Track Listing

1. The Visitors
2. Head Over Heels
3. When All Is Said And Done
4. Soldiers
5. I Let The Music Speak
6. One Of Us
7. Two For The Price Of One
8. Slipping Through My Fingers
9. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
10. Should I Laugh Or Cry
11. The Day Before You Came
12. Cassandra
13. Under Attack

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3802 in Music
• Released on: 2002-01-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 57 minutes

CD Description
From he muted sleeve of Abba's eighth and last album, with its pained front photo of the four bandmembers studiously avoiding one another's gaze in a darkened room, it's clear that 1981's THE VISITORS is a sombre record. The disturbingly confessional minor-key masterpieces within, such as "When AllIs Said and Done" and "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room", as well as the bizarre, paranoid title track, contributeto the feeling of darkness and alienation. Recorded as the band was imploding amidst romantic break-ups, THE VISITORS has the beauty and melancholy of earlier ABBA albums, but only on the transcendently mournful single "One of Us" does theband reach the ecstatic heights of previous singles. Regardless, THE VISITORS stands as one of the band's strongest andmost consistent albums.

Customer Reviews

Pop Noir
It is said that this album was something of a departure for the group. That this was not the ABBA people had come to know and love. No "Waterloo". Not a trace of a "Dancing Queen". However, it should be pointed out that this album is not exactly "ABBA does Death Metal".

The opener and title track is perhaps the closest they came to emulating the New Wave/Synth Pop explosion of the time. Parts of it are reminiscent of "Summer Night City" (minus the disco) and "Eagle" (without the majesty) but it manages to create an interesting and unsettling sonic landscape all of its own which suggests an encounter of the third kind may very well be waiting behind the locked door (and they must surely score points for creating a pop song about Russian dissidents).

Next up is "Head Over Heals" which treats us to its fairground synths, jaunty chorus and tale of 'goodtime girl gets herself into trouble'. This one is a bit like Agnetha's very own "Money Money Money" and lyrically, is possibly a case of Björn, a la Fleetwood Mac, cheekily having his ex sing a song about herself that isn't altogether flattering. Or not.

"When All is Said and Done" is a standout in the style of "The Winner Takes it All", although it is surprisingly upbeat for a break-up song (and sort of Christmassy) with a positively defiant lead vocal from Frida. A song of shaking hands and walking away, head held high. Bittersweet rather than just plain bitter. It would have made a good, upbeat album closer, and had serendipity played its part properly, the perfect send off for the group: "Thanks for all your generous love and thanks for all the fun ..."

"Soldiers" is, for me, the forgotten gem on this album. Starting sparsely with a vaguely military drum and some admirably restrained guitar to dirty it up a little, it then segues effortlessly from a moody, understated first verse and Agnetha's plaintive lead vocal into the most sublime, unashamedly anthemic chorus, where Frida and Björn join her in some quite beautiful harmonies. As for the enigmatic lyrics: "Soldiers write the songs that soldiers sing, the songs that you and I don't sing ..." What's that all about then? About the need to have the courage of your convictions be it in love or war? Answers on a postcard please. It works for me anyway.

Frida takes centre-stage once more for "I Let the Music Speak" aka "The One That Sounds Like It Belongs On The Soundtrack To Les Miserables Or Similar" (round about the point where some peasant woman stands up in her rags and sings heartrendingly about not having enough parsnips to make soup for her son who's just returned from The War). The lyrics though tell a different story. One of night-time hauntings and astral projection (ABBA staples then). This is no "I Wonder (Departure)". Dark, fanciful and slightly macabre on the verses, the choruses return us to more familiar ABBA territory with Frida displaying her quite formidable vocal prowess throughout.

After that we get "One of Us" and what can I say? It's just gorgeous. Greek tragedy laced with Swedish cool. A happy little drumbeat bouncing playfully along behind Agnetha's wrist-slashing and soaring vocals. A kitchen sink tearjerker in the great tradition of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (a-ha!) and "The Winner Takes it All" and quite rightly an all-time favourite.

