The Visitors (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = The Visitors
Type = Album
Artist = ABBA


Released = November 30, 1981
Recorded = March 1981-
November 1981
Genre = Pop
Length = 37:39
Label = Polar (original release)
PolyGram (1992 - 1997)
Universal Music (1998 - )
Producer = Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8ojqeat54xf7~T1 link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|2|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/abba/albums/album/272635/review/6211305/the_visitors link]
Last album = "Super Trouper"
(1980)
This album = "The Visitors"
(1981)
Next album = ""
(1982)

"The Visitors" is the eighth and final studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1981.

With "The Visitors", ABBA took several steps away from the "lighter" pop music they had recorded previously. The album is regarded as a complex and mature effort. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gifrxq95ld6e allmusic ((( The Visitors > Overview ))) ] ] The opening track, "The Visitors", with its mysterious synthesizer sounds and the distinct lead vocal by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, announced a change in musical style. "The Visitors" mostly featured on the background music creativity of Benny Andersson and not focused much on the lyrics.

"The Visitors" album was one of the first records to be recorded and mixed digitally, and was the first in history to be issued in the new CD format in 1983. [ [http://origin.newscenter.philips.com/about/news/press/20070816_25th_anniversary_cd.page 20070813_25th_anniversary_CD ] ] "The Visitors" has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times - first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of "The Complete Studio Recordings" box set.

Recording and Release

Following the divorce of Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, recording began on what was to become ABBA's final studio album on 16th March 1981. [Magnus Palm, C: "ABBA The Complete Recording sessions", page 106. Century 22 Ltd, 1994]

The members of ABBA and their personnel have memories of the recording sessions for this album being rather difficult. To begin with, their sound engineer Michael Tretow had to become accustomed to using the new 32 track digital recorder that had been purchased for Polar Music Studios. He said, 'Digital recording...cut out all the hiss, but it also meant that sounds were sharply cut off below a certain level. The sound simply became too clean, so I had to find ways of compensating for that.' The first three tracks for the album had already been recorded using analogue tape and therefore Tretow had to transfer all subsequent tracks from digital to analogue and back again to avoid a difference in quality. [Magnus Palm, C: "ABBA The Complete Recording sessions", page 109. Century 22 Ltd, 1994]

Ulvaeus also mentioned in retrospect that the recording sessions were troubled. 'It could be frosty sometimes', he acknowledged in an interview. Lyngstad also commented that they were beginning to tire of working together. [Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 444. Omnibus Press, 2001]

On its release, "The Visitors" reached the top of the charts in a number of territories but was not as successful as their previous albums. [Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 446. Omnibus Press, 2001]

The Album Cover

Rune Söderqvist designed the cover and photographed the group in a room containing Julius Kronberg's painting of Eros. The room is the Atelje Studio in Skansen Park, Stockholm. The group are positioned apart and appear to be waiting solemnly in the shadows. [Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 445. Omnibus Press, 2001] . [ [http://felpin80.tripod.com/ata/id8.html 1981 ABBA-THE VISITORS ] ]

Track listing

All songs by Andersson and Ulvaeus.

;Side A:
#"The Visitors" – 5:47
#"Head Over Heels" – 3:48
#"When All is Said and Done" – 3:17
#"Soldiers" – 4:41

;Side B:
#

"I Let the Music Speak" – 5:23
#"One of Us" – 3:57
#"Two for the Price of One" – 3:38
#"Slipping Through My Fingers" – 3:53
#"Like An Angel Passing Through My Room" – 3:40

CD re-issues, bonus tracks

"The Visitors" was remastered and reissued in 1997 and 2001 with four bonus tracks:

#

"Should I Laugh or Cry" – 4:29
#"The Day Before You Came" – 5:53
#"Cassandra" – 4:56 (on 2001 remaster only)
#"Under Attack" – 3:48
#"You Owe Me One" – 3:26 (on 1997 remaster only)

"The Visitors" was remastered and reissued again in 2005 as part of "The Complete Studio Recordings" box set with several bonus tracks:

#

"Should I Laugh or Cry" – 4:32
#"No Hay A Quien Culpar" (Andersson, Ulvaeus, Buddy McCluskey, Mary McCluskey) – 3:14
#"Se Me Está Escapando" (Andersson, Ulvaeus, B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 3:54
#"The Day Before You Came" – 5:51
#"Cassandra" – 4:54
#"Under Attack" – 3:49
#"You Owe Me One" – 3:26

Tracks 11–12 are from the Spanish and Latin American version of the album "The Visitors".Tracks 13–16 are recorded and originally published in 1982.

ingles

# "One of Us"/"Should I Laugh or Cry" (December 1981)
# "Head Over Heels"/"The Visitors (single edit) (March 1982)
# "The Visitors"(single edit)/"Head Over Heels" (March 1982)
# "When All is Said And Done"/"Soldiers (1982)

Personnel

ABBA
*Benny Andersson – synthesizer, keyboards, vocals
*Agnetha Fältskog – vocals
*Anni-Frid Lyngstad – vocals
*Björn Ulvaeus – acoustic guitar, guitar, vocals

"Additional personnel"'
*Ola Brunkert – drums
*Rutger Gunnarsson – bass, percussion
*Janne Kling – wind
*Per Lindvall – drums
*Åke Sundqvist – percussion
*Three Boys – bass, mandolin, keyboards
*Lasse Wellander – acoustic guitar, electric guitar

Production

*Producers: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
*Arrangers: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
*Engineer: Michael B. Tretow
*Design: Rune Söderqvist

Other Recordings of the Period

During the recording of "The Visitors", ABBA were also involved in making additional recordings. In March, the group once again dug up a melody that had been tried out in the studios on several occasions during previous years but never used. Eventually, it became the song "Anthem" in the musical "Chess", but on this occasion was called "Nationalsång". In April the group spent two days recording tracks for the Dick Cavett TV special. In May, the group tried out (and subsequently abandoned) two more songs for the album - "I Am A Musician" (which later became "I Am The Seeker" from the musical "Abbacadabra", and also "Givin' a Little Bit More'" (which eventually saw the light of the day on the box set "Thank You For The Music"). [Magnus Palm, C: "ABBA The Complete Recording sessions", pages 106-109. Century 22 Ltd, 1994]

Charts

Album

Singles - New Zealand Singles Chart

Singles - UK Singles Chart

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Notes