Agnetha Fältskog - The Famous Introvert.
Listening to the song, I knew she was familiar. Someone big, but I couldn’t recognize her. I had missed the rest of the intro, as that would have clued me in. This was in the early 80s and that is significant as she was actually making a comeback as a solo artist. The Video Jockey on “Pop Shop” referred to her by a name which I also failed to recognize. She is Agnetha Fältskog – the famous introvert.
Thapson
It Started with ABBA
ABBA took the world by storm in the mid-70s. I enjoyed their music, but wasn’t a die-hard fan like others around me. ABBA were too sweet and mushy – and I wanted none of that. As a teenager, I wanted to appreciate the more “hard rock” stuff.
It would be in the mid 90s and the female-centric movie “Muriel’s Wedding,” when I developed a new appreciation for them. It was a re-discovery of sorts as the songs took me back to innocent optimism, and confusion of those mid 70s. Listening to the soundtrack, the magic of ABBA finally hit me, as I realized why everyone else liked them so much. I guess I had finally matured enough to appreciate them. Life’s funny that way.
Back to the “Mystery” of Agnetha
From the 90s we go back to the eighties and the song that started it all, which my sister had recorded on videotape. It was “slow” for the show – the kind reserved for “older” people on “Easy Beat” on Monday evenings. But the song grew on me while the singer still remained a mystery. Strangely enough, it would take a few more years for me to realize who it was. This “Agnetha” was none other than one of the four people who made up ABBA. I’d never paid serious attention to their individual names. My not following the band back then didn’t help matters much either. However, it all came together as I finally recognized her along with a newfound appreciation.
“Listening to the soundtrack, the magic of ABBA finally hit me, as I realized why everyone else liked them so much.”
Mystery Solved
With the mystery solved, let’s learn about Agnetha, as I reach into my Music Vault to pull out some stuff to appreciate her work. As usual, I prefer to play the music instead of talking about the artist at length. I like to know the artist for their art, rather than their personal life. This way I don’t learn anything distracting, or disappointing. Just the artist and their music. As it’s their work they want us to appreciate them for. However, I did discover that she’s not comfortable singing in English!
Other interesting facts about Agnetha are that she was already a successful solo artist before she joined ABBA. After the breakup of ABBA, she released three solo English albums in the 80s, after which she went into hiatus. She returns occasionally to release something only to retreat to her privacy. To the music then.
“Wrap Your Arms Around Me” (1983)
This is the music video in question where I failed to recognize her. It’s also the title of her first solo album.
A simple song, with real musicians, and the backdrop looking like a small ordinary Swedish entertainment venue. The simplicity of the production is quite appealing. Many of you may not know, but Agnetha has a certain level of stage fright. This evident as she turns away while whispering (in Swedish I guess) part of the song.
This song was written by Mike Chapman of the “Chapman and Chinn” fame I’ve already talked about here.
abbafanglosuk / YouTube.com
“The Heat is On” (1983)
Although this catchy song was originally sung by Noosha Fox in 1979, Agnetha seems to inject a freshness and a dash of her own style to this number. And it helped as it charted big time in some countries. Noosha’s original version unfortunately failed to chart despite the originality. Oh well. Check out this performance likely on German TV.
frapistat / YouTube.com
“Can’t Shake Loose” (1983)
Another song from her first solo album. The song and video has a very 80s feel to it. Which is why I included it here. While the song is good, I find the music video more fascinating. The environment looks quite cold, but is apparently warm enough for Sweden that she can drive her convertible with the top-down.
Agnetha appears to play a relatively unhappy companion of an obviously rich man played by another Swedish pop star, Mikael Rickfors.
chico123987 / YouTube.com
“One Way Love” (1985)
This song was released in 1985 and did not quite make much of a splash on the charts. I don’t know why that would be, because it’s quite an interesting song with an unmistakable 80s synthesizer rhythm.
And in keeping with the music video popularity, it has an interesting one to go with it. With a 1950s feel to it, it’s quite interesting unto itself with some nice moves by the dancers as Agnetha walks by singing. I would say this song has aged well despite its lack of popularity back when released.
abba2shay / YouTube.com
“I Won’t Let You Go” (1985)
As I like to avoid getting melancholy, I’m going to throw in this silly number.
Actually the song is not so silly as the video is. And I think Agnetha shows a cheeky side on this overly corny production. The Volvo and snow is a sure indicator of it being shot in Sweden. Somehow I don’t think anyone like her would need to keep pursuing a man as she does in this song. In any case, let’s enjoy some fun here.
RandomOldVideos / YouTube.com
This was a quick look at Agnetha Fältskog’s post-ABBA work. She has done a lot more work – most of it in Swedish.
One things for certain, the notoriously reclusive aviophobe Agnetha has carved out an unforgettable niche in the world of music that is the soundtrack of our lives. To close off, I can’t help playing this one which is likely the last ABBA recorded back in 1982. While it’s an ABBA production, Agnetha obviously “owns” this one as far as singing the song. There’s no doubt, she played a major role in ABBA’s success.
I read somewhere that she had sung this song with the lights turned off.
“The Day Before You Came” (1982)
ABBA / YouTube.com
Hope you enjoyed my look at the member of ABBA many around me used to consider the best looking of that group.
I’ll be back with more interesting stuff from my “Music Vault”. Until then, feel free to share your thoughts using the link below.
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