Customer Reviews

Abba - In Concert 1979

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Hey, fellow ABBA fans, let's relax a little bit! You're being WAY too hard on this DVD. Remember it's a 25 year old DOCUMENTARY, not a concert, and it was shot by a network that didn't religiously archive the footage because nobody at the time expected people 25 years later to care! There's plenty of full length numbers, and they rip! Having been lucky enough to have seen ABBA at the Music Hall in Boston during this tour (as did most of Aerosmith, the Cars and the J. Giels Band down in the front rows), I'm delighted now to own this DVD because it proves a point I've long tried to make to my sceptical friends. ABBA WERE UNDENIABLY A GREAT, GREAT LIVE ACT.

I've been professionally involved in the concert business for three decades, I've seen everyone pretty much, and though my personal tastes run more towards The Beatles, The Cramps and Garbage, I rank ABBA as one of the best live bands I've EVER seen on a stage. The vocals were spot on, the band rocked and were very tight, the energy level was through the roof. The group, especially Frida and Agnetha, were very lively, generous and vivacious with the audience, and the songs were just great. Frankly, it was an incredible, indescribable rush to see them live, especially if you'd waited five years for it.

For ages ABBA have been a guilty pleasure for those of us supposedly hip rockers, but unless you're a frigid snob you'll have to admit upon viewing this show that ABBA weren't a corny plastic disco machine - they absolutely delivered the goods. A totally legitimate act with nothing to apologize for. What's also great is that ABBA were based not just on unforgettable hook-laden songs and astounding voices, but there was a genuinely warm and mature sexuality exuding from that stage. Agnetha and Frida were women, not little girls. There bodies may not have been perfect (J-LO fans, you'll see a startling similarity between she and Agnetha in a certain way) but their talent and their sensuality knocks Britney's lip synced teasing schoolgirl trip right off the stage. ABBA actually sang every note live, mistakes and all - what a concept.

As to the extras, "Thank You For The Music" is probably my least favorite ABBA song, but on this disc Agnetha is just incredible, she nails it. Frida was the darker, more european side of things, handling more mature themes, and my fave, but if God ever put a more attractive woman on a stage than Agnetha in this film, I've never seen her. As to the sound complaints, if you run the disc through a good amplifier and speaker system there's no problem, if not some of the bottom is admittedly missing. But on the plus side the clarity of the vocals is astonishing, and within the instrumentation lots of little surprises I'd never heard.

Visually it's incredible - you can count eyelashes and pores, and the color is rich and true. So c'mon - lighten up everyone - a very well directed documentary, a very well edited piece of history at a pretty low price. It's a great disc of a truly brilliant band. Let's be happy for a very nice little gift to us all.

