ABBA The Visitors (Crackin Up)

One of the greatest ABBA' songs... I love this band!!! And "The Visitors" is their best album

@LeilaRevolutionary - I agree, no really naff songs on that album.

So good, it hurts .

to: Dharmarecords: I AGREE

The first vinyl I ever bought. I was lucky I made a good choice not knowing any better.

The best album they ever put out. I still love this song.

PURE GENIUS

I couldnt believe this was ABBA when i first heard it, It almost sounds like a dance track from the 90's not the 70's.

Sorry. I meant to hit the "thumbs up" button and hit the "thumbs down" one by mistake. This song DOES sound like it's sung by someone descending into madness. When I first head it, that was my first impression of it...with the distortion of sound representing the distortion of thought. But, given the political situation of the early 80s, it could also be about the repression that was going on in the Soviet Union in particular.

When I first heard it I was impressed with the obviously more adult direction their lyrics were taking. I like the moodiness and paranoia... very Scandanavian in the best Ingmar Bergman tradition. It suits them. Light years away from Mamma Mia.

I also like the obsessive synthesizer beat and the flanged/phased voices at the end of phrases... and the way it builds to a release at 2:10. A great production. They developed a killer sound. Textbook demonstration of how synths should be used.