Am currently listening to the masterpiece that is Chiqutita. Stunning, and hope it's top 20 the very least.
The Winner's Gonna Take It All: The final...
- Thread starter Remorque
- Start date
He/Him
36.
'...Every day I knew a lot of tired shopping feet, but come the night they will be dancing in the neon light...'
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad in I Am The City -
You're welcome.
Average: 7.8804
Highest score: 10 * 10.00 - @nlgbbbblth @SecretsOfFatima @chris4862 @WhipperSnapper @CasperFan @Mikey1701 @VivaForever @bichard @Filippa @haps
Lowest score: 3 * 4.00 - @dancingwithmyself @funkyg @kalonite
My score: 8.00
The little bonus track that could... That's what I would use to describe I Am the City. People have rarely discussed the song while commenting here and I saw it steadily making its way into the top 40 of our rate and holding its head up high inbetween utter classics.
It dates back to our foursome's final recording sessions of 1982 and was supposed to be a track on the band's ninth album... Yet, it wasn't meant to be. The group disbanded and that ninth album never was released. The song was eventually released as a track on the 1993 compilation More ABBA Gold, a collection of songs that weren't included on ABBA Gold, released the year before and put ABBA in the spotlight again a mere ten years after they split up.
It's definitely a very interesting track. The production is still as crisp as it was when I first listened to it, the girls sound wonderfully weird and you have both of them singing an equal amount of lines, instead of them singing in harmony or having only one of the girls sing, which was something they hadn't really done before.
Mina's thinking the same, saying "This is a really interesting track, from the intricate lyrics to the excellent production backing it." and constantino calls it "One of the rare moments in the discography where the production out-does the vocals, which are oddly tinny here. The chorus is fun, though.". I actually think they're supposed to sound like that. A bit mechanical, if you will.
Fangirling her way into our hearts is Filippa who shouts "What a song! This is a completely new style and I like it!". VivaForever calls this "genuinely stupid", yet follows it up with "but nonetheless I stan.". SecretsOfFatima names this a "Cheesy bop with questionable lyrics but still, sleigh queens and kings.", while chris4862 cries that it "Would have made a superb album opener...".
Hudweiser "can only think they intended this to be the lead single from Album #9 (10 if we're going to count Gracias Por La Musica) because it's way stronger and forward-sounding than either The Day Before You Came or Under Attack. Vocals from both girls for the first time in aaaaaages and you can really see a video for it with them cropping up around a city on billboards n' stuff. Sad it pretty much went to waste.". And yet, I'm not sad at all that this came to be a rarity in their discography...
One of our lowest scorers is kalonite, who thinks "Everything's a bit on the nose, down to the city 'siren' in the chorus.", ending his commentary with a big fat "Meh.".
Poor ol' Sprockrooster's not a fan either... "So sad their singles from greatest hits are so on point, but they completely missed the boat on this one.", with WhatKindOfKylie? nodding his head in agreement, saying "it's a shame that this was released in it's entirely in comparison to the much talked about Just Like That, of which sounds super amazing in bits and drabs of leaks alone! This on the otherhand for me, just feels average and ABBA were way above being just average.".
A lot of you thought this was the highlight of the compilation it was released on...
CasperFan calls it just that... "The highlight of More ABBA Gold – such a brilliant electro pop song, another song I could have given 11 to. Love the electro vocals, the 80’s beat, the understated chorus and then the final chorus where the verse and chorus are sung over each other- genius.", while bichard is taken all the way back to 1993. "What a discovery this was back in 1993 when I bought More ABBA Gold. This and Just Like That suggest that Opus 10 would have been brilliant. I could imagine this ABBA-does-early-80s-synth-to-the-nth-degree as a glorious lead to the album. A real shame we never got it.".
tylerc904 admits not being "crazy about this one either, though it further intrigues me on the future of ABBA that never was." and ufint calls this "a whole lot of nonsense", but concludes that "at least it sounds good.". It does, doesn't it.
P'nutbutter is sad for what could have been... "To think this was just another 'outtake'... they were just unstoppable creatively during that last decade as a group.".
Mikey1701's poor heart must be bleeding right now... You okay, sis?
"The more time I spend with this, the more I wish that the group had persevered and released their ninth album instead of releasing another greatest hits album. Given the calibre of this and the other songs recorded for that aborted project, it would have been their best ever album. This is one of the strongest efforts from the period and even through the vocoder-ed vocals, Agnetha and Frida sound great. The production is (for 1982) forward-thinking and I can’t help but think that this would have sounded amazing. One of my favourites!".
TrueBeliever did a little discovery... "While doing the rate, I stumbled across a version of this song that’s quite different from the More Gold version on YouTube, clocking in at 4:48. It made me like this song even more than before. I think the song suffers from the lack of a memorable middle-8, but otherwise, I quite enjoy the song.".
Said version:
Matt Pop remixed it last year as part of his '80s ABBA reworks. idratherjack even mentioned it in his commentary... "Another brilliant 1982 song, glad it finally saw the light of day on More Gold. If only Benny & Bjorn had seen fit to release the legendary Just Like That! They are not to be trusted regarding their views on one of their best ever songs. At least we have the amazing Matt Pop remix now!".
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad in I Am The City -
You're welcome.
Average: 7.8804
Highest score: 10 * 10.00 - @nlgbbbblth @SecretsOfFatima @chris4862 @WhipperSnapper @CasperFan @Mikey1701 @VivaForever @bichard @Filippa @haps
Lowest score: 3 * 4.00 - @dancingwithmyself @funkyg @kalonite
My score: 8.00
The little bonus track that could... That's what I would use to describe I Am the City. People have rarely discussed the song while commenting here and I saw it steadily making its way into the top 40 of our rate and holding its head up high inbetween utter classics.
