Friday Nerd-Out

Break-ups that produced incredible music, great songs made up from discarded bits, and a cover that sounds very much like its original, but that wins because of a crush I developed way too young.

This week in music history.

On December 19 1981, ABBA scored their seventh number one album in the UK with The Visitors. This LP which would become the band’s final piece of work… until the release of their 2021 album, Voyage.

The Visitors made history for many reasons: it was one of the first records ever to be digitally recorded and mixed. It was also one of the first albums to be issued in CD format… in 1983.

Thematically, The Visitors was a huge departure for ABBA, who were moving away from lighter, happier tones of their earlier work and turned towards a more mature and complex sound. An example of this is the single The Visitors… which is, possibly, one of my favourite songs by these Swedish icons, mainly because it sounds like nothing they had attempted before. If you’ve never heard this song before, consider it my early Christmas present to you.

While at the time of its release, the theme of the song remained a a bit of a mystery, the lyrics allude to the persecution of political dissidents in the Soviet Union at the time. Anni-Frid Lyngstad, aka Frida, is on leading vocals duty. The sound of The Visitors is less like former disco/pop hits from the band, touching upon the electropop and new wave genres.

On the same year that The Visitors (the album) was released, band members Benny and Frida had divorced, after two years of marriage. Their split is reflected in album tracks like When All Is Said and Done, and on the biggest hit of the album, One of Us. The rest of the album is a mix of Cold War themes, feelings of isolation and a lot, a lot of regret.

And talking of early CDs, some pop quiz for you: which is the first album to be issued in CD form? (disclaimer: this is widely believed as the data is inconclusive) Billy Joel’s sixth studio album, 52nd Street (1978), reaching shop shelves in CD-form on October 1982.

Another famous album recorded in the middle of several break-ups (and added drug abuse in this case) was Rumours (1977), by Fleetwood Mac. It also became the band’s first UK number-one album, also topping the US charts. Each of its singles, Go Your Own Way, Dreams, Don't Stop, and You Make Loving Fun, were all huge hits, with Dreams reaching number one.

This prolific album was birthed in the middle of chaos: keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie, and bassist John McVie ended their 8-year marriage after six months of touring, talking to each other only when forced to discuss music. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had an on/off relationship, peppered with many fights that were put on hold when they worked on music. To top it all, drummer Mick Fleetwood found out that his whife was having an affair with his best friend. Shockingly, Rumours would not be the last album by Fleetwood Mac - kudos to them, although I still can’t stand Big Love (oh, uh, oh, uh)

Anyway, back to Rumours, and other interesting ways of producing music. The Chain, a fan favourite from that album, is a sort of Frankenstein when it comes to its composition, since it is made up of several previously rejected materials, including solo work by several of the band members. The song was stitched together by splicing tapes with a razor blade.

One recent song to be made up of pieces of previously discarded songs is BLUE, included in Billie Eilish’s 2024 album, Hit Me Hard And Soft. BLUE includes elements of two old songs written by Eilish: True Blue and Born Blue. The latter was written right after Ocean Eyes, one of her earlier hits.

Born Blue was part of the second album’s - Happier Than Ever (2021) - sessions, yet at the time only a few lines were written until it was ultimatelly abandoned. Finneas (Billie’s brother and musical partner) and Billie rewrote and combined the two songs for their latest album. BLUE truly sounds like three songs in one, and it is incredibly satisfying.

There are so many great compositions that are built like several songs in one (Bohemian Rhapsody anyone?) I could wax on and on. But I am going to leave you with an exquisite example of a production team (Xenomania, who deserve their own deep-dive) that did this fantastically well, teaming up with a certain girl band, to create pop perfection. They did so by ignoring the classic form of almost every pop song in history, and very few pop songs beat the chaotic yet wonderful magic of Biology.

“I do not walk away in the face of adversity and never have.” - Stevie Nicks

Yeah but the original is better.

Get It On (1971) is a song by T. Rex, written by frontman Marc Bolan and born from a brainstorming session around drumming patterns. There isn’t much more I can say about this one, alright? It’s a classic.

Now, what many may not remember (or know, I honestly had no idea about this), The Power Station were a supergroup originally formed in 1984. It’s line-up included former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, Duran Duran members John Taylor (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar), and on lead vocals… Robert Palmer. And they covered the T.Rex classic.

Yes, the classic is a classic for many reasons. However, on this version, especially this live rendition, and when the chorus hits, has the power of Palmer’s vocals, and I’m a sucker for that guy… since I discovered him as a wee music nerd.

Gimme, gimme more.

• I have little more to say, other than a MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone reading and sharing my newsletter for the last couple of… years now? I really should keep count, but I love doing this so much it feels like I started doing this just yesterday.

• My next DJ gig is a daytime recovery mix of r&B, hip-hop and female-centric pop, on January 1st, in central Brighton. More info here.

  

Here’s to a healthy and happy 2025 to you and your loved ones. Keep applying that SPF. Stay hydrated, listen to some good music… and while you’re at it, make a fellow music nerd happy by introducing them to Music Nerdery.

Until the next newsletter…

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