With "Two For the Price of One" the question is always going to be: "Is it as bad as everyone says?". Well, in short, yes. By and large it bears the rare distinction of being an unintentionally funny intentionally funny song. Wait until you hear the "quite exciting" husky voice that answers the mock-telephone (unless there's another layer to this fable which I'm completely missing). The one semi-redeeming feature is the chorus. Some interesting stuff where everyone joins in with some low-key harmonies and thankfully you can no longer tell what they're singing about. Then, just when all the verses are out of the way and you're sure it's safe to tap your foot till the finish, in blunders the Salvation Army and marches the song off to a merciful end.

Luckily, Agnetha is on hand to lead us back to sanity (and wave her child off to school) in the shape of "Slipping Through my Fingers". Saved from mawkishness and total schmaltz by one of those sublime, harmony-heavy choruses and Agnetha's crystal clear voice and heartfelt delivery.

"Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" closes the album proper. It has to be said that, on this album at least, most of the vocal kudos must go to Frida, and she plays a blinder in this last one. Stripped as it is of all sonic clutter - as well as harmonies - when the song begins you'll think, quite astonishingly, that she's singing from the corner of your room. A clock ticks away on the mantelpiece. A music box plays quietly in the background and Frida sings of lying down one last time and welcoming the Angel of Death. Amen.

Of the bonus tracks (all top-notch, especially Under Attack which features a good old-fashioned harmonic tussle between A & F in the chorus) The Day Before You Came is the classic - swirling, rain-drenched synths, a sense of impending doom and tantalisingly (the closing masterstroke) we never find out who - or what - 'you' is. Pop Noir par excellence.

All of the trademarks which made the group so popular are still in place throughout - strong vocals, clever song-structures, barmy lyrics and a healthy smattering of Scandinavian navel-gazing and marital strife. All of it delivered with an icily immaculate production sheen - some of which sounds dated though much of it, due to the solid songwriting, simply timeless. In short, anyone with even the most limited musical palate will find something to enjoy in this album.

Tantalizing album
Don't let those foolish rumours mislead you: ABBA were doing better and better with the years and, though less successful than its predecessor "Super Trouper", this album is by far their most perfect achievement. The mood is indeed melancholy but not bleak, as I've read in some reviews. It's just that their real potential was beginning to show, and this drove some customers away, people who thought ABBA was only a hit-factory. More than twenty years have elapsed since the release of "The Visitors", and yet I can't take my ears off it; please, don't focus on single songs, it's the whole album that's unbelievable. This is the ultimate pop/folk CD of all times (yes, I said folk, Scandinavian folk actually). No other has ever reached such heights, either ABBA or any artist in the music business.

Moody But Good
The end was nigh, and really no-one was too upset when it happened. It was there for all to see, especially in hindsight. That being said, this is no bad album. Depressing in places,the title track itself is dripping the kind of fear & negativity that had never really raised it's head on an ABBA album.

Of the rest, "When All Is Said & Done" is very maudlin, but none the worst for it. "One Of Us" is an open book of relationships breaking up and "Slipping Through My Fingers" is a parent feeling sorry for missing out so much on her child growing up and not needing her so much anymore.

The one real cheery number is "Two For The Price of One", which is very jaunty with an unexpected finale which I won't spoil for any who haven't heard it yet. "Like An Angel . . ." is a fitting end to such a downbeat album.

That said, the bonus material does jar a little - esp for those of us who have lived with this album for years. Two of the tracks (Day before You Came & Under Attack) were singles after this album was released, and have appeared on at least 2 other compilations. "Cassandra" is another track which turns up now and again on various compilations with "Should I Laugh or Cry" being the one track which doesn't appear in many other albums.

Is there not any more unreleased stuff ut there to populate albums with these days?

So 5 stars for the original album and for the fact that the extras are good, if not exaclty hard to get elsewhere.