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Product Description
Review
To the majority of UK residents Göran Bror Benny Andersson , one of the 'B's in ABBA has been a man whose reputation as a music maker ended somewhere around the era of Chess, although of course his role as co-ecutive producer (along with his most famous wrtiting partner Bjorn Ulvaeus) of the musical Mama Mia! has kept his biggest legacy alive and well. But to fans and Swedes he's a busy man, not least with his 16-piece Benny Andersson Orkester wherein he's been combining a love of Swedish ( and European) folk, big bands, early jazz and Bach to spectacular, if idiosyncratic, effect. Story Of A Heart, with its combination of older BOA material and new compositions is designed to bring his CV up to date for non-Scandinavians.
To those not aware of Benny's folk roots this album may come as a bit of a surprise (his first major success was with The Hep Stars, a huge pop act in Sweden who combined his love of traditional music and rock 'n' roll). Songs from his back catalogue like Glasgow Boogie, Jehu or Tyrolean Schottische combine celtic forms with jolly brass and wheezing accordions and Trolska demonstrates his love of his nation's native music. It's life-affirming, purely instrumental fare, and a far cry from his more famous material. Elsewhere we're offered Debussy-like cinematic beauty in the piano meditation of Song From The Second Floor.
But Story Of A Heart's USP is undoubtedly the title track; the first song he's written with Bjorn in 15 years and sung by Swedish star, Helen Sjöholm. It's a slice of pure B&B magic, albeit a little too slick and sweet for some palates. But it was ever thus with ABBA, who often navigated the grey area betwixt cheese and chart perfection. Elsewhere both Helen and former Chess star Tommy Körberg deliver more pop tunes which mainly fall into the style of 20s blues or 50s rock 'n' roll ballads (You Are My Man, Fait Accompli and (If This IS) Our Last Dance), delivered confidently with musical theatre at their heart.
It's an odd mixture of styles that will neither appeal to hardcore musicologists or ABBA fans, but it does showcase a man whose talents are both eclectic and accomplished. --Chris Jones
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CD Description
Story of A Heart is an album which returns to the musical roots of ABBA legend Benny Andersson. The history of the world’s greatest pop band has hardly taken a pause in the past 35 years, from the 380 million albums sold to the record-breaking musical and blockbuster film Mamma Mia! But behind the scenes there’s another musical side to Benny Andersson. For the past 20 years he has been leading The Benny Andersson Band, a group of 16 exceptional musicians and singers who share his passion for the Swedish folk tradition, not to mention big band, Bach, polka, waltzes, Celtic folk, Fifties standards--and straight-ahead pop music. The latter is showcased on the title track, the first new pop composition written by Benny with his ABBA song writing partner Björn Ulvaeus in 15 years. Vocal duties on this, and three of the four other tracks translated into English for the first time, are taken by the Swedish star Helen Sjöholm. Two of the tracks feature another Swedish vocal star, Tommy Körberg, who played the role of Anatoly in Chess in London for nearly three years. All the lyrics on the album are written by Björn. The fourteen track album captures highlights from the three albums released in Sweden by The Benny Andersson Band - or Benny Anderssons Orkester as they are known there--along with some brand new tracks. "I wanted to make music based on the Swedish folk tradition, but with new songs written by me", says Benny Andersson, who also plays accordion on the record, something he has done since he was a six-year-old boy playing with his father and grandfather in Stockholm.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you buy this CD on the basis of the title track (which is receiving a fair amount of radio play) and expect the rest of the album to be similar, you may be disappointed. "Story Of A Heart" is the most Abba-like track on the CD by some way.
That's not to say the rest of the CD is bad, it is actually an interesting mix of a variety of styles, but it may not be what you expect or were hoping for.
Listen to the samples here before buying and make your decision based on that.
That's not to say the rest of the CD is bad, it is actually an interesting mix of a variety of styles, but it may not be what you expect or were hoping for.
Listen to the samples here before buying and make your decision based on that.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Heard the title track on radio last week and ordered the album. It's not what I expected and if you only like the Abba sound and don't like folk music this album probably won't be to your taste. It is Swedish folk - meets Abba - meets Chess - meets pop - meets big band. Each track is unique - there is no one sound. I think Helen Sjoholm must sing the title track (the CD has no information with it other than the names of the band) and her voice is awesome. Both tuba and accordion feature on more than one track and some other less usual instruments are also played - bouzouki, mandolin, crumhorn. A very eclectic album and I love it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Definately not what i was expecting , i wasn,t expecting ABBA but the single ''story of a heart '' and title of the cd would suggest that the content may follow the theme of the single and indeed there are about five tracks which contain songs by the lady with the awesome vocals but i havn,t quite worked out how the other random mix of music knits this cd together , its being described as swedish folk music and gypsy romp but it could also be described as beer keller , morris dancing music , i,m trying hard to get it and may have to delve deep into the swedish folk music scene of yester year to understand its origin , a little knowledge is always a good thing ...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Story of the Heart FAB
This is a fantastic collection of really fun and uplifting pieces - the singing brings you out in goosebumps and the whole band thing is just awesome
When is the next cd due... Read more
When is the next cd due... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Saraht
Be careful
Yes, this is a real expression of Benny's soul. His music akin to the Hep stars folk group pre-ABBA. Read more
Published 8 months ago by davidS
A Surprise
I don't know what I expected from this, but it is not the content on offer here. The vocal numbers go from fantastic to totally bland; and I just cannot warm to the awful bavarian... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Grahame
An eclectic, idiosyncratic mix!
Story Of A Heart is a very melodic album and so if you are a sucker for a good melody and good old fashioned pop then this is the album for you! Read more
Published 12 months ago by T. Crane
Easy listening
It's not like Abba, but then it never said it was. No tunes that I've found I haven't liked, no tunes I find myself whistling either. It's OK. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Peter the elder
It's Benny, not ABBA
I orderd the CD because I heard Story of a heart and I fell in love with it as it kind of reminded me of an ABBA song. Now, the CD itself is not ABBA at all, but it is Benny. Read more
Published 18 months ago by mytaste
STORY OF A HEART C.D.
Not bad value for the money, especially with free delivery. My husband wanted it for the one song "Story of a heart" - the other songs are pleasant if you like folky music.
Published 20 months ago by lucykaty
BAO......Benny's Best Album
I Have heard some of these songs since The 80's As Whilst in sweden I bought benny's Klinger mina Klocker(ring my bell) album.Its nice to hear he hasn't lost his touch. Read more
Published on 21 May 2010 by D. Fitzgerald
Eclectic
I'm really glad that only one track on this sounds like it could have been an Abba track. We've all moved on since the seventies and I'm sure both Benny and Bjorn are not... Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2010 by Grant Howard
Great Music
Having seen Benny Andersson on the Jonathan Ross Show, this CD seemed interesting. At first play some of the tracks were a little disappointing. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2009 by Mrs C
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