“Super Trouper” Review

“Super Trouper” album cover. Note the band is, rather cleverly, standing in the light of a Super Trouper spot light.

1) Super Trouper; 2) The Winner Takes It All; 3) On And On And On; 4) Andante, Andante; 5) Me And I; 6) Happy New Year; 7) Our Last Summer; 8) The Piper; 9) Lay All Your Love On Me; 10) The Way Old Friends Do

9 out of 10

After releasing “Voulez Vous” one can tell the band may have had a slight re-think of their position in the rock and roll world. The album was a huge success commercially, in spite of its “last one to the party” grab at disco. In spite of its success, I get the feeling the band noticed it was weaker musically than their past albums. That perhaps they hadn’t quite perfected their new style.

Or maybe they simply grew up. It’s hard to tell. Everybody knows that the band members were going through serious personal problems around this time. Basically, the formerly married couples divorced and became simply work partners instead of love partners. This is not a very good method of working and could have lead to disaster. In fact, it did lead to the band breaking up after two albums (during work on a third, which lead to only three album tracks and two singles).

Maybe it was the culmination of a lot of musical reflection and a lot of emotional turmoil but “Super Trouper” is the band’s most emotionally hard hitting album by this point. There are quite a few heart wrenching ballads that somehow feel more “real” than their past ballads. Obviously, the pain of losing each other was hitting the band hard, resulting in a lot of emotional pain that spills out all over this and the next album.

However, ABBA still realized that their upbeat songs tended to make them the most money. It’s understandable: the band is so good at upbeat that it’s hard not to fall under their upbeat songs’ spells. So, the record starts with the nearly incandescently bright “Super Trouper.” Perhaps this is appropriate enough: a “super trouper” is a stage light noted for its brightness.

The song basically works as an encapsulation of ABBA’s past work combined with a more synthesized, keyboard based approach. The “acapella” introduction has a feel of “Take a Chance on Me” while the piano runs sound a bit “SOS” in their simplicity and effectiveness (though completely major key, as opposed to the minor key of that song). However, the “bum bum thumpa thumpa” synth bass line of the chorus is pure “new style” ABBA and the second section of the chorus, which opens up with lots of deep throated “soo pa pa trooo pa paa” vocal harmonies and bigger than life piano and synthesizer textures is a near perfect combination of both styles.

The very next song is as dark as this song is bright: “The Winner Takes it All” is one of ABBA’s truest downbeat songs. Frida truly takes it all here, vocalizing in her slightly deeper tones. The piano and guitar melodies of the verse slightly ramble but not awfully. The pre-chorus of “the God’s may throw a dice” sounds like it’s about to erupt into an ABBA chorus meltdown but it doesn’t take off. It’s effective that way though as it illustrates the downbeat nature of the song. The melodies remain catchy and memorable but downbeat as hell and the “tell me does she kiss, the way we used to kiss” is one of the most heart breaking stretches of music in ABBA’s catalog.

Oddly, the reason the song is more effective is because of better than normal lyrics. Bjorn and completely taken over writing lyrics at this point and had gotten as good as he would ever get with this and the following album. They approach B+ level which is incredible given that this is the same man that wrote the D- level lyrics of “King Kong Song.

Bjorn actually stays on a pretty strong level of lyric writing throughout, especially on the following “On and On and On.” The song is semi-disco in that it’s a dancey song with a lot of synthesizers. The odd introduction is unforgettable and the synthesized voices and heavy stomp are incredibly effective as are the insistent melodies. However, the lyrics actually emerge as somewhat intriguing here: Bjorn is making fun of the celebrity lifestyle in a somewhat insightful and clever way. The lyrics don’t hit as hard as “The Winner Takes it All” but still hover around a B- level, which is outstanding for this band.

The album remains emotionally confusing as it progresses. “Andante Andante” is a slower piece with a high level of keyboards and a silly atmosphere that contrasts heavily with the darker, more heart wrenching feel of “Me and I” which also possesses a slight disco sound. Each of these songs has the typical instantly memorable melodies that the band is well known for writing while also being much more keyboard heavy and a bit “stiffer” in rhythm when compared to past songs.

“Happy New Year” is a lighter than helium ode to the promise of a New Year that is memorable but a tad on the trifle side. However, it’s beautiful contrasted by the darker “Our Last Summer.” The album is also very schizophrenic with the tempos and approaches here. The album is a bit more ballad heavy when compared to last albums but when the ballads are as well written and beautifully arranged as “Our Last Summer” it’s hard not to love each and every single one of the ballads.

In fact, the last half of the album seriously slows down when compared to the first half, as it also features the folksy “The Piper” which is folksy in melody but not in arrangement: as usual for the album, the band layers on a lot of keyboards and synthesizers. However, Benny remains a criminally underrated player and arranger who also possess impeccable taste in synthesizer tones: they never sound generic or boring but alive and unique.

The pen-ultimate track on the album simultaneously stands out like a sore thumb and fits like a glove. “Lay All Your Love On Me” is the darkest of ABBA’s dark disco songs (odd how gloomy this band liked to make their disco, besides “As Good as New” and “Kisses of Fire”) with unforgettable synthesizer riffs, gloomy as hell lyrics and an unforgettable “crash” at the end of each chorus that makes it hard to forget. This reviewer loves it when band’s let the beat…drop.

Oddly, the band closes the album with a semi-pompous song in “The Way Old Friends Do.” Allegedly recorded live with just Benny on accordion, the band then over dubbed a dozen more instruments (mostly synthesizers) to create a rich, full and anthemic sound. Some people think it comes across as incredibly pompous and overbearing while others shed a tear at it’s heart felt nature.

I think the song is well written enough melodically, harmonically and lyrically that it does avoid pure pompousness. Perhaps it would have worked better if it was just Benny on accordion (as it may have captured the intimate feel a bit better) but it also works as a great, anthemic album closer. I tend to think of it as a song designed to help bring the band member’s close together after their failed relationships.

“Super Trouper” naturally featured a ton of great hits and showcased a more mature and interesting band that had fully mastered their stiffer, more synthesized style. The band has also conquered writing in a more personal manner which made their lyrics a lot better than even the previous album. The album is diverse, fun, heart breaking, emotionally engaging and unforgettable.

However, the band didn’t reconcile their personally differences and they grew more depressed. Their last album, “The Visitors” grew even slower, weirder, more synthesized and incredibly introverted.