The Visitors (ABBA album)

The Visitors
Studio album by ABBA
Released November 30, 1981
Recorded March 16 – November 14, 1981
Polar Music Studios
Length 37:39 (Swedish original release)
Label Polar
Epic (UK)
Atlantic Records (US original release)
Producer Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA chronology
Super Trouper
(1980)		 The Visitors
(1981)		 The Singles: The First Ten Years
(1982)
Alternative cover
2001/2012 re-issue. The cover uses a slightly different picture, has been color-corrected and the group's logo and the album name have been enlarged and centered.
Singles from The Visitors
  1. "Slipping Through My Fingers"
    Released: June 1981
  2. "One of Us"
    Released: 7 December 1981
  3. "When All Is Said and Done"
    Released: 31 December 1981
  4. "No Hay A Quien Culpar/Se Me Esta Escapando"
    Released: 1981
  5. "Head over Heels"
    Released: 19 March 1982
  6. "The Visitors"
    Released: April 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Pitchfork Media(8.6/10)[2]

The Visitors is the eighth and final studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on 30 November 1981.

With The Visitors, ABBA took several steps away from the "lighter" pop music they had recorded previously and the album is often regarded as a more complex and mature effort.[3] The opening track, "The Visitors", with its ominous synthesizer sounds and the distinctive lead vocal by Frida, announced a change in musical style. With Benny and Frida going their separate ways, the pain of splitting up was explored yet again in "When All Is Said and Done". The major hit single on the album, "One of Us" also depicted the end of a love story. Elsewhere there were current Cold War themes—highly topical at the time—and further songs of isolation and regret.

The Visitors was one of the first records ever to be recorded and mixed digitally, and was the first in history to be released on the new CD format in 1982 on Atlantic.[4] The Visitors has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times—first in 1996, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set.

The Visitors Deluxe Edition was released on 23 April 2012. As with previous releases in the Deluxe Edition series, this version of ABBA’s final album offers a DVD of archive material along with CD bonus tracks – including the demo medley "From a Twinkling Star to a Passing Angel", the first previously-unreleased ABBA recordings since 1994.[5]

Recording and release

Following the upcoming divorce of Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, recording began on what was to become ABBA's final studio album on 16 March 1981.[6] Only one month had passed since the announcement of their separation when the group entered the studio.

The members of ABBA and their personnel have memories of the recording sessions for this album being rather difficult. To begin with, their sound engineer Michael Tretow had to become accustomed to using the new 32-track digital recorder that had been purchased for Polar Music Studios. He said, "Digital recording...cut out all the hiss, but it also meant that sounds were sharply cut off below a certain level. The sound simply became too clean, so I had to find ways of compensating for that." The first three tracks for the album had already been recorded using analogue tape and therefore Tretow had to transfer all subsequent tracks from digital to analogue and back again to avoid a difference in quality.[7]

Ulvaeus also mentioned in retrospect that the recording sessions were troubled. "It could be frosty sometimes," he acknowledged in an interview. Lyngstad also commented that they were beginning to tire of working together.[8]

On its release, The Visitors reached the top of the charts in a number of territories but was not as successful as their previous albums.[9]

Album cover

The studio of Julius Kronberg at Skansen in Stockholm.

Rune Söderqvist designed the cover and photographed the group in a room containing Julius Kronberg's painting of Eros. The room is the Atelje Studio in Skansen Park, Stockholm. The group are positioned apart and appear to be waiting solemnly in the shadows.[10][11]

Track listing[12]

All songs written and composed by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus.

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "The Visitors"   5:49
2. "Head over Heels"   3:45
3. "When All Is Said and Done"   3:20
4. "Soldiers"   4:38
Side Two
No. Title Length
1. "I Let the Music Speak"   5:20
2. "One of Us"   3:55
3. "Two for the Price of One"   3:36
4. "Slipping Through My Fingers"   3:51
5. "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room"   3:25
Total length:
 37:39

CD version

No. Title Length
1. "The Visitors"   5:47
2. "Head over Heels"   3:49
3. "When All Is Said and Done"   3:19
4. "Soldiers"   4:41
5. "I Let the Music Speak"   5:21
6. "One of Us"   3:57
7. "Two for the Price of One"   3:38
8. "Slipping Through My Fingers"   3:54
9. "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room"   3:40
Total length:
 38:06

CD re-issues, bonus tracks

The Visitors album was remastered in 1996 and released with four bonus tracks:

  1. "Should I Laugh or Cry"
  2. "The Day Before You Came"
  3. "Under Attack"
  4. "You Owe Me One"
    • B-side to "Under Attack" single

In 2001, a new remastered edition was released with four different bonus tracks:

  1. "Should I Laugh or Cry"
  2. "The Day Before You Came"
  3. "Cassandra"
    • B-side to "The Day Before You Came" single
  4. "Under Attack"

In 2005, a third remastered version was released as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set, with bonus tracks

  1. "Should I Laugh or Cry"
    • Version with a brief count-in
  2. "No hay a quien culpar"
    • Spanish version of "When All Is Said and Done"
  3. "Se me está escapando"
  4. "The Day Before You Came"
  5. "Cassandra"
  6. "Under Attack"
  7. "You Owe Me One"

The Visitors was reissued once again in 2008 as part of the The Albums box set but without any bonus tracks.