Wow! I purchased this dvd as an impulse buy before reading any reviews. Before opening it I browsed here and after reading the reviews I almost returned it. I'm glad I didn't! This DVD is a spectacular, enjoyable time capsule that captures one of pop music's greatest groups at their pinnacle of success. Those reviewers who pan the sound quality don't realize that this is the raw sound captured live at a concert. Too many of today's artists either can't sing or overdub their soundtracks after the fact to enhance the sound quality of their recordings. Abba, in releasing this disk, has rightfully chosen not to.
What is this DVD? It is a re-release of a documentary film done about the group's 1979 tour of the US and UK. When reviewing it, you must take it for what it is. It was done before even vcr's. The documentary producers didn't film every minute of the concerts from five different cameras. They captured what they wanted to make a compelling documentary. And they succeeded wonderfully. It is important, though, to remember that 1979 music video style was very different than today. The filmmakers could never have dreamed of 5.1 audio...they produced for 2" mono speaker in the average 1980 tv set.
The first third or so shows the group traveling, hanging out, eating meals, and warming up before a show. Abba songs are the soundtrack, but they are not shown as full concert pieces. The behind the scenes part is great watching of the late 70's lifestyle. The rest of the disk is concert footage, and although it would have been nice to have two hours of a full concert, history has left us with about 7 or 8 songs. Extras include additional songs captured on film but not included in the original documentary.
The video quality on this disk is spectacular. It was obviously done with film as the quality is comparable to a film of the same vintage. It is notably better than many newer concert dvds I own, including Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance." The camera angles are often not what a more modern concert video would show, but they make for an enjoyable experience nonetheless.
Audio I'd rate as good. When evaluating it, again it is important to consider the source. Abba preferred to make music in the studio and make it perfect. When old music is remastered for modern re-release, the engineers have access to the original studio tape. This was a live concert. There are no redubs or overdubs. Concerts also, in my opinion, are NOT in general enhanced by surround sound. When you watch a concert live, the speakers are at the stage in FRONT of you, not behind you. I've found that 9 out of ten concert videos are much better in stereo mode than in surround. This one is no exception. The surround tracks are presented in dolby and dts but I agree that the mix on these is distracting, with loud crowd ambience detracting from the music. Played in dolby 2.0 mode, the sound is superb. This makes sense, because it is probably how the original movie was recorded and meant to be heard. When considering the audio, it is important to put it in context...this is a 25 year old documentary audio soundtrack master. There is only so much restoration can do. That being said, the audio 2.0 track is as good as any other live recording of a similar age. There is no hiss, noise, or other distractions. Comparing it to modern 5.1 soundtracks is an unreasonable expectation.
To summarize, this is a terrific production. The group gives a great show and they seem to be having a great time entertaining enthusiastic crowds. Video is superb and audio is excellent in the 2.0 mix (I'd recommend not using the 5.1 mixes). This dvd is a thoroughly enjoyable trip back to ABBA's heyday.

I love ABBA. I have all their dvds available. I brought "ABBA In Concert" last Christmas but haven't found the time to review it until this morning. What can I tell you about this 25 year old tape? Well, let me just say that the perfromances are nothing short of excellent. The remastering job is superb, both visually as well as audio. You feel, for the mos part, like you're at the concert. However, there's one porblem: too much documentary, not enough concert. I was hoping we'd get a full concert rather than a few complete performances and a ton of documentary footage. So while I do recommend this dvd, keep in mind it isn't a complete concert dvd.

I have have been a ABBA fan since 1974. It would be very easy for me to say great things about this long awaited DVD. When you wait so long for anything new that is available from a group that split-up 22 years ago..ANYTHING is a blessing.
This DVD though is a pretty poor. To be honest, they did not have much to work with. The original footage was designed for a limited television program and was edited very tightly. The sound on the DVD is pretty bad as well. I realize that it was a live concert, but the sound was better on the original TV produced version. All the new sound enhancement did was to make the sound extremely uneven and sounding like someone is turning the volume up and down at different intervals. I am surprised that this DVD was allowed to be sold because of the awful sound quality. With all the technology availabe today ... a MUCH better job could have been done than was shown in the end result. A person could have re-worked the original sound better on their home computer with very little expertise.
The only plus to this DVD are the bonus tracks. Let us all hope that when ABBA THE MOVIE makes it out on DVD, we get a bit more attention to the sound than we got on this one. Someone really dropped the ball here.

Most ABBA fans know this was originally filmed for Swedish televison back in 1979. At one time it was available on VHS. Bootleg copies have been traded, sold, etc. for years. Now it's finally available on DVD.

As my review title states, they did a great job with the picture quality, but really screwed up badly with the sound. It's a little less noticeable in mono, but in stereo it is very irritating. It does indeed sound like someone is constantly fooling around with the volume control. The original VHS sound was fine. How they screwed up the sound and released it this way,
is beyond my comprehension. I would've given this DVD 3 1/2 stars if it wasn't for the poor sound quality. Hopefully, one day they will re-release this with the audio problem fixed.

And yes, it is not a "complete" concert. You only get about half the songs ABBA performed onstage during this tour. The first 30 minutes of the DVD in mainly a lot of behind-the-scenes type stuff with a few snippets of concert footage. It is not until the get around to their performance at Wembley do you get to the true concert footage, but as stated before, it's only about half the show.

