Showing posts with label Frida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frida. Show all posts

Saturday 12 March 2022

Twist in the dark - Frida

Although Agnetha Fältskog is often named as the most beautiful and talented of the two Abba women, I usually prefer Frida. She has recorded some very interesting albums, especially her early solo work and the Nineties Swedish album 'Djupa Andetag'. This single comes from a largely ignored album, 'Shine'. 

'Twist in the dark' was released in France only, and features 'Come to me (I am woman)' on the B-side - a track that was released as an A-side in other territories. I haven't bought a Frida single in over ten years, so it is fun to add something to the collection after all that time.

My collection: 7" single no. 6647
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 March 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Twist in the dark' / 'Come to me (I am woman)'

Tuesday 27 March 2012

I know there's something going on - Frida

When Frida went solo in 1982, nobody suspected that it signalled the end of Abba, the band she'd been part of for the last ten years. And when the first single, 'I know there's something going on', produced by Phil Collins, became a big hit, nobody knew that the rest of her solo career would be less successful. Her career as a solo artist became comparatively insignificant, although artistically it had some interesting moments nonetheless.

This 12" single features the full length version of the track, as it was found on the album 'Something's going on'.

My collection: 12" single no. 144
Found: Record fair, 1993
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'I know there's something going on (full length version)' / 'Threnody'

Sunday 30 May 2010

Time - Frida and B.A. Robertson

Released in 1984, the track 'Time' was recorded by Frida (formerly from Abba) and B.A. Robertson for the soundtrack of 'Abbacadabra', a musical based on music by Abba. In fact, 'Time' was based on the instrumental track 'Arrival', from Abba's 1976 album of the same name, with added lyrics.

Frida recorded a French version of this track together with Daniel Balavoine as 'Belle'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4904
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, May 28, 2010
Cost: 1,75 euro
Tracks: 'Time' / 'I am the seeker'

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Come to me (I am woman) - Frida

'Come to me (I am woman)' was the last single taken from Frida's 1984 album 'Shine'. The track was slightly edited for the single, becoming 30 seconds shorter than the album version. Like more tracks on the album, it was recorded with an all star band, featuring Simon Climie on keyboards, Mark Brzezecki (from Big Country) on drums and Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals. The B-side 'Slowly' was written by Frida's Abba colleagues Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

All this didn't help the single release much: it did not chart in any territory.

My collection: 7" single no. 4017
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Come to me (I am woman)' / 'Slowly'

Belle - Balavoine et Frida

As advertised on the sleeve of this single, 'Belle' is an extract from the musical Abbacadabra, as performed in France. The song adds French lyrics, written by Alain and Daniel Boublil, to the instrumental track 'Arrival', which originally appeared on Abba's 1977 album 'Arrival'.

Daniel Balavoine (February 5, 1952 - January 14, 1986) recorded the track together with Frida from Abba, making this a nice collectors item for Abba fans. I bought it out of curiousity more than anything - and once again, I was rewarded.

My collection: 7" single no. 4013
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Belle' / 'C'est fini'

Thursday 3 September 2009

Here we'll stay - Frida

'Here we'll stay', the third single from Frida's 1982 album 'Something's going on', went by almost unnoticed. So much so, that I forgot all about it when I wrote about the previous single, 'To turn the stone'. The track was originally recorded as a duet with Phil Collins, who produced the album. For the single version, his voice was omitted. The single was unsuccessful: it only reached number 100 in the UK singles chart.

I originally bought the single back in 1983 or 1984. When I arrived home with it, I noticed that the single was broken in two. I could have gone back for a refund but I think I was afraid they wouldn't believe me when I said I bought it like that. So that was 1 or 2 guilders down the drain. I only bought it again one and a half decade later.

My collection: 7" single no. 3049
Found: Record fair, January 30, 1999
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Here we'll stay' / 'Strangers'

Friday 28 August 2009

To turn the stone - Frida

'To turn the stone' was the second single taken from Frida's 1982 album 'Something's going on'. It was considerably less successful than the previous one, 'I know there's something going on', which reached the charts all over Europe.

'To turn the stone' only managed to reach number 39 in the German singles chart and flopped everywhere else. As a result, no further singles were taken from the album.

My collection: 7" single no. 160
Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'To turn the stone' / 'I got something'

Thursday 20 August 2009

I know there's something going on - Frida

The Swedish group Abba never officially announced their breakup, but in 1982 both Agnetha and Frida were releasing solo albums. At the time, I thought I could never really forgive the band for throwing away their career, but I had to admit pretty fast that Frida's solo single 'I know there's something going on' was a damn fine song. Like the accompanying album 'Something's going on', the single was produced by Phil Collins, who also provided the great drum track on the song.

The B-side 'Threnody' was co-written by Per Gessle, the Swedish popstar from Gyllene Tider who would make a name for himself internationally when he started Roxette with Marie Fredriksson. Meanwhile, this single reached number 43 in the UK singles chart and number 3 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 152
Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'I know there's something going on' / 'Threnody'

Wednesday 6 May 2009

Shine - Frida

'Shine' is the title track from Frida's 1984 album which was produced by Steve Lillywhite. He'd already worked with bands like U2, Rolling Stones and Peter Gabriel despite being only 25 years old at the time. 'Shine' was a deliberate move away from Abba's pop sound that Frida feared to be always connected to. In a recent comment, Frida said that 'maybe this album became a bit too modern for its time'.

'Shine' peaked at number 6 in Sweden, but didn't do so well elsewhere. In the Netherlands, it only made number 23.

My collection: 7" single no. 3703
Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Shine' / 'That's tough'

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