I Stand Alone (Agnetha Fältskog album)

Overview

Recorded in Los Angeles I Stand Alone was produced by Peter Cetera, the former singer and bass guitar player with American rock band Chicago. He duetted with Fältskog on the track "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)", (No.93 Billboard Hot 100 and No.19 Adult Contemporary in the U.S.) The co-producer of the album was Bruce Gaitsch, with whom Fältskog was in a relationship at the time.

The musical style of the album was very different from the European sounds of Faltskog's previous two albums, and reflected the West Coast American influences of the producers. The album became Sweden's best-selling LP of 1988, where it remained at No.1 for eight weeks. It also reached the Top 20 in Norway and Belgium, and No.22 in the Netherlands, but fared less well on charts elsewhere, only reaching No.47 in West Germany, No.72 in the United Kingdom, No.93 in Japan and No.96 in Australia.

Fältskog also made several promo videos for singles from the album, including "The Last Time" and "Let It Shine". When the third single, "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)", appeared on the U.S. Billboard Chart in April 1988, Warner Music asked her to make another video immediately. Although it was a duet with Peter Cetera, he did not appear in the video.

Album track "Love in a World Gone Mad" was a cover version of a song by British pop group Bucks Fizz, from their 1986 album Writing on the Wall.

For the cover of the album and promotional interviews, Fältskog appeared with a "new" spiky blonde hair look. Fältskog made a very rare trip on an airplane to Los Angeles to record the album. After it was completed, she didn't fly again for years due to her much-publicised fear of flying. She did, however, admit that the flight was worth it.

The album was picked as a "Lost Treasure" by The Smashing Pumpkins' front man Billy Corgan. "She's one of my favourite singers of all time," he explained. "It's rare that a singer can hit super-high up the register and sound really good. When I look at the pop world today, I wish we had an ABBA. They had that right combination of fun, beauty, not taking it too seriously, but being deadly in the studio. Everyone's so goddamn serious these days."

Track listing

Side One

1. "The Last Time" – 4:12 (Robin Randall, Judithe Randall, Jeff Law)
2. "Little White Secrets" – 4:04 (Ellen Schwartz, Roger Bruno, Susan Pomerantz)
3. "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)" – 4:10 (Mark Mueller, Aaron Zigman)
4. "Love in a World Gone Mad" – 4:08 (Billy Livsey, Pete Sinfield)
5. "Maybe It Was Magic" – 4:07 (Peter Brown, Pat Hurley)

Side Two

1. "Let It Shine" – 3:58 (Austin Roberts, Bill LaBounty, Beckie Foster)
2. "We Got a Way" – 3:50 (John Robinson, Franne Golde, Martin Walsh)
3. "I Stand Alone" – 4:48 (Peter Cetera, Bruce Gaitsch)
4. "Are You Gonna Throw It All Away" – 4:52 (Diane Warren, Albert Hammond)
5. "If You Need Somebody Tonight" – 3:32 (Diane Warren, Albert Hammond)

Production

Personnel