Voyage

I wasn't sure how this album would compare to the ABBA songs from decades ago, but I love it. It's maybe sort of a Seekers sound, more mellow and less pop.

Since the 1970's I have always loved ABBA and their music. I have almost every album and can sing most of their songs. (Clearly, not as well as they sing!) This album does NOT repeat any of their previous songs, so it was a refreshing new collection. The voices are as beautiful as their "hey day" of long ago, and the songs are interesting, calming and inspiring. This is a VERY welcomed addition to my favorite listening collections!

Grueat

I recently listened to Voyage (Jewel Box), and overall, it’s a solid album with some really enjoyable moments. The production quality is excellent, and the songs are well-arranged, showcasing a good mix of vocals and instrumentation. There are a few standout tracks that I find myself coming back to again and again, which gives the album a nice replay value. That said, not every song resonated with me equally as a few tracks feel less memorable compared to the highlights, but that’s normal for most albums. Overall, it’s a pleasant listening experience whether you’re relaxing at home, on a drive, or just exploring new music. If you’re a fan of the artist or enjoy albums with polished production and a mix of styles, Voyage (Jewel Box) is worth checking out.

All was great with Amazon! CD is excellent ABBA still great voices, harmonies, and music outstanding. I would highly recommend this CD to any ABBA fan. Agnetha and Frida still have such beautiful voices.

WOW!!! Time has not diminished Agnetha's & Frida's vocal range, or richness! This sounds like it came out in the late 70s/early 80s, by which I mean that is is EPIC! There is about an equal ratio of uptempo tracks to ballads/ballad-like songs. While there aren't any superfast dance tracks, that is surely for the better, to instead showcase the oustanding quality of vocals and songwriting nuance which one cannot help but appreciate for the true masterpiece that is VOYAGE! If you love ABBA, you will LOVE THIS!

Mine came in a jewel box. Great album, but the listener needs to have lived a life to appreciate the message of its lyrics. It's basically about surviving all that life can throw at you (and the things that you do to yourself) and coming out with faith and hope for the future. Has it really been 50 years -- how fast it has gone...

So the cd is about 40 minutes long, great for an LP in 1982, but underwhelming for a CD in 2023. Some of Abba's sparkle is gone. The wall of sound which makes Anni-Friid and Agnetha sound like four women instead of two and seems to double all of the instruments to give you that wall of sound is not there. Neither is Michael B. Tretow, the sound engineer who perfected Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, and gave much of Abba's sparkle, adding to their talent. It is also only nine new songs since Just A Notion was written in 1978 and appeared as a fragment in ABBA Undeleted in their Thanik You Box set from 1994. I am apreciative that they released one more studio album after 40 yrs. They range in age from 73 to 78, so perhaps that is why they don't have the same spriteliness of 40 yrs ago and the absence of Michael B. Tretow.

Voor de liefhebber natuurlijk.

