Just a Notion (3rd single)

Sheena said:
Ok, I’m going to come out with this as it feels like a good time to say it.

I don’t love ANYTHING I’ve heard so far. The ballad is boring, the uptempo not quite enough for me and Just A Notion should have been left in the vaults.

I’m happy there is new Abba music and of course I will be buying the album, but the whole thing so far is just leaving me a little bit, well, to be honest, :meh:
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I'd pretty much GUESSED as much :D
 
lolly said:
I'd pretty much GUESSED as much :D
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Am I that SEE THROUGH? I’ve been keeping quiet because I don’t want to spoil the fun- it’s so momentous an occasion for all of us really- but I wish I could be more in love with it all…
 
Sheena said:
Am I that SEE THROUGH? I’ve been keeping quiet because I don’t want to spoil the fun- it’s so momentous an occasion for all of us really- but I wish I could be more in love with it all…
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Well yes, but only because you hadn't been BLOCK CAPPING all over the place

I just guessed you weren't the sort to piss all over our chips :D
 
I have to say, one thing that shines through on this song (but also the other two we’ve had so far) is the utter joy with which grumpy old Benny is approaching this project.

Considering the borderline disgust with which he watched the initial 90s ABBA revival unfold, he’s been on quite the journey through accepting it and watching the money rolling in, to actively engaging with it.

And now we’ve reached a point where he’s giving us this absolute bombardment of joyous cheese and even throwing the little Dancing Queen glissandos into Don’t Shut Me Down. Even if the girls can’t be arsed, it’s so lovely to see him having mellowed in his old age and fully back in ABBA mode.
 
Pingu said:
I have to say, one thing that shines through on this song (but also the other two we’ve had so far) is the utter joy with which grumpy old Benny is approaching this project.

Considering the borderline disgust with which he watched the initial 90s ABBA revival unfold, he’s been on quite the journey through accepting it and watching the money rolling in, to actively engaging with it.

And now we’ve reached a point where he’s giving us this absolute bombardment of joyous cheese and even throwing the little Dancing Queen glissandos into Don’t Shut Me Down. Even if the girls can’t be arsed, it’s so lovely to see him having mellowed in his old age and fully back in ABBA mode.
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Now if only he'd ditch that bloody awful black smock thing he's so fond of...
 
Can I piss over your chips? :D

JUST KIDDING!

Obviously I have no love for this song at all, it sounds like a Slade tribute act to my ears, but I LOVE how ABBA have made no effort to try and update their sound. There's a beautiful nostalgia about this project. I say this because I wish more legendary acts stayed true to the sound that made them successful instead of trying to be HIP
 
funky said:
Can I piss over your chips? :D

JUST KIDDING!

Obviously I have no love for this song at all, it sounds like a Slade tribute act to my ears, but I LOVE how ABBA have made no effort to try and update their sound. There's a beautiful nostalgia about this project. I say this because I wish more legendary acts stayed true to the sound that made them successful instead of trying to be HIP
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Agreed. I know it is not in the same league but it is why the (later) Steps revival also worked so well.
 
Kratz said:
Agreed. I know it is not in the same league but it is why the (later) Steps revival also worked so well.
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I kinda disagree with that. Steps was the perfect marriage of staying faithful to their roots but with a more updated, modern sound.
 
To be fair to Abba though, Steps are still only in their 40s so it's easier to achieve.
 
Eddie said:
To be fair to Abba though, Steps are still only in their 40s so it's easier to achieve.
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...and half the gap to cover.

Steps really have pulled a masterstroke in sounding exactly like then and now, though. Or at least as 'now' as forty year old plus fans are comfortable with, anyway.
 
funky said:
Can I piss over your chips? :D

JUST KIDDING!

Obviously I have no love for this song at all, it sounds like a Slade tribute act to my ears, but I LOVE how ABBA have made no effort to try and update their sound. There's a beautiful nostalgia about this project. I say this because I wish more legendary acts stayed true to the sound that made them successful instead of trying to be HIP
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Sheena said:
Ok, I’m going to come out with this as it feels like a good time to say it.

I don’t love ANYTHING I’ve heard so far. The ballad is boring, the uptempo not quite enough for me and Just A Notion should have been left in the vaults.

I’m happy there is new Abba music and of course I will be buying the album, but the whole thing so far is just leaving me a little bit, well, to be honest, :meh:
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I'd agreed, but Just A Notion is the first thing that's REALLY hit the spot for me
 
Any traction on charts yet? I guess it might have a decent first day if it’s an instant grat (or does that make it ineligible?)
 
I like the CD artwork (courtesy of Abbatalk)

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Apparently Ken Bruce played it earlier, said it's Radio 2 record of the week next week, and also said it reminded him of Remember You're A Womble.

