Customer Reviews

Something's Going on

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

By the time Frida got around to recording her first English-language solo album in 1982, the public had decided that enough was enough, ABBA-wise. As it turns out, even the band themselves felt that ABBA was running on fumes at this point. Their singles were no longer reaching the UK Top 10 (including, bafflingly, the beautiful 'The Day Before You Came'). It was always going to be difficult to score a hit or earn credibility if your name was attached to ABBA, when the whole world was fawning over Adam & the Ants.... Added to this, 'Something's Going On' was not what the hard-core ABBA fans expected. Crashing drums, crunchy guitar figures, eloquent bitterness and an abandonment of the dance-floor failed to pull in the boys and girls for whom 'Fernando' and 'Super Trouper' were cutting edge.

At the time, Frida was adamant about two things. Firstly, if Phil Collins wouldn't produce, there would be no album. Secondly, there would be no Andersson/Ulvaeus compositions recorded. There was no point, she argued, in doing a solo album if it was to end up sounding like ABBA. The first single, 'I Know There's Something Going On' underlined this. Sounding like a meeting between Pat Benatar and The Cars, it hinted at the style of album to come.

The album opens with a speaker-wrecking volley of snares at the start of 'Tell Me It's Over', a rocker which manages to be gritty, bitter and bouncy all at the same time. Next comes the reggae-ish 'I See Red' (a real highlight), which really ought to have been released as a single. A hat-trick of gems is completed in the album's next track, 'I Got Something'. This wasn't commercial enough for single release but just listen to that vocal! Great guitar figures and punchy brass underline Frida's performance to great effect. The wispy ballad, 'Strangers' is pretty but no big deal and Bryan Ferry's composition 'The Way You Do' cannot be counted among his finest moments. Still, the graceful delicacy of Frida's interpretation of Collins' song 'You Know What I Mean' more than compensates.

As a set, 'Something's Going On' is cohesive and satisfying. Only one track jars and that is the closer, 'Here We'll Stay', a breezy, lovey-dovey duet with Phil Collins. Tracks 1 through 10 are the REAL album, where Frida works through her post-divorce wounds and agonies. Overall, 'Something's Going On' has worn its age rather better than its successor, 'Shine', it's sound being more organic. This is not an album for fans of ABBA's perkier, sweeter hits. It must be seen as a stand-alone item.

Oh, and by the way - comparing this with any of Agnetha Faltskog's solo output is a pointless, subjective exercise that does neither women any favours. They are both great singers in their individual ways. If you like your music with a bit of grit, try this album. If ABBA's ballads and dance tunes are what light your fire, try Agnetha's more light-weight work.

Anyone comparing Frida's group work to her solo work is missing the point. While the Swedish superstars were undoubtedly the pop powerhouse of the 1970's, Frida's remarkable solo career carries us all into the 80's and beyond.

Her dynamic range is amazing-- her songs are both beautiful and angst-filled; both charming and haunting; both gritty yet smooth. This Swedish siren combines the fury of Pat Benatar, the sultriness of Juice Newton, the plaintiveness of Bonnie Tyler, the 80's cuteness of Kylie Minogue, and the self-control of Laura Branigan... ALL IN ONE PACKAGE. A stunning album from a true queen of pop. This album helped get me through college, and almost nothing has come close to it since.

The song "Hot Shot City" is particularly good.

First, let me dispel what the editorial reviewer of this CD has stated in the review. Frida (also known as Anni-Frid Lyngstad) was no more a backup singer for ABBA than Agnetha Fältskog, the other female singer in ABBA. The truth is that each of these women shared lead vocal duties. Furthermore, Frida not Agnetha sang lead on more of the group's hit singles. Both of these women had soprano ranges - Agnetha having a higher register with a beautiful sugary sweet sound while Frida had a lower mezzo-soprano or alto register giving her a very rich, velvety sound. In short, Frida and Agnetha were equally capable vocalists. Now for the review of this album: this was Frida's solo project during the final days of ABBA. The Phil Collins-produced album is an interesting and liberating departure from her work with ABBA. It leaves behind the saccharine pop sound for more edgy guitar-based music. Collins acquits himself nicely on the drums, while Frida herself is enabled to show her full, emotion-filled range that oftentimes got hidden beneath the layers of sound that was present in much of ABBA's music. Is the CD dated? Yes, a little, but most pop albums out of the 80s do sound dated, but maybe not for long if this new wave of new wave/electronica completely submerges itself in pop music again. It is unfortunate that the editorial review of this CD is so dismissive and inaccurate. To the persons responsible for the editorial review: get your facts straight.

