ABBA: giants among pygmies

Is pop music for grown-ups?

It depends.

Most pop – 95%? - isn’t: it's too trite, too shallow, too dumb. Disposable. Entertainment, not art. Shake yer ass. Sing along. But forget in five minutes.

Some pop IS music for grown-ups. None more so than the great ABBA songbook – a couple of dozen beautifully crafted songs, perfectly executed - unique harmonies, especially the two girls, one mezzo, one soprano; suitably outstanding production.

OK, at their peak, ABBA looked cheesy. Serious music buffs scoffed. Not any more – a quarter of a century on, their music sounds better than ever. It appeals to anyone with the ability to smile.

Last night’s ITV profile, in which supreme ABBA videos and revealing interviews with the quartet were foolishly inter-cut with superfluous talking heads, was a perfect example of great music transcending its milieu.

ABBA were giants among pygmies: most pop music is lightweight trash; ABBA rose above it to produce transcendant music.



Gerry Smith