- Frida (aka Anni Frid Lyngstad) -- vocals

  supporting musicians (1975)

- Benny Andersson -- keyboards

- Ola Brunkert -- drums

- Lasse Carlsson -- backing vocals

- Malando Gassama -- percussion

- Anders Glenmark -- guitar

- Rutger Gunnarsson -- bass, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki

- Lasse Holm -- backing vocals

- Janne Kling -- flute

- Janne Lindgren -- pedal steel guitar

- Liza Öhman -- backing vocals

- Inger Öst  -- backing vocals

- Roger Palm -- drums, percussion

- Janne Schaffer -- guitar

- Bjorn Ulvaeus -- guitar

- Lasse Westmann -- backing vocals

- Lasse Wellander -- guitar

- ABBA

Genre: pop

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  Frida ensam

Company: Polar

Catalog: POLS 265

Year: 1975

Country/State: Sweden

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: --

Available: --

Catalog ID: --

Price: --

With ABBA on the brink of world domination, in 1975 Anni Frid Lyngstad (aka Frida), stepped out with a solo album - "Frida ensam" (translated as "Frida Alone").   Produced by then-boyfriend/fiancée Benny Andersson, the album was recorded amidst ABBA's hectic recording and touring schedule.  Recording sessions were fit in between the "Waterloo" and "ABBA" sessions,  with the collection ultimately taking over a year and a half to complete.   Though Andersson produced and played  keyboards on the tracks, there was only one original tune - 'Fernando' which ABBA subsequently retooled for their own use.  The rest of the album featured cover tunes; all sung in Swedish.  The set was certainly eclectic with Frida and Andersson displaying a wide ranging and diverse set of tastes that ranged from Italian ballads ('Aldrig mej'), to classic American pop (The Beach Boys' Wouldn't It Be Nice' ('Skulle de' va' skönt')), and an affection for quirky English pop tunes (David Bowie's 'Life On Mars' ('Liv på Mars?') and 10cc's 'Wall Street Shuffle' ('Guld och gröna ängar').  It took awhile to get acclimated to the Swedish vocals, but Frida had such a powerful and distinctive voice, that after a couple of tunes, you started to forget that facet of the set.  

Not sure what the story was with respect to the attention grabbing cover ...   Perhaps due in part to the cover, the album was a massive Swedish commercial success, but the Swedish lyrics limited its appeal elsewhere.

"Frida Ensam" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Fernando   (Stig Anderson - Benny Andersson - Bjorn Ulvaeus) - 4:15

Frida's Swedish language version actually pre-dated ABBA's retooled English language mega-hit.  Musically it was basically the same track that we all know and love, though the lyrics were apparently reworked before recording the song in English.  Anyhow, there's something quite attractive in hearing Frida's naturally husky voice not having to struggle with English lyrics.  The "linga lange" chorus always makes me smile. Polar released the track as a single in Norway:

- 1975's 'Fernando' b/w 'Ett Liv I Solen' (Polar catalog number POS 1221)  rating: **** stars

2.) Jag är mej själv nu (Jerry Fuller - Marie Bergman) - 3:04

With Andersson and Ulvaeus busy with other projects it was easy to see why Frida was forced to turn to covers.   On the other hand, you were left scratching your head trying to figure out who had the brain fart idea of setting  Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's 'Young Girl' to a disco beat.   Frida sounded fine, but the arrangement was just plain strange.   rating: *** stars

3.) Som en sparv   (Jan Askelind - Barbro Hörberg) - 3:35

Swedish girl group ?   Originally recorded by the Swedish group Wasa, I have no idea what it was about, but the song sure was pretty with what almost sounded like a Beach Boys edge to it.   rating: **** stars

4.) Vill du låna en man   (Norris Wilson - Rory Micheal Boruke - Billy Sherrill - Benny Andersson) - 2:41

While the 'Young Girl' cover was a bad idea, the decision to redo 'The Most Beautiful Girl' was even worse.   Andersson didn't stray far from the Charlie Rich arrangement, but not even the Swedish lyrics could save this one.   rating: ** stars  

5.) Liv på Mars? (David Bowie) - 3:45

Frida does David Bowie ...   strange hearing 'Life on Mars' sung in Swedish, but fascinating in part due to the fact she had the chops to carry it off.   rating: *** stars

(side 2)

1.) Aldrig mej (Vado Via)   (Enrico Riccardi-  Luigi Albertelli - Benny Anderson) - 4:06

'Aldrig mej' was a cover of the 1973 tune 'Viado Via' (which I think translates as "I Go Away'), by Italian singer Giampiero Anelli (aka Drupi e Le Calamite).   With a pseudo-classical feel, it was actually quite nice, showcasing Frida's deeper range.  rating: **** stars

2.) Guld och gröna ängar   (Eric Stewart - Graham Gouldman - Junsjo) - 3:41

Even for the 10cc catalog 'Wall Street Shuffle' was always a quirky tune, but you had to wonder why Frida and company decided it would be a good tune to cover.   As good as her voice was, she simply didn't have the gravities to carry if off, though hearing the song in Swedish was a strange treat.  rating: ** stars

3.) Ett liv i solen ("Anima Mia")   (Flavio Paulin - Ivano Michetti - Mats Paulson) - 3:53

