''Something's Going On'' is the third solo album by Swedish singer
Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), one of the founding members of the Swedish pop group
ABBA, and her first album recorded entirely in English. Her previous two albums had been recorded in Swedish. Recorded in early 1982 during the final months of ABBA, the album was released in September of that same year.
Produced by
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
with
Hugh Padgham, the album featured a harder-edged and more rock-oriented sound than the music she had previously recorded with ABBA, and it included Collins' distinctive
gated reverb drum sound. The album was met with a positive reception by both critics and the public, with sales in excess of 1.5 million copies, making it the best-selling solo record of any of the ABBA members to date. The album has since been re-released several times, including a 2005 remastered version that contained several bonus tracks. Promotional videos from the album are included in the DVD documentary titled ''
Frida – The DVD''.
History
In 1982, Frida felt it was time to record a solo album again, this time in English and aimed at the international market. ABBA were spending less and less time together. Going through her divorce from fellow band member
Benny Andersson, Frida had heard Phil Collins' "
In the Air Tonight", and then "listened to the album (''
Face Value
The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority.
The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Howe ...
'') non-stop for eight months". As Collins himself put it in a TV interview: "Frida and I had something in common as far as our divorces were concerned. We were both the injured party."
Polar Music approached Collins, asking if he would be interested in producing Frida's new solo album. He accepted the offer, thus making this his second album to be recorded in the
Polar Studios, the first being
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
' ''
Duke'' (1980).
Polar Music sent out invitations to publishing companies around the world, announcing Frida's plans and asking for songs suitable for the project. The response was overwhelming; more than 500 songs came into the Polar Music offices in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
(who submitted a song called "I Turn Around") was one of the many who had their work rejected. Among the composers who made it to the album's final track list were
Bryan Ferry,
Stephen Bishop,
Rod Argent and
Russ Ballard. The
Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
/
Pete Bellotte composition "To Turn the Stone" was originally written for
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...
's 1981 album ''
I'm a Rainbow'' – a double set for
Geffen Records which for various reasons would remain in the archives until 1996. Frida also asked
Per Gessle, later of
Roxette
Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second a ...
, to set
Dorothy Parker's bittersweet poem "Threnody" to music. A re-interpretation of the ''Face Value'' track "You Know What I Mean" – a song especially close to her heart, both musically and lyrically – was also included. The song "Here We'll Stay" had previously been recorded and performed by singer Sonia Jones for the UK pre-selection for the 1980
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. On the album, it was recorded as a duet with Phil Collins, although he wasn't credited. When it was decided to release the song as a single in 1983, Frida re-recorded the song as a solo version.
Recording
Recording began in the Polar Studios,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, on 15 February 1982 and continued until 31 March.
Earth Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...
's horn players (the
Phenix Horns) – also an important part of the ''Face Value'' album – came to Stockholm for a two-day visit. Strings, orchestra, and harp were later recorded at
George Martin's
Air Studios in London in the attendance of both Martin and
Paul McCartney. Produced at a time when most commercial recordings used only analog technology, the album was one of the few to be both digitally recorded and mixed.
At the time of recording ''Something's Going On'' Frida had wanted to distance herself from the "typical ABBA pop sound" (according to Lyngstad herself). She wanted to break away from being associated with the group and make a fresh start both as an artist and as an individual. The new songs, musicians and producer gave Frida a new identity. Collins' production and especially his
gated drum sound heard throughout the album, as well as the rough and raw guitar riffs of the lead single "I Know There's Something Going On", contrasted with the sound of an ABBA record. All backing vocals were sung by Frida and Collins. The album closes with their duet "Here We'll Stay".
Swedish Television,
SVT, documented the whole recording process from the first day in the studio to the release party after the album's completion. The resulting footage became a one-hour TV-special which included interviews with Frida and Phil Collins, Björn & Benny from ABBA, as well as all the musicians on the album. It was directed by Stuart Orme and executive produced by Phil Collins' manager,
Tony Smith. This documentary is included in ''
Frida – The DVD''.
Promotion and reception
In the fall of 1982, Frida unveiled the results of these recording sessions by releasing the single and video "
I Know There's Something Going On". An extensive promotion tour of Europe and the United States followed. Frida performed both the single and other songs from the album on major TV-channels throughout Europe.
