The Winner's Gonna Take It All: The final...
- Thread starter Remorque
- Start date
It's a bit odd that people are still getting butthurt about cuts at this stage. We're into the top 10, nothing here is 'robbed'.
He/Him
I’m actually really surprised at some of these cuts you chose. Pleasantly surprised.
I know right. We’ve been losing classics since the fucking top 50... It is a kii still reading some of all y’all’s suggestions for cuts though.
My choices too now. All worthy winners.
The Visitors is all kinds of brilliant. If I had to do this all again, I would give it at least a 9.5896
Does not compute.
It really is such a strong and solid listen. To say the very least!
He/Him
7.
'We've done it all before and now we're back to get some more... You know what I mean... Voulez-vous?'
- Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad in Voulez-Vous -
'We've done it all before and now we're back to get some more... You know what I mean... Voulez-vous?'
- Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad in Voulez-Vous -
Fuck using the obvious photoshoot.
Average: 9.3478
Highest score: 25 * 10.00 - @Angeleyes @Mina @Hudweiser @GhettoPrincess @SecretsOfFatima @chris4862 @WhipperSnapper @AllGagaLike @funkyg @CasperFan @Mikey1701 @cityofdoomsday @WhatKindOfKylie? @Gotnomoretosay @ufint @Mumty @Terminus @constantino @kalonite @Animalia @LTG @Epic Chocolat @TrueBeliever @Baby Clyde @Remorque
Lowest score: 1 * 6.00 - @dancingwithmyself
My score: 10.00
ABBA's sixth album loses its title track at #7, leaving only Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) to battle it out for the top spot in our ranking.
After initial recording and writing sessions for what was to be their sixth album and the follow-up to the massive commercial success that was The Album didn't go down as well as everybody had hoped, the boys went on a trip to the Bahamas to try and get some well-deserved rest and the inspiration that would come with it. It was during this trip that the melody for Voulez-Vous was born, while they went to Miami to soak up the ambiance and get the backing track to sound exactly like they wanted. Benny and Björn enlisted the help of the band Foxy and recorded the song at Criteria Studios, previously used by the Bee Gees to create their disco sound.
The song was eventually released as a single in July 1979, paired with Angeleyes as a double A-side, becoming a summer smash, yet only reaching the top of the charts in Belgium (HIYA!), but still becoming a top 5 hit in Ireland, The Netherlands and France and getting a top 10 certificate in Switzerland and Spain.
In the United Kingdom it was another certifiable top 5 hit for the band, yet the song didn't make any impact in neither the United States, nor Australia, where the song barely scraped the top 80.
It was one of the first times the band actually got played in all the major clubs around Europe and the record company decided to release an extended dance remix of the song as a promo single, that got issued on 12" in the United States.
I've always liked the cool vibe of the song, with that immaculate production and the girls getting to be the true disco queens we always knew they were. It's the signature song to their disco period for me, where both Agnetha and Frida looked the best they ever looked and Benny and Björn actually stepped out of their comfort zone to go write and record anywhere else but Sweden.
As Mina states, it's a "A timeless bop." and who am I to disagree, really...
On the other hand, tylerc904 agrees with the general public around the time of the single's release, saying it "Doesn’t compete with some of their other classics, but excellent nonetheless." and ultimately admits "I love Disco ABBA of course.". bitchmetoo_thefuck.gif
Of course, that word was used quite often. idratherjack says it's "Disco inferno.", while P'nutbutter calls it "Disco Pop at its most glorious and euphoric!". SecretsOfFatima goes one further, considering it a "Disco masterpiece, with the soaring vocals and stomping beat adding to its quality. As we all know, a song must be incredible to be covered by Nadine Coyle.". More on that last one below, ghewls.
To TrueBeliever it's a "Driving, dark, and mysterious disco floor filler. Perfect for driving a dark, winding mountain road to keep you awake to not fall off the precipice of life. What more do you need to make it through another day?".
