film shorts (showcasing their Nordic good looks and amusing fashions) several years before MTV made that a standard record-label practice. Although ABBA Forever is a familiar refrain, public library shelves with a section on music looking for ABBA coverage may still want to say I do, I do I do I do I do...
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