The Visitors was released as a Deluxe Edition on 23 April 2012. As with previous releases in the Deluxe Edition series, this version of ABBA's final album offered a DVD of archive material along with a CD featuring the original album (although a different mix of "Head Over Heels" was used) and bonus tracks; one of the bonus tracks included was the demo medley "From a Twinkling Star to a Passing Angel", the first previously unreleased ABBA recordings since 1994.[5]

Bonus Tracks:
No. Title Length
10. "Should I Laugh or Cry" (Version with a brief count-in)  
11. "I Am the City"    
12. "You Owe Me One"    
13. "Cassandra"    
14. "Under Attack"    
15. "The Day Before You Came"    
Extra Bonus Track:
No. Title Length
16. "From a Twinkling Star to a Passing Angel" (Demos)  

DVD:

  1. "Two for the Price of One" (Dick Cavett Meets ABBA)
  2. "Slipping Through My Fingers" (Dick Cavett Meets ABBA)
  3. "When All Is Said and Done" (original promotional video)
  4. ABBA in London, November 1982 (The Late Late Breakfast Show, BBC)
  5. ABBA in Stockholm, November 1982 (Nöjesmaskinen, SVT)
  6. The Visitors (TV commercial #1 - UK)
  7. The Visitors (TV commercial #2 - Australia)
  8. The Singles: The First Ten Years (TV commercial #1 - UK)
  9. The Singles: The First Ten Years (TV commercial #2 - Australia)
  10. International Sleeve Gallery

Tracks 1–10 & 16 digitally recorded and mixed 16 March – 14 November 1981 at Polar Music Studios, Stockholm, Sweden.
Tracks 11–15 digitally recorded and mixed 3 May – 26 August 1982 at Polar Music Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; scheduled for ninth studio album, which was ultimately not completed.

Reviews of 2012 deluxe edition

Pitchfork Media gave it an 8.6 grade, saying "even as the band's commercial star faded and its professional relationships quietly unravelled, they were perfectionists. ABBA's music on The Visitors is more pristine and ambitious than it had ever been, its themes darker, its personal politics more tangled."[13]

The Arts Desk: "The Visitors is not their best, but it is their most interesting [album], pointing to where Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson would go next."[14]

Singles

  1. "One of Us"/"Should I Laugh or Cry" (December 1981)
  2. "When All is Said and Done"/"Soldiers" (December 1981)
  3. "Head over Heels"/"The Visitors" (February 1982)
  4. "The Visitors" (single edit)/"Head Over Heels" (March 1982)

Personnel

ABBA

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Position
UK Albums Chart[31] 17
Chart (1982) Position
French Albums Chart[32] 94
Canadian Albums Chart[33] 73
Austrian Albums Chart[34] 14
Italian Albums Chart[20] 81
UK Albums Chart[31] 50

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[35] diamond 66,439[35]
Germany (BVMI)[36] Platinum 500,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[37] Gold 10,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts) 128,000[21]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[38] Gold 50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] Platinum 300,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "The Visitors". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  2. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  3. ↑ allmusic ((( The Visitors > Overview )))
  4. ↑ "Philips celebrates 25th anniversary of the Compact Disc". Newscenter.philips.com. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  5. 1 2 ABBA – The Official Site
  6. ↑ Magnus Palm, C: "ABBA The Complete Recording sessions", page 106. Century 22 Ltd, 1994
  7. ↑ Magnus Palm, C: "ABBA The Complete Recording sessions", page 109. Century 22 Ltd, 1994
  8. ↑ Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 444. Omnibus Press, 2001
  9. ↑ Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 446. Omnibus Press, 2001
  10. ↑ Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 445. Omnibus Press, 2001
  11. ↑ 1981 ABBA-THE VISITORS
  12. ↑ http://www.abbasite.com/discography/album/the-visitors/
  13. ↑ ABBA The Visitors [Deluxe Edition]
  14. ↑ Reissue CDs Weekly: Carole King, Abba, Sheena Easton
  15. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. 1 2 "austriancharts.at ABBA - The Visitors" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "RPM: Top Albums/CDs". RPM Canada. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  18. 1 2 "dutchcharts.nl ABBA - The Visitors" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : ABBA". infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  20. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1982" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  21. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  22. ↑ "charts.org.nz ABBA - The Visitors" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  23. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com ABBA - The Visitors" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  24. 1 2 "swedishcharts.com ABBA - The Visitors" (ASP). Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  25. ↑ "Number 1 Albums – 1980s". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  26. ↑ "allmusic ((( The Visitors > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  27. 1 2 "Album Search: ABBA - The Visitors" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  28. ↑ "ultratop.be Scatman John – ABBA – The Visitors" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  29. ↑ "ABBA – The Visitors – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Chart Stats – ABBA – The Visitors" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  31. 1 2 "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  32. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1982 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  33. ↑ "Top 100 Albums '82". RPM. 25 December 1982. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  34. ↑ "Austriancharts.st - Jahreshitparade 1982" (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  35. 1 2 "Abba" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  36. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (ABBA; 'The Visitors')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  37. ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1983". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  38. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  39. ↑ "British album certifications – ABBA – The Visitors". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 March 2013. Enter The Visitors in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
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