The Winner's Gonna Take It All: The final...

Angeleyes

Angeleyes

I mean I wouldn’t be surprised if I gave Gimme! x3 a 10, but I guess imagined it being somewhere between 10-20 overall. I definitely didn’t foresee it getting this high. Voulez-Vous and Lay All Your Love On Me are superior disco songs.

In terms of Gimme! x3, I prefer the A*Teens version.
 
Weslicious

Weslicious

Remorque said:


Y'all were asking for it since the top 40...

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Yet only two of us did what needed to be done...

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Mina

Mina

Remorque said:
Mina, however, calls it "Iconic.", yet thinks it's "Not in the same category for me as the songs I've given 10s to, though.", while giving it neuf points. Ghurl, I won't even begin to list some songs you did give a 10 theaux.
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Really?

My ABBA Discography Rate 10s:
Waterloo
Mamma Mia
Take a Chance on Me
The Name of the Game
Voulez Vous
Our Last Summer
The Day Before You Came

And, every song in our top 3 (the first time I think that's ever happened to me in a rate) - one of which is my 11
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Knowing Me, Knowing You
The Winner Takes It All

All of these are a cut above Dancing Queen.
 
D

Deleted member 312

KMKN it literally overrated now. It's so middling in Abba's discography.
 
Remorque

Remorque

He/Him
3.​

'...Walking through an empty house, tears in my eyes... Here is where the story ends, this is goodbye....'
- Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad in Knowing Me, Knowing You -

abba-knowing-me-knowing-you-polydor-6.jpg


What exactly was Benny doing to Frida there? Kii.

Average: 9.5543
Highest score: 4 * 11.00 - @Gotnomoretosay @VivaForever @tylerc904 @P'NutButter
28 * 10.00 - @Angeleyes @Mina @Hudweiser @hownee @SecretsOfFatima @chris4862 @WhipperSnapper @AllGagaLike @funkyg @CasperFan @Mikey1701 @WhatKindOfKylie? @DJHazey @ufint @Mumty @AGiantSheep @Ed72 @Terminus @idratherjack @kalonite @Filippa @Scoundrel_Days @LTG @One Stop Candy Shop @haps @TrueBeliever @Baby Clyde @Remorque
Lowest score: 1 * 6.00 - @Sprockrooster (of course...)
My score: 10.00

Knowing Me, Knowing You was recorded in March 1976 and was first released as the fifth track on its parent album, Arrival. Seeing as the band was having a huge run of hits in the form of Mamma Mia, Fernando, Dancing Queen and Money, Money, Money, they decided to release this in single format in March of 1977 as the last single off the album, to huge success. The song reached the top spot in Germany (where it was their sixth consecutive no. 1 single), Mexico, South Africa and also in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.
It became a top 3 hit over here in Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland and it reached the top 5 on the Canadian singles chart.
Among that it was a top 10 hit in countless other countries and we could well state that ABBA were on a winning streak and still on the rise!

It's always been one of my favourite ABBA singles ever and that's all down to Frida's performance, the boys' sensible pop production, Agnetha's whispery bits and dem harmonies.
It's also one of the best divorce songs ever written and this was even before there was talk of any in-band-fighting... There's this dreaded sense of foreboding, but that's probably because we all know now what followed... Back then it was just a wonderfully glorious pop song.

Now...

For what y'all had to say about it...

Let's start with poor ol' Sprockrooster, eh?
"This is my least favourite from A*Teens and the original is a bit meh too. I know it was a hit and all, but it did not really hold up for me."...
Normally I'd save this kind of commentary for when I post about that particular cover, but sis... Comparing the A*Teens' karaoke version, mauled through the computer, to this, a song BRIMMING with emotion is something I didn't even expect from you, you beast.

Let's let the girls with actual taste take over.

Mikey1701 kneauws what's up, calling this "Iconic. Incredible. Transcendent. Heartbreaking. Amazing…. Long before mother dearest introduced me to ABBA via ABBA Gold as a 10 year old, I remember the post chorus ‘breakdown’ (or whatever its called) from my early childhood. It’s also the first song I taught myself to play on the violin. A typically mournful “we’re about to breakup” affair that could be considered their signature sound, Knowing Me Knowing You is not just one of ABBA’s best, but one of the best Tears On The Dancefloor sadbangers ever written. Fact.".
Fact!

WhatKindOfKylie? states the obvious, saying "A song that was one of their first of many classic 'break up' anthems. Considering at the time ABBA were seen as perhaps the two sets of happiest and hardest working couples in Pop, this was quite a bold and telling move, giving a slight glimpse of all was not what it seemed and what was to ultimately lay ahead for the perosnal lives of the fab four.", with ufint going one further and calling it "ABBA's 2nd best breakup song.". No tea no shade, but I ain't reading lies.

