Hi Stephie and all in Maddieland,
>In searching the net for the ABBAmania album (the one
>WITH Madness), I keep coming across a different ABBA
>(25th anniversary) tribute album that features E-rotic
>on 'Money, money, money'. Maybe that's the one on TV?
Well if it helps the one WITH Madness is released on Polydor/Universal
Music, and the catalogue number is 5433592.
I got mine yesterday pretty cheap. Well it had to be! (if anyone wants to
know where I got it for �10 with free delivery e-mail me offlist) I missed
the actual TV programme because of a certain Rugby World Cup Final turning
into a very long and messy drinking session, so I had no idea what I was
letting myself in for other than the fact that I love Madness and Steps.
Sorry, did I really say that in public!!?? So here's my take on the album.
Madness, Money Money Money. The first track. Quite a compliment to the
Maddies. Does this mean that it would be a favourite to release as a single
if there was to be a single??? How about a double A side then, with No
Money!! Anyway, Madness do a good job on this. It's not really what I
expected either. I had imagined a ska reworking of this which could have
worked, but Madness confound us all by taking a less familiar route. The
piano in this allows Monsieur Barso to tickle the ivories in a very
familiar manner but the big surprise is Chrissy Boy. The Mad axe-man thinks
he's playing the Theme From Shaft!!! All funky guitar stuff in the verses,
and therefore my favourite Mad guitar-playing since Gabriel's Horn.
Excellent stuff.
The rest of the album is pretty mundane note-perfect covers although they
don't have the full production brilliance of the originals. Westlife's I
Have A Dream is bland, while Stephen Gately (Boyzone) actually does alright
with Chiquitita. The lovely Denise Van Outen has a good voice for Gimnme
Gimme Gimme but then I must disagree with Alex on Culture Club. I don't
think their Voulez Vous is much cop at all. Boy George doesn't even try to
sing in tune and it's only the backing singers who hold the melody
together. I always hated Culture Club anyway (apart from two songs). But it
has competition for the worst cover of the lot from The Corrs doing The
Winner Takes It All. Now if ever there was a case for not going near the
perfect song this is it. I may be biased as the original is one of my
favourite songs of all time, but The Corrs just can't get remotely close to
the emotion of the original and as lovely as Andrea Corr is, she obviously
doesn't have a voice to match Agnetha. Martine McCutcheon does a far better
job with Mamma Mia.
But only one group can match Abba vocally (mainly because that's what they
were put on this planet for) and that is the magnificent Steps. They do
storming versions of Lay All Your Love On Me, I Know Him So Well and carry
Cleopatra, B*Witched et al through the Brits Abba Medley. Faye and Claire
are so wonderful, aren't they?;-)
So that's my little review of Abbamania for you. Interestingly, in the
credits they list all the musicians as individuals. Madness were the only
act who recorded the track themselves and not in Pete Waterman's studios.
Also, Mr Lee Thompson is not credited despite the presence of a sax on
Money... The other six are all listed with what they played/did. The rest
of the album was pretty much played by the same musicians, including
"Culture Club" which it looks like was actually just Boy George singing
along to a Pete Waterman backing track.
That's all folks!
Cheers for now,
Peter
****************************************************
Dr. Peter T. Gardner
Rowett Research Institute
Bucksburn Tel: 01224 - 712 751
Aberdeen AB21 9SB Fax: 01224 - 716 629
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
****************************************************
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