I've got the answer... A course in French. Especially for chris4862, who admits being "Slightly ashamed to say that I still sing mostly gibberish during the chorus.". Someone who is still a student though is constantino, who confesses it was "A serious 11 contender for me - what a fucking earworm. They’ve released a lot of camp bops in their time but this is certainly up there, and I live for it. I study French and I can’t help but bop when those immortal words pop up during class.". Those were probably the first French words uttered by everybody who was familiar with the song whose native tongue wasn't the language of love.
WhatKindOfKylie? simply shouts "BOP!!!" and follows that up with the fact he thinks "ABBA suited the Disco genre very well, what with two superb songwriters and producers, and two of the finest female vocalists the industry will ever have. They could turn their hands to almost anything. Feels slighty underrated to their other hits of their imperial period, which is a shame.".
Poor ol' Sprockrooster was feeling the same thing, but gets his countries mixed up, wondering "how this was not considered a big hit, but I see it reached its peak in the Netherlands and it still comes up on radio or supermarket playlists. And I am not mad, but a bit surprised it was not as massive as their other songs.". Sprocky, consider yourself happy I'm in a good mood... Flanders =/= The Netherlands... /kthxbai
To CasperFan Voulez-Vous "Hits the ground running at 100mph and doesn’t let up- a signature ABBA tune and rightfully so- maybe not as clever as some of their classics but a disco stomper.".
ufint is of mind that "That melody is so unique and amazing. Production on point, everything's coming up roses. PERFECT.", but bichard seems to differ, contesting it's "Almost perfect. But in ABBA world, not quite.".
And while kalonite is happy "This song JUST KEEPS GOING and you never want it to end.", Filippa seems to disagree... "Not mine but still a good song.". Uhu.
We'll end with Mikey1701 who I hope is still around after losing the whole of The Visitors album... Sis?
"Relentless. Absolutely relentless. This is easily one of the finest things that ABBA ever recorded. It’s so strange to think that this is one of the most iconic tracks the group recorded, yet only really smashed in a handful of countries. I would be tempted to say that the breakdown is perhaps my favourite part of the song, but there is so much to love about the entire song that it really makes it hard to pinpoint my favourite moment. A-HA!".
A-HA! indeed...
The video was shot by Lasse Halström in a studio in Sweden and features the band performing on stage and a bunch of people jumping around as if they were dancing in da clerb. It's quite the dark affair and suits the song extremely well, I think...
And here's the extended dance remix that was released in the United States as a promo single.
Suprisingly the song was promoted rather extensively in Spain...
...on 300 Millones...
...and on Auplauso.
Average: 9.3478
Highest score: 25 * 10.00 - @Angeleyes @Mina @Hudweiser @GhettoPrincess @SecretsOfFatima @chris4862 @WhipperSnapper @AllGagaLike @funkyg @CasperFan @Mikey1701 @cityofdoomsday @WhatKindOfKylie? @Gotnomoretosay @ufint @Mumty @Terminus @constantino @kalonite @Animalia @LTG @Epic Chocolat @TrueBeliever @Baby Clyde @Remorque
Lowest score: 1 * 6.00 - @dancingwithmyself
My score: 10.00
ABBA's sixth album loses its title track at #7, leaving only Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) to battle it out for the top spot in our ranking.
After initial recording and writing sessions for what was to be their sixth album and the follow-up to the massive commercial success that was The Album didn't go down as well as everybody had hoped, the boys went on a trip to the Bahamas to try and get some well-deserved rest and the inspiration that would come with it. It was during this trip that the melody for Voulez-Vous was born, while they went to Miami to soak up the ambiance and get the backing track to sound exactly like they wanted. Benny and Björn enlisted the help of the band Foxy and recorded the song at Criteria Studios, previously used by the Bee Gees to create their disco sound.
The song was eventually released as a single in July 1979, paired with Angeleyes as a double A-side, becoming a summer smash, yet only reaching the top of the charts in Belgium (HIYA!), but still becoming a top 5 hit in Ireland, The Netherlands and France and getting a top 10 certificate in Switzerland and Spain.