Hudweiser needs to re-evaluate some family values, confessing that his "Dad once considered this 'too grown up' for me to listen to and confiscated it. What a rock ballad though! Frida's bright-red hair in the video, her sub-basement vocals, filling in gaps with 'a-ha' wherever possible. Who these days could get five weeks at Number 1 with a third single from an album that had already sold bucketloads? No one, that's who.". Taylor found rotting in the ditches of Stockholm.
And we've finally found someone whose highlight of the song isn't the girls, but the boys... GhettoPrincess? "The best bit is aaaAAAAAH! of course.". Of course.

SecretsOfFatima thinks "The vocals are so haunting, the production is perfect and the palpable melancholy ensures that it lives on long after it has finished playing. A masterpiece." and although "This has never been one of" constantino's "all-time favourites of theirs, I’ve always found the chorus a bit too choppy melody-wise, but I’ve always appreciated it. That being said, the post-chorus guitar hook is certainly a discography highlight.".

And am I really going to have to get Mikey1701 to come haunt you, bichard?
"Even when she's the lead, poor Frida gets upstaged by that whispering blond arse. Still, along with Name Of The Game, this is probably the ABBA song that has grown most in my estimation over the years. When I was younger I thought it was a bit shit (in the context of late 80s SAW). But I have a new appreciation for it as I've matured. Still far from their best though."
Frida shade? Of all things...

dancingwithmyself has a few words to share, saying that "When people talk about Abba and how good they are at writing songs about sad and depressing relatishionship stuff, Knowing Me, Knowing You is what immediately comes to mind.", before calling it the "Best aural comfort blanket ever.". I think that is the best description of this song I ever heard. Thank yew.

WhipperSnapper has something to say to everyone in love, advising "You don’t need to pay thousands for couples counseling. Just listen to this song and realize that sometimes relationships don’t work out.", while the song's "Slightly spoiled by Alan Partridge" for CasperFan, yet still calls this "proper adult pop-and a chance for Frida to shine with a moody vocal and an irresistible chorus. Perfect harmonies and Bjorn does some great backing vocals in the chorus. Oh and the whispered bits are genius.".
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To ufint it's "Amazing in so many ways, the whispers in the background, the epic pre-chorus and that melodic explosion that follows. Such a thrill listening to.", whereas Filippa states "This is one of the best pop songs I know." and TrueBeliever admits "This has always been one of my favorites of theirs. Was a contender for my 11. Frida’s haunting vocals really shine through the melancholy.".

I'm extremely happy that three of the 11-givers were vocal about this one!

tylerc904, who has something to confess...
"Okay, so this is possibly my favorite song of all time. The fact that it predated the dissolution of both ABBA marriages is ominous, but all the more poignant. This is just masterful. The chorus is deceptive, because you think you’ve heard this perfectly crafted hook (“knowing me, knowing you – there is nothing we can do”) and suddenly the second half (“breaking up is never easy”) comes in and you’re left with that perfect combo of sadness and joy. Melancholy and melodic. I could listen to this forever (and have gone weeks where I have to play it every single day on a loop) and never get sick of it. In fact, whenever I hear it I am craving another play because it covers all the bases for me. Genuinely unbelievable, to this day."

VivaForever, who has an IMO to share with you all...
"Their best song and their best video. Beautiful, heartbreaking lyrics (even more so than Winner eye-em-oh) with an amazing tune, great production, and actually perfect vocals."

And finally P'nutbutter, who's feeling all of ha oats, oh, honey, yes.
"One of the best songs, ever. Vocals, melody, structure, subject. AMAZING and the video is truly iconic."

Normally I always end with the people that gave this their 11, but I'm going to let idratherjack close the curtains this time...
"ABBA at the peak of their powers."
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The video was shot in snowy Sweden in early 1977 and was directed by Lasse Halström. I think this one's actually one of their most well-known videos for all the close-ups, drama and walking-away-from-the-camera-glory...


As the band was still heavily promoting back then, Knowing Me, Knowing You was performed on tv a lot. Yet, though the song was released in 1977, it was only promoted during late '76 and '78, as the band was heavily touring during the release of the single...

Here's one of their earlier performance from a 1976 Polish television special, which was shot to promote Arrival...


...and here's another that was filmed in late 1976 for their Swedish tv special that can actually count as a music video in itself...

Frida looks fucking GORGEOUS.mp3 here!

The band put the song on the setlist for their 1977 world tour, as it was one of their biggest hits up until then. Here's a performance from Adelaide that year...

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Remorque

Remorque

He/Him
As I said above, the song was weirdly performed a lot throughout 1978 too.
During their whirlwind promotion tour of Japan...


...and in France...


... and the song was, of course, performed during their 1979 world tour. Here's the performance from Wembley...


ABBA recorded a Spanish version, named Conociendome, Conociendote for their 1980 album Gracias Por La Musica and even shot a nice little performance video for it...


Knowing Me, Knowing You was performed live one last time in 1981 for their Dick Cavett Meets ABBA special.

SO. FUCKING. POIGNANT.
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