The album received positive reviews by critics. ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' wrote: "ABBA's auburn-haired songstress makes a bold solo-project a stunning success", whilst Mark Coleman described the album in the third edition of ''
The Rolling Stone Album Guide'' as a "sharp, rock-oriented, delightfully eclectic album".
Audiences around the world also accepted the new, rockier sound and both the album and its lead single soon started climbing the charts; ''Something's Going On'' reached No. 1 in Sweden and was a Top 10 success in several other European countries. It was also a Top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 18. With sales in excess of 1.5 million copies worldwide, ''Something's Going On'' is the best-selling solo album of any of the ABBA members to date.
The single "I Know There's Something Going On" reached No. 1 in Belgium and Switzerland, and was a Top 10 hit throughout most of Europe, as well as in Australia and South Africa (peaking at No. 5 in both countries). It also proved a success in the United States, reaching No. 13 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 9 on ''
Radio & Records
''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' airplay, with the track's video being heavily promoted on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. The song was the 20th biggest-selling single in the US for 1983.
In all, "I Know There's Something Going On" sold some 3.5 million copies worldwide.
Track listing
Side one:
#"Tell Me It's Over" (
Stephen Bishop) – 2:52
#"
I See Red" (Jim Rafferty) – 4:33
#"I Got Something" (
Tomas Ledin) – 4:04
#"Strangers" (Jayne Bradbury, Dave Morris) – 4:06
#"To Turn the Stone" (
Pete Bellotte,
Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
) – 5:26
Side two:
#"
I Know There's Something Going On" (
Russ Ballard) – 5:29
#"Threnody" (
Per Gessle,
Dorothy Parker) – 4:17
#"Baby Don't You Cry No More" (
Rod Argent) – 3:02
#"The Way You Do" (
Bryan Ferry) – 3:38
#"You Know What I Mean" (
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
) – 2:37
#"Here We'll Stay" (duet with Phil Collins) (Tony Colton,
Jean Roussel) – 4:03
2005 remaster bonus tracks
Personnel
*
Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals, backing vocals
*
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
– drums, backing vocals, percussion
*
J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, horn arrangements, string arrangements
*
Daryl Stuermer – guitar
*
Mo Foster – bass guitar
*
The Phenix Horns
, originally known as the EWF Horns, were the main horn section for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. The horn section were composed of Don Myrick on saxophone, Louis "Lui Lui" Satterfield on trombone, Rahmlee Michael Davis on trumpet, and Michael ...
:
** Don Myrick – saxophone
** Michael Harris – trumpet
** Rahmlee Michael Davis – trumpet
** Louis Satterfield – trombone
*
Skaila Kanga
Skaila Kanga (born in India) is a harpist and Professor Emerita of Harp at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After winning a Junior Exhibition to the Royal Academy of Music for piano, she switched to harp studies at age 17. She studied wit ...
– harp
* The Martyn Ford Orchestra – strings
* Martyn Ford – conductor
*
Gavyn Wright
Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...
– concertmaster
Production
* Phil Collins –
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
*
Hugh Padgham –
sound engineer, assistant producer
* Hans Gunnar "Paris" Edvinsson – assistant engineer
* Digitally recorded and mixed at Polar Music Studios (Stockholm, Sweden).
* Strings and harp recorded at
AIR Studios (London, England).
* Henrik Jonsson – mastering (2005 remaster)
* Leif Mases – mastering (1982 issue)
* Yves Poyet – cover illustration
* Anders Hanser – photography
* Dick Nilson – album design
* Thomas Johansson – album coordinator
*
Stig Anderson – executive producer
Charts and certifications
Charts
Certifications
References
Works cited
*
Carl Magnus Palm: ''Bright Lights – Dark Shadows'', Omnibus Press UK 2001,
*
Carl Magnus Palm: ''ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions'', Century 22 Limited UK, 1994.
*TV documentary: ''Frida – Something's Going On'', SVT 1982. Included on ''Frida – The DVD'', Universal Music 2005.
{{Authority control
1982 albums
Anni-Frid Lyngstad albums
Albums produced by Phil Collins
albums produced by Hugh Padgham
Albums recorded at Polar Studios
Polar Music albums
Atlantic Records albums
Epic Records albums