The pretty ballad 'Ett liv i solen' was another tune I'd never heard.  Originally it didn't do much for me, though I have to admit it grows on you.  Certainly a  nice showcase for her driving voice.   Had it been sung in English it could have passed for an ABBA tune.   rating: *** stars

4.) Skulle de' va' skönt   (Brian Wilson - Tony Asher - Marie Bergman) - 3:17

It took a moment for the famous 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' melody to reveal itself, but when it did, the fact it was being sung in Swedish didn't matter.  Classic pop tune that survived Andersson's efforts to update it with an array of ABA-esque effects and served to reveal a surprisingly impressive delivery from Frida.  Wonder what a duet with Brian Wilson would have sounded like ...     rating: **** stars

5.) Var är min clown?    (Stephen Sondheim - Mats Paulson) - 4:22

I've never liked 'Send In the Clowns' and her straightforward cover did nothing to change the song's maudlin, Broadway-styling.   rating: ** stars

In 2005 the collection was reissued with both sides of Frida's first single for Abbe's Polar label:

1.) Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan (Chi Salta Il Fosso) (Vittorio Tariciotti - Marcello Marrocchi - Franca Evangelisti - Benny Anderson) - 2:53
2.) Ska man skratta eller grata (Principessa) (Gianfranco Baldazzi -Sergio Bardotti - rosalino Cellamare - Benny Anderson) - 3:51

Genre: pop

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  Shine

Company: Vogue/Polar

Catalog: VG 409

Year: 1984

Country/State: Sweden

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: French pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 5

Price: $20.00

One of my most embarrassing life experiences ...  I'm a big Abba fan, though that's actually not the embarrassing story.  A couple of years ago I signed up to join an Australian-based ABBA group.  What I discovered was a group run by one of the most messed up people I'd ever encountered.  ABBA wasn't just a source of enjoyment for this person, rather a reason for being.  Add in a mile wide mean streak, a nasty case self-loathing, rabid anti-Americanism, and other assorted personality issues ...  Within two weeks I'd managed to piss this idiot off and gotten myself banned from his version of ABBA-topia.  

Produced by Steve Lillywhite when outside commitments kept Phil Collins from handling the project (long time ABBA producer Stig Anderson credited as executive producer), 1984's "Shine" served as Frida's second post-ABBA release.  As with the earlier Phil Collins produced album, Frida seemed interested in staking out musical territory considerably removed from her ABBA catalog.  That included teaming her with a slew of then-happening writers including Big Country's Stuart Adamson, Simon Clime, and the late Kirsty MacColl.  The problem is she didn't seem to have a clear vision with respect to what she wanted to do.  The result was a diverse, but hodgepodge collection that included stabs at everything including  hard rock (relatively speaking) 'One Little Lie', edgy electro-dance numbers 'Twist In the Dark', and the plain weird 'Comfort Me'.  Other efforts of interest included 'Heart of the Country' which found her recording with Big Country (a weird, but beguiling cultural mixture) and 'Don't Do It' which deserved notice as the first Frida original to make it on an album.  Good song.  She should have had more faith in her own writing skills. Elsewhere 'Chemistry Tonight' was pretty commercial, while the title track was apparently the last song recorded for the LP and was only added in an effort to come up with a song that could serve as a single. While it was one of the more memorable tracks, it flopped as a single.  Running against the grain, there was even a pseudo-ABBA song - Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus contributed the "Chess" castoff  'Slowly' to the project and yes it sounded like an ABBA track and probably would have made a better choice for a single.  I remember listening to the album about five years ago and thinking how dated the sound was - syndrums, that patented jittery '80s production sound, and of course Frida's angry-young-woman look (what was with the spikey hair and different colored gloves ...).  Pulling it out recently it still had that '80s feel, though thanks to Frida's magnificent voice (geez I still love her accented delivery), it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought.    While the album went top-10 throughout Europe, inexplicably it never saw an official American release.  That was even stranger given the success she'd enjoyed with "Something's Going On".   It also marked her last studio effort for a dozen years - the Swedish language "Djupa Andetag" (translated as 'deep breathes') wasn't released until 1996.

"Shine" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Shine   (Kevin Jarvis - Guy Fletcher - Jeremy Bird) - 

Here's a link to the 12" remix of 'Shine': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvumPyTKUzI&feature=related

2.) One Little Lie   (Simon Clime - Kirsty MacColl) - 

3.) The Face   (Daniel Balavoine - Kirsty MacColl) - 

4.) Twist In the Dark   (Andde Leek) - 

And once again thanks to YouTube you can check out the promo videos that accompanied the LP (and a live performance):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvmnHei11v4&feature=related

5.) Slowly   (Benny Andersson - Bjorn Ulvaeus) - 

(side 2)
1.) Heart of the Country   (Stuart Adamson) - 

2.) Come To Me (I Am Woman)   (eddie Howell - David Dundas) - 

Here's a link to a live performance of the tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdGaOWTeXYs&feature=related 

3.) Chemistry Tonight   (Peter Glrnister - Simon Climie - Kirsty MacColl) - 

4.) Don't Do It  (Anni-Frid Lyngstad) - 

5.) Comfort Me   (Peter Glenister) -