In the United Kingdom it was another certifiable top 5 hit for the band, yet the song didn't make any impact in neither the United States, nor Australia, where the song barely scraped the top 80.
It was one of the first times the band actually got played in all the major clubs around Europe and the record company decided to release an extended dance remix of the song as a promo single, that got issued on 12" in the United States.
I've always liked the cool vibe of the song, with that immaculate production and the girls getting to be the true disco queens we always knew they were. It's the signature song to their disco period for me, where both Agnetha and Frida looked the best they ever looked and Benny and Björn actually stepped out of their comfort zone to go write and record anywhere else but Sweden.
As Mina states, it's a "A timeless bop." and who am I to disagree, really...
On the other hand, tylerc904 agrees with the general public around the time of the single's release, saying it "Doesn’t compete with some of their other classics, but excellent nonetheless." and ultimately admits "I love Disco ABBA of course.". bitchmetoo_thefuck.gif
Of course, that word was used quite often. idratherjack says it's "Disco inferno.", while P'nutbutter calls it "Disco Pop at its most glorious and euphoric!". SecretsOfFatima goes one further, considering it a "Disco masterpiece, with the soaring vocals and stomping beat adding to its quality. As we all know, a song must be incredible to be covered by Nadine Coyle.". More on that last one below, ghewls.
To TrueBeliever it's a "Driving, dark, and mysterious disco floor filler. Perfect for driving a dark, winding mountain road to keep you awake to not fall off the precipice of life. What more do you need to make it through another day?".
I've got the answer... A course in French. Especially for chris4862, who admits being "Slightly ashamed to say that I still sing mostly gibberish during the chorus.". Someone who is still a student though is constantino, who confesses it was "A serious 11 contender for me - what a fucking earworm. They’ve released a lot of camp bops in their time but this is certainly up there, and I live for it. I study French and I can’t help but bop when those immortal words pop up during class.". Those were probably the first French words uttered by everybody who was familiar with the song whose native tongue wasn't the language of love.
WhatKindOfKylie? simply shouts "BOP!!!" and follows that up with the fact he thinks "ABBA suited the Disco genre very well, what with two superb songwriters and producers, and two of the finest female vocalists the industry will ever have. They could turn their hands to almost anything. Feels slighty underrated to their other hits of their imperial period, which is a shame.".
Poor ol' Sprockrooster was feeling the same thing, but gets his countries mixed up, wondering "how this was not considered a big hit, but I see it reached its peak in the Netherlands and it still comes up on radio or supermarket playlists. And I am not mad, but a bit surprised it was not as massive as their other songs.". Sprocky, consider yourself happy I'm in a good mood... Flanders =/= The Netherlands... /kthxbai
To CasperFan Voulez-Vous "Hits the ground running at 100mph and doesn’t let up- a signature ABBA tune and rightfully so- maybe not as clever as some of their classics but a disco stomper.".
ufint is of mind that "That melody is so unique and amazing. Production on point, everything's coming up roses. PERFECT.", but bichard seems to differ, contesting it's "Almost perfect. But in ABBA world, not quite.".
And while kalonite is happy "This song JUST KEEPS GOING and you never want it to end.", Filippa seems to disagree... "Not mine but still a good song.". Uhu.
We'll end with Mikey1701 who I hope is still around after losing the whole of The Visitors album... Sis?
"Relentless. Absolutely relentless. This is easily one of the finest things that ABBA ever recorded. It’s so strange to think that this is one of the most iconic tracks the group recorded, yet only really smashed in a handful of countries. I would be tempted to say that the breakdown is perhaps my favourite part of the song, but there is so much to love about the entire song that it really makes it hard to pinpoint my favourite moment. A-HA!".
A-HA! indeed...
The video was shot by Lasse Halström in a studio in Sweden and features the band performing on stage and a bunch of people jumping around as if they were dancing in da clerb. It's quite the dark affair and suits the song extremely well, I think...
And here's the extended dance remix that was released in the United States as a promo single.
Suprisingly the song was promoted rather extensively in Spain...
...on 300 Millones...