Reading the editorial on this album made me mad! How anyone could say that Frida was less talented than Agnetha is beyond me! Both women have exceptional voices, but neither contributed more to ABBA than the other.

"Somethings Going On" is a fine first stab at an English solo career. The only song on this album that lacks is the Phil Collins duet. The title track, "Threnody", "You Know What I Mean" and "Tell Me It's Over" are the standouts. I'm really surprised that "Tell Me It's Over" wasn't a big hit...it had a very poppy, early 80's catch.

I absolutely LOVE Frida. The woman is exceptionally talented and I think all three of her post ABBA albums are wonderful.

I was 9 years old when I first got this album back in '83, and being a huge ABBA-fan, I was shocked by the rocky sound because it was so different from what I had expected. It took me quite a few years to learn to appreciate this album but now I must say that this is a very intriguing album and arguably the most interesting solo project of those released by Agnetha and Frida. Recorded just after her painful divorce from Benny, this album shows both the strong, powerful side of Frida on the uptempo cuts, Tell Me It's Over, I Got Something, I See Red and the excellent title track - Frida's voice cuts like a knife - and the vulnerable side on the superb low-key tracks Strangers, Threnody and her compelling rendition of Phil Collins' You Know What I Mean. These are simply excellent. I also like the jazzy Baby Don't You Cry No More a lot. Whereas the Bryan Ferry-penned The Way You Do is a bit indifferent, the mysterious To Turn The Stone - originally recorded by Donna Summer for an unreleased 1981 2LP set I'm A Rainbow - is a favourite of many fans (it was Frida's favourite too) and was also issued as the second single. It is surely beautifully sung but the music is perhaps a bit over-arranged on this one. The third single was the closing track Here We'll Stay which fails to come off as happy as intended, arguably because combination of a chorus with joyous lyrics and a melody in minor is a bit weird. But overall this is definitely a strong album by a strong woman and one of the most talented singers that I've ever heard.

PS! It is a MAJOR INSULT by the editorial reviewer to label Frida just a backing singer of ABBA just because she was featured on less singles than Agnetha. She did in fact sing a few more solo parts in ABBA than her blonde colleague.

Each of the band members of ABBA had their own styles which are very different. Frida is much more experimental because she is not afraid. (She did have pink highlights in her hair, who else in the mainstream of pop music would have had the courage for that look?) One review mentioned how she was merely a back up singer with ABBA. Anyone with any kind of a musical background can hear her blending her voice, darker and more sultry all the way to matching Agnetha note for note on the high end of the scales.

The battle over who has a better voice is merely a matter of taste. Yes, I can see that many people would prefer the softer and higher notes from her former collegue. ABBA was not just Agnetha and ABBA was not just Frida

As far as this release goes, it was the very first release after ABBA. There are different producers, writers, and a completely different attitude about the what was to be expected. There are familiar names such as the studio and the musicians. Some of the songs, in my opinion are very good; some are not so good. Remember, this release was on charts all around the world when it was new, with singles topping worldwide charts.

I feel you should purchase the CD if interested, listen, and judge for yourself whether or not you feel this landmark album is worthy of criticism.

Second Fiddle?
I don't think so. If Mr. Everett had actually listened to even a few of ABBA's CDs he'd have noticed that Agnetha & Frida very often share leads on tracks. The remainder are usually evenly split between them (Agnetha singing lead on 2 songs, Frida doing the same)
Frida's voice has always dominated ABBA songs, even when she's doing backup or harmony vocals. Not to bash Agnetha or anything, she has a fantastic soprano voice with an incredible range while Frida's mezzo-soprano is equally stunning. They're just DIFFERENT. And this is what makes the ABBA "sound" so special.
In their later albums (Super Trouper, The Visitors) you really get to hear just how good these women are.....there're some incredible notes being hit on those songs. So if one can fault anything about this CD, it's because of the songs, NOT the singer. I still say it's good, but her "Ensam" CD from 1975 was better. Check it out.