Fans who recommend "ABBA: The Movie" over this, forget that it too also does not show a complete concert either. It also has songs cut off, and even during some of the complete songs, it often cuts away from the stage performance to the idiotic subplot of the dj trying to get and interview with ABBA.

What is so frustrating is that is that we know complete concerts of ABBA were filmed for both of these, but the extra footage is problem long gone or lost in a vast vault somewhere. I doubt if we will ever see a complete ABBA concert on DVD.

I'm just happy that what little there is of ABBA in concert is available on this DVD and ABBA - The Movie (which hopefully will be released on DVD soon). They are both enjoyable despite their flaws and are "must-haves" for any true ABBA fan.

MOST OF THE SHOTS HERE ARE FROM WEMBLEY STADIUM, ALTHOUGH SOME ARE ALSO FROM THEIR TOUR IN THE USA. IT IS AN EXCELLENT ALBUM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HAD SOME SOUND PROBLEMS AND UNFORTUNATELY DID NOT RE-RECORD THE SECTIONS ON THE FOLLOWING NIGHTS. THERE WAS ALSO AN ABBERATION IN THAT BENNY MIXED THIS DVD, INSTEAD OF THE REGULAR SOUND TECH, AND THAT SHOWS CLEARLY IN THE DIMISHED QUALITY OF THE SOUND, AND THE TOO HIGH LEVELS FOR THE AUDIENCE CLAPPING AND CHEERING. I FIND THAT IF YOU SHUT DOWN THE BASS COMPLETELY, ON THE SONGS "SUMMER NIGHT CITY" AND "DANCING QUEEN" THEN IT ALMOST IS NORMAL ABBA QUALITY. IT IS ALSO UNFORTUNATE THAT THE NORMAL STEREO CHANNEL DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY ON THE RECORDING, AND IT DEFAULTS TO SURROUND SOUND 5.1 WHICH ON STEREO SPEAKERS IS SOMEWHAT MUDDLED. I WISH THEY WOULD RE-RELEASE THIS WITH A PROPER REMIX AND WORKING SOUND TRACKS FOR STEREO.

I consider myself one of ABBA's biggest fans, since 1975. Australia put ABBA on the map when in that year (1975), our TV rock show "Countdown" gave considerable exposure to the video clips "SOS" and "MamaMia", before any other country had noticed them. The latter went on to be a huge No. 1 hit and ABBAmania took over Australia. This is a significant point, because in 1977 they toured Australia and Swedish film-makers followed to capture the concert and turn it into a movie titled "ABBA: The Movie". The film featured stunning concert performances of early ABBA material and their then new album "Arrival". In between this concert footage was a storyline about an Australian journalist desperate to secure an interview with the four super Swedes, which sees him following them all around Australia until he gets his wish. This movie, in my opinion, is the best way to capture the concert atomosphere of ABBA. The problem is, this movie is still unavailable on DVD. I am not even sure if it was released to the American public, but it was a No. 1 box office smash in Australia and Europe in 1978.

Now, on to this new DVD release : ABBA in Concert. I read many negative reviews of this DVD, but as a true ABBA fan, wanted to make up my own mind, so purchased the DVD. This DVD is basically a documentary from 1979 featuring ABBA's tour of America and UK. Much of it has been seen before on American TV (apparently). The American concert footage is brief and consists more of backstage stuff and sightseeing trips. The UK footage is better because you get more concert footage even, although some songs are noticeably edited (eg. Chiquitita). This is because the documentary was originally made for TV and had time limitations. The total amount of songs listed is 12. To me, the best part of this DVD is the inclusion of "The Way Old Friends Do", previously unseen in Europe, Australia and America. This is part of the bonus material on the DVD, and is worth the high price tag of the DVD alone. Other bonus features include interviews with the documentary producer ... but this did not appeal to me. There is also edited footage of "Thank YOu for the Music" which is interesting because much of the concert footage for this track remains missing, so the DVD producers have done some splicing etc to give a complete finish to the song. It has been well done in my opinion, and you cannot tell that footage is missing.