...and on Auplauso.
He/Him
It was was the opening song on their 1979 world tour...
...and a performance of that was eventually released in 2014 as part of their Live at Wembley album.
In 1979 Puerto Rican boy band Menudo covered the song in Spanish for their Chiquitita album...
...while their 1981 line-up re-recorded it for their Xanadu album.
British electronic duo Big Bang released a cover of the song as a single in 1989, featuring Jasmine Ventura and Teresa Revill on vocal duties and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran playing guitar. It eventually reached no. 9 on the club chart, but failed to make an impact elsewhere...
...and a performance of that was eventually released in 2014 as part of their Live at Wembley album.
In 1979 Puerto Rican boy band Menudo covered the song in Spanish for their Chiquitita album...
...while their 1981 line-up re-recorded it for their Xanadu album.
British electronic duo Big Bang released a cover of the song as a single in 1989, featuring Jasmine Ventura and Teresa Revill on vocal duties and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran playing guitar. It eventually reached no. 9 on the club chart, but failed to make an impact elsewhere...
He/Him
...but the song topped the charts in the United Kingdom for the first time as part of Erasure's ABBA-esque EP.
In 1999 A*Teens released their version of the song on their debut album The ABBA Generation...
...and it was around the same time that Abbacadabra released their Hi-NRG package of the song too.
British group Culture Club covered the song for the 1999 Abbamania compilation...
...Swedish metal band Morgana Lefay recorded theirs for the 2001 A Tribute to ABBA compilation...
In 1999 A*Teens released their version of the song on their debut album The ABBA Generation...
...and it was around the same time that Abbacadabra released their Hi-NRG package of the song too.
British group Culture Club covered the song for the 1999 Abbamania compilation...
...Swedish metal band Morgana Lefay recorded theirs for the 2001 A Tribute to ABBA compilation...
He/Him
...with fellow Swedes Time Requiem did the same, releasing their cover as a bonus track on their 2004 album The Inner Circle of Reality.
Swedish musician Nils Landgren included a cover of the song on his 2004 tribute album Funky ABBA...
...and Icelandic cult rock band HAM released a metal cover version of the song, which has apparently become a big live favourite of theirs.
Woulez-Wous indeed.
We'll end on a high and fabulous note, shall we.
Iconic girlband chanteuse Nadine Coyle performed the song on The ABBA Christmas Party special in 2015. Pas de question, sa performance est fabuleux, n'est-ce pas?
Swedish musician Nils Landgren included a cover of the song on his 2004 tribute album Funky ABBA...
...and Icelandic cult rock band HAM released a metal cover version of the song, which has apparently become a big live favourite of theirs.
Woulez-Wous indeed.
We'll end on a high and fabulous note, shall we.
Iconic girlband chanteuse Nadine Coyle performed the song on The ABBA Christmas Party special in 2015. Pas de question, sa performance est fabuleux, n'est-ce pas?
"Voulez-Vous" is fantastic. #7 seems like just the right place for it (though I slightly prefer it to Gimme!x3).
I love the added intensity of the extended remix (although it's easy to forget it's just a minute longer than the original), but nothing tops the original. It goes so hard at parties too.
I love the added intensity of the extended remix (although it's easy to forget it's just a minute longer than the original), but nothing tops the original. It goes so hard at parties too.
she/her
I'll trot out my "Why is this below Dancing Queen?" line again.
he/him
I love this version but I fell in love with the A*Teens one first and it holds up as being slightly better. (I still gave ABBA's 9/10) Don't kill me.
Pay once + Two for one deal = I got two for the price of one. All made sense to me. xx
Pay once + Two for one deal = I got two for the price of one. All made sense to me. xx
A stone cold bop, one of their finest and totally deserves its spot!
D
Deleted member 3416
My commentary wasn't included so here it is "I’ve never noticed it as prominently before but ABBA just have amazing pop music moments when it comes to the simple lyrics like ah-ha! The verses are fierce and the chorus is glorious. One of their best songs."
What a song though, seriously.
What a song though, seriously.