Well, sure this is not ABBA. And it shouldn't be! Yes, Frida has never been afraid of experiments. It's her first solo album after ABBA, and it's a very personal one. It meant so much for her! It really reflects her feelings, her emotions, I should say. I mean, this record helped me to understand Frida as a person, to know her better. And this album shows what a strong woman she is. Well, «Something's going on» isn't my favourite Frida's solo album but it's a very interesting record and the best thing she did in 80's. It sounds very unusual, very different from her early works. I'm not crazy about the way Frida sounds here `cause I prefer when her voice is more natural and relaxed. But anyway «Something's going on» shows her as an outstanding singer. I particularly love «Threnody», «To turn the stone», «Strangers», «I know there's something...» By the way, I think that «Face value» by P.Collins is a must for everyone who wants to understand «Something's going on» better.

PS Oh, how can one say that «with ABBA Frida was Agnetha's second fiddle»! I think that no one who consider himself to be a real ABBA fan would never tell something like that! When it comes to solo career I prefer Frida's albums and, to tell the truth, I believe Frida to have the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. But Agnetha is 1/4 of ABBA and so Frida is. Both of them sound great singing ABBA songs! I just can't imagine that any Agnetha's fan can think that ABBA could ever exist without Frida!

I point-blank refuse to draw any comparisons between Agnetha and Frida. Although they worked together in absolute musical harmony during the years of ABBA's unchallenged reign of the pop charts, their solo careers whilst equally satisfying are from opposing ends of the spectrum. Whereas Agnetha continued with the breezy light-weight pop which made her a household name in Sweden during the late sixties, Frida - for at least this, her first English solo outing - used music as therapy to work through her post-divorce stress.

The result is, admittedly, not extraordinary. This is not an ABBA record designed to knock the socks off you the first time that chorus comes rollicking in. It's not a Madonna release questioning concerns for society. But then, it wasn't supposed to be. It was a project which Frida 'had a one-hundred feeling for', and aimed to quash any sceptical views that she couldn't hack it as a solo singer. 'Something's Going On' proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Frida is an incredibly capable vocalist, and that she was equally capable to produce an album which was both heartfelt and enjoyable.

To me, the album has always sounded like two records mashed together. The first half is contemporary (or was back in 1982, at least). 'Tell Me It's Over' and 'I Know There's Something Going On' are more Divinyls than they are ABBA, placing Frida in a rockier environment than anything former bandmates Benny and Bjorn could have dreamt up. Her voice often sounds sharp and nasty in these mixes, but meshed in between these cuts lie the sublime 'I Got Something', a pro-femme song of self-empowerment, and the Jim Rafferty-penned 'I See Red'. With its lilting reggae beat and airy vocals, this was the obvious single choice to me but I don't think it was ever issued in that form. 'To Turn The Stone' sees Giorgio Moroder produce a song far more 'traditional' than the disco kitsch he pumped out as Donna Summer's right-hand man, and 'Strangers' is a bittersweet lament about a broken relationship. The whole sound is very Phil Collins, which - as he produced the record - is not surprising, but Frida manages to incorporate a lot of her own feelings and soul into the music.

As for the second half, it's almost as if concerned by the envelope-pushing sound of the first half, she needed to consolidate her fanbase. 'Threnody', 'Baby Don't You Cry No More', 'The Way You Do' and 'You Know What I Mean' are melodic ballads devoid of the synthesisers which often cloud Frida's vocals on side one of the LP. 'Threnody' is a delicious lullaby, 'Baby Don't You Cry No More' is jazz-oriented, and 'The Way You Do' is colour-by-numbers pop. This isn't to denote its worth, on the contrary Side Two is just as interesting as the first, simply a very different direction which makes the album slightly less cohesive.

The album ends with 'Here We'll Stay', a bouncy duet with producer Phil Collins which seemingly a lot of fans despise. It's fun, it's eighties, and it's got an incessant hook - and after the more reflective-come-empowered-come-heartbroken tones of the first ten tracks, it's a welcome relief. In essence, Frida wasn't too far away from the last ABBA album 'The Visitors'. She was still licking her wounds from her divorce and finding her musical grounding. 'Something's Going On' acts as an aural diary of Frida's life at that particular stage, and creates a very admirable album in the process. It not only highlights her strengths as a recording artist but remains today, twenty years later, relatively undated and still just as compelling.

I am not going to compare this album with ABBA or Agnetha. What's the use? After (and before!) ABBA, both women made music quite different from the famous ABBA sound. I personally like Frida's voice and solo work over Agnetha's, but that's just my opinion. As for this album, it's nice, but not her best. Some of the songs I really love (I Know There's Something Going On, Threnody, The Way You Do)), but some I don't particularly enjoy (I Got Something, Here We'll Stay). But in all, it's a great document of the early '80 pop-sound. Frida's voice to me was, and still is, one of the finest in pop music!