What an experience. What a feeling to be able to listen to a brand new ABBA record in 2021. Firstly, this album isn’t cutting edge or ground breaking. Don’t expect modern reinvention. But it’s not trying to do that. There’s a self-aware element running under this album. All 4 members clearly wanted to make something timeless and ageless. This is an album that ABBA have made because they love to make music. It very much feels like a “thank you and goodnight” moment, a way for the members to put some closure on their ABBA career whilst also letting it continue in their fans lives. As such, it’s full of little nods to the past. This is an album for the love of ABBA and ABBA fans - not for the critics. “I Still Have Faith In You” still makes me quite emotional. For many years, the 4 band members were quite dismissive of their ABBA years, or possibly overwhelmed by it all. “We have a story, and it survived”. It’s both the gratitude and amazement in the delivery of that line. Gets me everytime. Cause you know that they thought they were done and discarded for so many years, I find it really heartwarming that they’re finally comfortable with it all and can actually be proud of what they did and enjoy it. It would have been even better had the song opened with a fade in of the crowd applause like in the video. That would’ve been a wonderful way to open the album, a nod to the new Voyage live show and also a throwback to “The Way Old Friends Do”. “When You Danced With Me” is a great track. Clearly Irish influenced but with a typical ABBA twist. The melody reminds me of “Arrival”. They’ve not really done anything like this. It’s a big track, quite loud, but that gives it this really unique atmosphere. Like your stood out in the sweeping Irish countryside when you listen to it. Wonderful to hear them try something new at this stage of their career. The joint vocal by Agnetha and Frida is just wonderful too. “Little Things” manages to combine 2 things I hate. Christmas and children’s choirs. BAH HUMBUG. Having said that, whilst I don’t think this is a song I will listen to often, it has a timeless quality too it. Like an old Christmas standard that families would sing around the piano on Christmas Day. It’s quite a warm little song, very sweet. It’s feels more like a poem though, there’s no real chorus too it. A pop song it ain’t. “Don’t Shut Me Down” is an instant ABBA classic. It’s like the sequel to “One of Us” with a bit of “If It Wasn’t For the Nights” thrown in for good measure. The second chorus is so euphoric and probably my favourite moment on the album. A great characterisation performance from Agnetha too. She has such a unique way of making you feel what she’s singing, and though her voice has lowered over the years, she hasn’t lost that magic ability to pull you in. I would not have been surprised if this was a leftover from the 1982 sessions that gave us “Under Attack” and “I Am The City” either. “Just A Notion” I didn’t like as a stand along single and I’m still a bit miffed that they re-used 1978 vocals on a 2021 album. Having said that I enjoyed it a lot more in context with the album. I think it’s a fun song, and it really injects that into the album. It’s needed too, as some of the subject matter on the back end of the album is quite serious. “I Can Be That Woman” is quite a harrowing tale of alcoholism and domestic abuse. I thought with all the dog references that I would hate it but again, Agnetha really draws you into the story. One of the lyrically darkest songs I think they’ve done. Really love this one. “Keep An Eye On Dan” is a bit of an 80’s throwback musically and great example of Agnetha & Frida taking some slightly naff lyrics and making it something special. Again, quite a dark tale about a divorced couple, and one of the couple meets someone new, and that effect on the child. Great little nod to “SOS” at the end too. The drums in the chorus seem a bit off for some reason though - quite “unsmooth”? Like they’re not really gelling with the rest of the track. It could have done with a smoother drum take, to give it more of a slick “Lay All Your Love On Me” type sound. The verses are incredible though. “Bumblebee” has an amazing vocal by Frida. She sounds so strong here. The song is folky, I can hear a bit of a nod to “Fernando” in it and some of the earlier ABBA tracks from the first album. It didn’t jump out at me at first but it’s growing on me. Again - the serious subject in a polished song - this one is about climate change. “No Doubt About It” - what a great pop rock track. This wouldn’t sound out of place on Frida’s “Shine” album. You can hear in her vocal delivery that she’s really having fun with it too. This would’ve made a great single. “Ode to Freedom” sounds like ABBA doing Enya, with a touch of “Like An Angel Passing Through My Room” thrown in for good measure. Great atmosphere although the vocal is a bit buried in the mix and it’s hard to decipher the lyrics at times. It also ends quite abruptly - I sort of wish it had a bigger, longer outro to really send us off into the future so that the voyage really never ends, but a beautiful song nonetheless. Overall a really wonderful album. Does it really reach the heights of their original run? No. But it’s certainly better than their low’s (I’m looking at you, “I Saw It In The Mirror”). Also, this is not an album made by people in their 20’s and 30’s either. Don’t go in expecting to hear “Voulez-Vous” or “Dancing Queen”. But it’s a very beautiful way of rounding off ABBA nicely. More proof that their music will truly never die, and thank good for that! The world needs ABBA.

È sempre meraviglioso ascoltare gli Abba. Questo CD dona grandi emozioni e ci fa sognare!

With this, my ABBA collections is complete. Abba music is still Abba in essence. The style of music remains unchange despite the 40 years return.

Todo perfecto.