Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frida- Simply at her best, 18 Nov 2005
Again this C.D is a must have for any serious Abba fan, just to hear the original Swedish version of Fernando alone, its well worth the moneyAlot of the other track are cover versions of various artists. Do not let this dissuade you from purchasing this excellent C.D! The music alone portrays Frida's vocal talents and shows her to be the wonderful artiste that she truley is
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't understand a word but..., 21 Nov 2007
its brilliant! From the Swedish version of Fernando to Bowie's Life On Mars via the old country chestnut The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, its a fairly eclectic selection by Annifrid, and it showcases what a beautiful and powerful voice she has. Don't be put off by the fact that its all sung in Swedish, it really doesn't matter a whit. The production [for an album of its age] is wonderful, and she can send shivers up the spine with her vocals. Send In The Clowns is wonderful, as is Ett Liv i Sollen. Even 10cc's Wall Street Shuffle sounds good in Swedish. I also have Djupa andetag, which is a truly beautiful album, and well worth checking out [it too is in Swedish, but don't worry...it all sounds great!]
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Overlooked masterpiece from 1975, 22 May 2009
After the worldwide success of their Eurovision winner Waterloo in 1974, it took a while for Abba to firmly establish themselves as consistent performers. Meanwhile, the individual members sometimes did projects outside the ambit of the group. Frida recorded her classic Ensam album in 1975. It apparently did well in Scandinavia but wasn't marketed elsewhere. Now re-issued with two bonus tracks (the A and B sides of a single that gave Frida a Swedish number one in 1972), the album is available more widely. I'll concede that I don't know whether Frida is singing in Norwegian or Swedish, but I don't mind. I've never heard Frida sound better than she does here.
Fernando is one of my favorite Abba songs and is surely the best song that Frida ever recorded as lead singer of Abba, especially as many of Abba's greatest hits featured Agnetha as lead singer. That song, here as a Frida solo, opens this wonderful album. This version topped the Swedish charts for nine weeks despite the fact that Frida was not allowed to promote the single. Maybe it was the success of this version that inspired Abba to record a group version, which topped the UK charts in 1976.
The remainder of the original album mainly comprises covers of songs that Frida particularly wanted to record. These songs came from a variety of European sources including Britain, as well as some American songs. Frida and her production team adapted them superbly and they all sound fresh and exciting. The covers include Young girl (Gary Puckett), The most beautiful girl (Charlie Rich), Life on Mars (David Bowie), Wall Street shuffle (10cc), Wouldn't it be nice (Beach Boys) and the oft-recorded Send in the clowns, most commonly associated with Judy Collins, whose version was also a cover. I'm guessing that the lyrics of Young girl and The most beautiful girl were gender-adapted, but in any case Frida is in top form on these songs as she is throughout the album.
Now although I knew that both women in Abba were outstanding singers, I tended to think that Agnetha was slightly better. Hearing this album throws doubt on that theory. If you are only interested in English language songs, you won't be able to appreciate this album. Otherwise, if you're a committed Abba fan, this is an essential album.
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