Overall, the DVD overall is disappointing in my opinion. It left me wanting more, and it is too expensive for what you get. I urge American fans to purchase the VHS of "ABBA: The Movie" (until it's released on DVD). It's the best way to see incredible concert footage of this band. Plus you will experience the impact that ABBA had on Australia back in 1977 when it was filmed. As ABBA once said about their tour of Australia "we had never experienced some frenzy, such excitement".

I have have been a ABBA fan since 1974. It would be very easy for me to say great things about this long awaited DVD. When you wait so long for anything new that is available from a group that split-up 22 years ago..ANYTHING is a blessing.
This DVD though is a pretty poor. To be honest, they did not have much to work with. The original footage was designed for a limited television program and was edited very tightly. The sound on the DVD is pretty bad as well. I realize that it was a live concert, but the sound was better on the original TV produced version. All the new sound enhancement did was to make the sound extremely uneven and sounding like someone is turning the volume up and down at different intervals. I am surprised that this DVD was allowed to be sold because of the awful sound quality. With all the technology availabe today ... a MUCH better job could have been done than was shown in the end result. A person could have re-worked the original sound better on their home computer with very little expertise.
The only plus to this DVD are the bonus tracks. Let us all hope that when ABBA THE MOVIE makes it out on DVD, we get a bit more attention to the sound than we got on this one. Someone really dropped the ball here.

This is a particularly expensive title, but the quality of the this release is top notch. The picture quality is excellent and so is the sound. There isn't any degradation of the footage, amazing since this is from 1979. This DVD gives anybody an idea of the energy and talent ABBA brought to the table as artists. Bonus features include full versions of 'The Way Old Friends Do' and 'I Have A Dream'(same as the promo version) and a really good version of 'Thank You For The Music'(detailed as missing some footage but you can't really tell, all the lyrics are intact). There are a couple of interviews with the tour promoter and the producer of the film as well. You don't learn much but it provides good commentary on the project, and the band as well.

The only criticism I have is that there are no interviews with anybody in the band, but that isn't surprising given their seclusive nature. Still this is a good buy for anybody who likes ABBA.

As stated in the above review, it should be noted that this is NOT a complete concert and some songs are heavily edited. Somewhat disappointing considering ABBA's live set consisted of 25 songs during this tour. This was originally a television special over in Sweden in the first place and reminds me of an early version of 'Depeche Mode 101' in as far as following the band around in the early segments, interviewing a few fans and edited songs. The cd is really the only way to get a more full set of ABBA live tracks, but given this is the only footage commercially available of ABBA live it's great for what it is.

With ABBA fans chomping at the bit for ABBA material on DVD, Universal has chopped and spliced together a new DVD called ABBA Live. it should be called ABBA Lame. If you were hoping to experience a night at an ABBA show, think again. It starts out with Waterloo, which was usually the encore number and then after the first verse it cuts off into a documentary. There are snippets of interviews with all four members and Eagle and Take A Chance on Me play in the background. The show finally starts with the second verse of Voulez-Vous and the edit of Chiquitita and half way through I Have a Dream the documentary starts again. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme is shown in it's entirety and then you get only the first verse and end chorus of Knowing Me, Knowing You. There are strange clips added in of people skating and the lights of the Vegas strip as the full intro version of Summer Night City begins. Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, and Hole In Your Soul round out the DVD. most of the focus is on Agnetha and much of it has been seen in the stills from the On & On & On video. The camera angels are mostly from behind or far shots with hardly any close ups on Frida unless she is singing lead. The girls have almost no interaction with each other and you seem to see the background singers more than Bjorn or Benny. Fernando is missing as is SOS and Mamma Mia. The bonus features are the full versions of The Way Old Friends Do, I Have A Dream, and Thank You For The Music. If this is Universal's attempt at quality ABBA product I'll stick to the fan bootlegs. I can only hope that they do better on remastering ABBA The Movie.