I'm feeling half vindicated, and half aghast that I think the same as Ken Bruce.
 
Three seconds is the promo!

(from half the group)
 
First listen lustre was a little lacking. It didn't quite take me to ABBA heaven, but it's quite jaunty and has room to grow. It could even serve as a slightly festive offering. The elements are dependably in place. Even if it doesn't add to the magic of the first 2, what it does keep going is the sense that they are in no way trying to compete with the burden of their back catalogue - this is almost a shrug of the shoulders to that notion.

The Wombles comparison though :D
 
There's something a bit muddy in the final production for me, most evident in the vocals at the start. And something still feels a bit off in the chorus of I Still Have Faith In You to me. I've also seen fans say the mixing of DSMD isn't quite right, although I've not heard it myself.

I do wonder if Michael B Tretow's absence is felt.
 
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I think I know what it is - I suspect it's because it's done digitally. Had this been on tape, it would have been double-tracked at a slightly variable speed. This applies to I Still Have Faith in You as well. Also, vocals are not as loud in the mix.
 
I don't like it, I wish they'd recorded a new song instead of this.

It would've been fine to release as part of a side compilation of "ABBAs Lost Tracks" or something but I guess they're releasing it because it'll slide well into the ABBAtar concert.
 
I think I'll be slightly IRKED if it's in the Abbatar concert, considering something it could be at the expense of.
 
My thoughts and take on 'Just A Notion' for what they're worth.

So this was originally recorded in 1978 with a view for inclusion on the 'Voulez-Vous' album. However, after all the studio tinkering it just didn't "fit" that particular album, nor the next one that they could have popped it on, or indeed the one after that one.

Fast forward 40 years and it's now deemed as being fit for inclusion on a "new" album and is released as a single.

It feels a bit insulting.

This was recorded the same year that Kate Bush debuted with 'Wuthering Heights' AND the same year that the soundtracks to 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease' dominated the charts. Recorded in the same year that Althea & Donna reached number one with 'Uptown Top Ranking' and yet this still sounds far more dated today than any of those releases I've mentioned.

Just my own notion mind, but nobody is going to be considering this as a timeless and worthy addition to ABBA's back-catalogue in 40 years time.
 
I pretty much agree with all of that, other than the being a single bit (or feeling insulted) - because 'singles' mean little to an act like Abba now. I think they needed to release an extra track before the album, and to an extent (and obviously this is without knowing the quality of the other 7 tracks is) I can see why releasing an 'old' track makes sense.

I do think it is very much d-list Abba though.
 
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yeah I mean I guess another new single wouldn’t have much impact on presales now, the loons will be all sorted already, and the casuals would’ve heard the media circus from the first singles.

It’s nice for people to get closure on something archival, but it does beg the question of why it’s on the new album at all. It does seem to have spooked some people who confidently preordered it that mayyyybe it won’t be all tear-inducing comeback music
 
Hmm...I’m certainly not as into ABBA as most posting here, though I dearly love a lot of their singles, so perhaps my take is moot but I feel able to cut them some slack for recycling an old track if it helps all the rest of this very unexpected treat and joy happen.
 
They had nine track albums before.

This comes directly after Don't Shut Me Down on the album, which I feel is going to be a little jarring. Perhaps that supports FetchFugly's post about it feeling like a compilation. I guess considering we know that it was recorded over four years, includes one old cast off and at least one song recycled from other Benny Anderson projects, hoping for a cohesive album is probably unrealistic.
 
It's cosy and familiar if not a major thrill like the fireworks that went off for me with the first 2, which had 2 very delightful and cautious build ups to their unmistakable magic. The guitar that stretched out all that yearning on DSMD is one of the most euphoric ABBA experiences I never knew I could possibly have asked for.

If they wanted an easy (online) fan pleaser, they know full well Just Like That has a gusto ready to illuminate the world with.

Listening to JLT again, the verses breathe into your soul like wind through trees. This one wimps out and gives you something swift and nimble, but it's already a solid B+ That it's a single perhaps owing to familiarity of its arrangements than hopefully being stronger than the rest.

I still can't believe I get to talk about and anticipate new ABBA music.

*sigh*
 
This official tweet using the one photo three times did make me snigger in terms of showing the crumbs being thrown in certain respects :D

 
So they haven't even bothered recording new "live" vocals for older songs. That's a bit of a sucker punch for fans, isn't it?
 
Eddie said:
So they haven't even bothered recording new "live" vocals for older songs. That's a bit of a sucker punch for fans, isn't it?
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I don’t think it was ever expected that they would. It was a surprise in the first place that they had actually got together to record the motion capture performances.
 
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