ABBA/ Voyage

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

ABBA/ Voyage

Genre: Pop

Label: Polar/ Universal Music

Rating: *** 1/2

ITS the familiar voice of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who sings, "I still have faith in you, I see it now, through all these years that faith lives on somehow". In characteristic ABBA fashion, the high-pitched harmonies with Agnetha Faltskog follow, with the  instrumental back-up of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus sending you into a trip of 1970s pop nostagia.

After releasing this song 'I Still Have Faith In You' and the Agnetha-fronted 'Don't Put Me Down' a couple of months ago, the Swedish pop superstars are out with the 10-track Voyage. It's been a hiatus of 40 years after their last album The Visitors, and expectations are naturally high. For a generation that heard ABBA as teenagers in the swinging seventies, this is surely the most awaited album in a long while.

Comparisons are natural, and initial reactions may point to the lack of hit material offered by old classics like 'Dancing Queen', 'Mamma Mia', 'Waterloo' and 'Voulez-Vous'. There's also the occasional sense of deja vu, as 'Don't Put Me Down' has a glissando straight out of 'Dancing Queen', the opening flutes on 'Bumble Bee' are reminiscent of 'Fernando', and 'No Doubt About It' is capable of creating an earworm of their earlier 'Does Your Mother Know'.

But to give credit where it's due, these songs have the typical ABBA stamp, and the album has variety, even getting into Celtic melodies on 'When You Danced With Me' and the Christmas spirit on 'Little Things'. There's a bit for everyone. If 'I Still Have Faith In You' is about undying faith, the bittersweet 'I Can Be That Woman' is about reconciliation and an attempt to mend a relationship, with lines like, "You're not the man you should have been, I let you down somehow, I'm not the woman I could have been but I can be that woman now."

One of the stand-out, loop-inducing cuts is 'Keep An Eye On Dan', with its brilliant uptempo feel and outstanding production, with Dan being a child. Then, there's the gorgeous melody on the album closer 'Ode To Freedom', whose intro seems inspired by Tchaikovsky, and uses the melodic accompaniment by the International School Of Stockholm Choir, almost reminding you of 'I Have A Dream', though its ending seems abrupt.

That's the main thing about Voyage - it's filled with some wonderful songs, but that X-factor that existed in the 1970s comes only in flashes. The compositions and arrangements of Benny and Bjorn are still charming, as they stick to the vintage sound instead of getting too experimental. Their target clearly seems to be the old fans.

Finally, Agnetha and Anni-Frid still have the texture and feel, though the range has come down considerably, and their accents sound just a fraction less Swedish. In fact, one can hear their older voices on 'Just A Notion', a song held back from their Voulez-Vous album in 1979 but released only now. Here, the original voices of both singers are retained, but fresh boogie-woogie arrangements are used. The discerning ear will sense the difference in the vocals, but even if one doesn't, it doesn't matter.

A patient listening is thus recommended for this album. Like any other Voyage, this one needs to be experienced at leisure. One may complain that it isn't ABBA at its very best. But it's ABBA all the same, and that's better news than a lot of pop bands one gets to hear these days. And with this group, some songs just grow after a while.