Recorded January–October 2012 Artist Agnetha Fältskog | Length 38:37 Release date 10 May 2013 | |
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Released 10 May 2013 (2013-05-10) Nominations World Music Award for World’s Best Album, Echo Award for Best International Rock/Pop Female Artist Similar | ||
Agnetha faltskog the complete album
A is the fifth English language studio album by Swedish recording artist Agnetha Fältskog, formerly a member of the group ABBA. It is her twelfth studio album overall.
Contents
- Agnetha faltskog the complete album
- thank you for supporting my new album agnetha
- Album information
- Song information
- Personal appearances
- Press and print media
- Internet and social media
- Reception
- Track listing
- Personnel
- Production crew
- Musicians
- Additional musicians
- Background vocals
- Certifications
- Songs
- References
A is Fältskog's first album since 2004's My Colouring Book, an album of cover versions of her favourite songs from the 1960s, and the first original material she has recorded since I Stand Alone in 1987. It also includes her first self-penned track in nearly 30 years, "I Keep Them On The Floor Beside My Bed" .
thank you for supporting my new album agnetha
Album information
As Fältskog was not an active recording artist at the time, the album happened in a roundabout way. "The project came about through a good friend of mine," she explained. "She called me up and told me that Jörgen Elofsson and Peter Nordahl wanted to play me some music. They came to my house and played me three songs and I thought, 'Oh my God, I have to do this'. It felt like a challenge."
Ten tracks were recorded for the album, all of which were written or co-written by Elofsson.
Song information
The lead single from the album is "When You Really Loved Someone", which was released worldwide on 11 March 2013 as a digital download, with a CD single following on 15 April. A video clip for the song was filmed in late 2012, with Max Fowler and Camilla Rowling co-starring with Fältskog. In Germany and Austria the lead single was "The One Who Loves You Now", also released on 11 March 2013.
The track "I Should've Followed You Home" is a duet recorded with Gary Barlow of the British group Take That. Both artists recorded their vocal parts separately, as Fältskog was on holiday at the time of Barlow's recording session. Nevertheless, Fältskog stated, "I think our voices work so well together." The song had its radio premiere on 21 April on a Dutch radio station.
"I Was a Flower" is a string-attached piano ballad, produced and performed in a theatrical way. On 22 April, the song was made available for download only through Amazon.
"I Keep Them on the Floor Beside My Bed" is the first track Fältskog has written herself that has been released since "I Won't Let You Go"—the lead single from her 1985 album Eyes of a Woman—and its B-side "You're There". Fältskog commented, "Jorgen kept saying 'You have to write a song for this record'. I hadn't written any music for a long, long time. But I sat at the piano and suddenly it was there. A friend of mine said a lovely thing: 'It's in your spine. Even if you feel tired, when it's time, it will be there'."
Other tracks on the album include the contemplative "Bubble", the disco "Dance Your Pain Away", the pop "Back on Your Radio", and the piano-led "Past Forever".
Personal appearances
Fältskog appeared on stage at G-A-Y in London on Saturday, 4 May 2013 to promote the album. Although she did not perform, ten fans had the chance to meet her backstage after the appearance. On 1 August 2013 she appeared on stage at Stockholm Gay Pride, where she was presented with her Gold record award for sales of the album in Sweden.
Press and print media
The May edition of UK gay publication Attitude magazine featured an extensive new interview with Fältskog. The German gay publication Exit also featured an interview in April. In the UK and Ireland The Big Issue featured Fältskog on the cover of their June edition along with an interview about her life.
Internet and social media
In order to promote the album and its singles, several social media web profiles for Fältskog were created, including pages on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Reception
The BBC called A a "tasteful and sumptuous" mid-tempo album. The disco song "Dance Your Pain Away" was marked as the only exception to the general tempo, its bassline reminiscent of ABBA's "Voulez-Vous". In a review of the album, The Times in Britain gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "A is a triumphant return to form by a woman presumed lost to music forever". Helen Brown awards the album 3 out of 5 stars in a review in the Telegraph. She describes the album as "as beautifully boring as ever".
Other news services, such as the German newspaper Die Zeit, highlight Agnetha's voice, which still sounds young and fresh and "like a young Agnetha would sound today".
The album has been certified with Gold and Platinum record awards two month after its release in Australia (35,000 copies), the UK (100,000 copies), Germany (100,000) and Sweden (50,000 copies). In 2015 after several returns to the various charts in different territories the album now has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
Track listing
Commentary for each track by Agnetha and producer Jörgen Elofsson was made available with the release of A on Spotify.
Personnel
Credits for A
Production crew
Musicians
Additional musicians
Background vocals
Certifications
Total worldwide sales at 1.1.2015 = 1 million copies sold
Songs
1The One Who Loves You Now3:30
2When You Really Loved Someone3:30
3Perfume In The Breeze3:32