It dates back to our foursome's final recording sessions of 1982 and was supposed to be a track on the band's ninth album... Yet, it wasn't meant to be. The group disbanded and that ninth album never was released. The song was eventually released as a track on the 1993 compilation More ABBA Gold, a collection of songs that weren't included on ABBA Gold, released the year before and put ABBA in the spotlight again a mere ten years after they split up.
It's definitely a very interesting track. The production is still as crisp as it was when I first listened to it, the girls sound wonderfully weird and you have both of them singing an equal amount of lines, instead of them singing in harmony or having only one of the girls sing, which was something they hadn't really done before.
Mina's thinking the same, saying "This is a really interesting track, from the intricate lyrics to the excellent production backing it." and constantino calls it "One of the rare moments in the discography where the production out-does the vocals, which are oddly tinny here. The chorus is fun, though.". I actually think they're supposed to sound like that. A bit mechanical, if you will.
Fangirling her way into our hearts is Filippa who shouts "What a song! This is a completely new style and I like it!". VivaForever calls this "genuinely stupid", yet follows it up with "but nonetheless I stan.". SecretsOfFatima names this a "Cheesy bop with questionable lyrics but still, sleigh queens and kings.", while chris4862 cries that it "Would have made a superb album opener...".
Hudweiser "can only think they intended this to be the lead single from Album #9 (10 if we're going to count Gracias Por La Musica) because it's way stronger and forward-sounding than either The Day Before You Came or Under Attack. Vocals from both girls for the first time in aaaaaages and you can really see a video for it with them cropping up around a city on billboards n' stuff. Sad it pretty much went to waste.". And yet, I'm not sad at all that this came to be a rarity in their discography...
One of our lowest scorers is kalonite, who thinks "Everything's a bit on the nose, down to the city 'siren' in the chorus.", ending his commentary with a big fat "Meh.".
Poor ol' Sprockrooster's not a fan either... "So sad their singles from greatest hits are so on point, but they completely missed the boat on this one.", with WhatKindOfKylie? nodding his head in agreement, saying "it's a shame that this was released in it's entirely in comparison to the much talked about Just Like That, of which sounds super amazing in bits and drabs of leaks alone! This on the otherhand for me, just feels average and ABBA were way above being just average.".
A lot of you thought this was the highlight of the compilation it was released on...
CasperFan calls it just that... "The highlight of More ABBA Gold – such a brilliant electro pop song, another song I could have given 11 to. Love the electro vocals, the 80’s beat, the understated chorus and then the final chorus where the verse and chorus are sung over each other- genius.", while bichard is taken all the way back to 1993. "What a discovery this was back in 1993 when I bought More ABBA Gold. This and Just Like That suggest that Opus 10 would have been brilliant. I could imagine this ABBA-does-early-80s-synth-to-the-nth-degree as a glorious lead to the album. A real shame we never got it.".
tylerc904 admits not being "crazy about this one either, though it further intrigues me on the future of ABBA that never was." and ufint calls this "a whole lot of nonsense", but concludes that "at least it sounds good.". It does, doesn't it.
P'nutbutter is sad for what could have been... "To think this was just another 'outtake'... they were just unstoppable creatively during that last decade as a group.".
Mikey1701's poor heart must be bleeding right now... You okay, sis?
"The more time I spend with this, the more I wish that the group had persevered and released their ninth album instead of releasing another greatest hits album. Given the calibre of this and the other songs recorded for that aborted project, it would have been their best ever album. This is one of the strongest efforts from the period and even through the vocoder-ed vocals, Agnetha and Frida sound great. The production is (for 1982) forward-thinking and I can’t help but think that this would have sounded amazing. One of my favourites!".
TrueBeliever did a little discovery... "While doing the rate, I stumbled across a version of this song that’s quite different from the More Gold version on YouTube, clocking in at 4:48. It made me like this song even more than before. I think the song suffers from the lack of a memorable middle-8, but otherwise, I quite enjoy the song.".
Said version:
Matt Pop remixed it last year as part of his '80s ABBA reworks. idratherjack even mentioned it in his commentary... "Another brilliant 1982 song, glad it finally saw the light of day on More Gold. If only Benny & Bjorn had seen fit to release the legendary Just Like That! They are not to be trusted regarding their views on one of their best ever songs. At least we have the amazing Matt Pop remix now!".
Glad that is out!
Now the Matt Pop remix does indeed give it some extra oomph!
Matt Pop makes everything better!
Wish he do a whole Kylie remix album!
At least he has done a whole ABBA remix album! His remix of Just Like That is now my most played ABBA song and would have snagged my 11 had it been eligible...
Just Like That remains by far the ultimate what if Abba moment.
Am I the only one that finds some of Matt Pop's remixes a bit overrated? *runs*
....I'm not.
I wish I had discovered my love for 'I Am The City earlier. It's bloody brilliant!
"the famous hotels and the cocktail bars and the turd by the cars"
"the famous hotels and the cocktail bars and the turd by the cars"
he/him
I love I Am The City and have played it so many times but quite literally have never heard them sing "Every day I knew a lot of tired shopping feet, but come the night they will be dancing in the neon light".
You learn something new every day!
You learn something new every day!
Don't worry Hazey, I'm sure I won't be mad when I see your score for my 11.
he/him
It's guaranteed to be higher than yours was at this point.