I Let the Music Speak
"I Let the Music Speak" | |
---|---|
Song by ABBA | |
from the album The Visitors | |
Released | November 30, 1981 (1981-11-30) |
Length | 5:20 |
Songwriter(s) | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus |
Producer(s) | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus |
Audio | |
"I Let The Music Speak" on YouTube | |
"I Let the Music Speak" is a song by ABBA, featured as the first track to side two of their 1981 album The Visitors. It is the fifth-longest ABBA track, after "Eagle", "The Day Before You Came", "The Visitors", and "Chiquitita".[1]
Synopsis
Billboard said the song "is the singer's personal acknowledgement of the wondrous transcendental power and sweep of music".[2] Abba - Uncensored on the Record says the song "suggest[s] that after all the good times and bad times, music will never let you down".[3]
Composition
The song opens with a "rolling and wishful piano figure", and includes a "warm synth string ensemble", focusing on the alto and tenor sections. The woodwind filigree is courtesy of flautist Jan Kling. The song also has an acoustic guitar starting in the second verse, which blend with Benny's grand piano, which is the "leading voice in the rousing musings of the chorus". The melodic design is quite angular - following the recitative medium. Frida's main vocals are assisted by Agnetha's "pouncing falsetto grabs" prior to the chorus.[4]
Critical reception
Abba - Uncensored on the Record notes the song has a "theatrical presentation" and doesn't sound like a pop song.[3] The song was listed among 4 others as one of the "best cuts" of the album The Visitors.[5] Managing Information, Volume 7, Issues 6-10 explains "Songs such as I Let the Music Speak', and the album's title-track [The Visitors] were a major break from their traditional style."[6] ABBA:Let the music speak describes the song as a "thespian ear-grabber" and "a rich tapestry of rhythmic contemplation, deftly easing from waltz to march time and back again".[7]
Legacy
Benny and Bjorn explained that "I Let the Music Speak" was an early example of their foray into musicals: "Songs like "Thank You for the Music" or "I Let the Music Speak" had a theatrical quality. You could see "Chess" as a development from what we did with Abba".[8]
I Let The Music Speak has lent its name to various media, including a 12-song album tribute to the songs of Benny and Bjorn by Anne Sofie von Otter,[9] and also a book about ABBA entitled ABBA: Let The Music Speak.[10]
The opening line "I'm hearing images, I'm seeing songs, no poet has ever painted" was included as the quote at the beginning of the chapter entitled "'I let the music speak': cross domain application for a cognitive model of musical learning'".[11]
Notable covers include:
- "Is 't zo bedoeld", Dutch version by Bonnie & José on their album Herinnering (1985)
- "I Let the Music Speak" by Anne Sofie von Otter on her album of the same name (2006)
- Instrumental version included in the movie Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
References
- ^ Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. pp. 79–80. ISBN 9780646496764.
{{cite book}}
:|first=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1982-02-13). "Billboard".
{{cite journal}}
:|last1=
has generic name (help); Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b Tobler, John (2012-01-04). Abba - Uncensored on the Record. ISBN 9781908538239.
- ^ Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 80. ISBN 9780646496764.
{{cite book}}
:|first=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1981-12-12). "Billboard".
{{cite journal}}
:|last1=
has generic name (help); Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Managing Information". 2000.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 79. ISBN 9780646496764.
{{cite book}}
:|first=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Benny and Björn talk influences". Archived from the original on January 6, 2010.
- ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (2006-09-30). "Billboard".
{{cite journal}}
:|last1=
has generic name (help); Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. ISBN 9780646496764.
{{cite book}}
:|first=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rebuschat, Patrick; Williams, John (2011-01-01). Statistical Learning and Language Acquisition. ISBN 9781934078242.
- v
- t
- e
- Discography
- Unreleased songs
- "People Need Love"
- "He Is Your Brother"
- "Ring Ring"
- "Another Town, Another Train"
- "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)"
- "Rock'n Roll Band"
- "Nina, Pretty Ballerina"
- "Disillusion"
- "I Saw It in the Mirror"
- "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother"
- "She's My Kind of Girl"
- "Waterloo"
- "King Kong Song"
- "Hasta Mañana"
- "My Mama Said"
- "Honey, Honey"
- "What About Livingstone?"
- "Mamma Mia"
- "Hey, Hey Helen"
- "SOS"
- "Bang-A-Boomerang"
- "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"
- "Rock Me"
- "Intermezzo No. 1"
- "I've Been Waiting for You"
- "So Long"
- "Fernando"
- "When I Kissed the Teacher"
- "Dancing Queen"
- "My Love, My Life"
- "Dum Dum Diddle"
- "Knowing Me, Knowing You"
- "Money, Money, Money"
- "That's Me"
- "Why Did It Have to Be Me?"
- "Tiger"
- "Arrival"
- "Eagle"
- "Take a Chance on Me"
- "One Man, One Woman"
- "The Name of the Game"
- "Move On"
- "Hole in Your Soul"
- "Thank You for the Music"
- "I Wonder (Departure)"
- "I'm a Marionette"
- "As Good as New"
- "Voulez-Vous"
- "I Have a Dream"
- "Angeleyes"
- "The King Has Lost His Crown"
- "Does Your Mother Know"
- "If It Wasn't for the Nights"
- "Chiquitita"
- "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)"
- "Kisses of Fire"
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
- "Summer Night City"
- "Super Trouper"
- "The Winner Takes It All"
- "On and On and On"
- "Andante, Andante"
- "Me and I"
- "Happy New Year"
- "Our Last Summer"
- "The Piper"
- "Lay All Your Love on Me"
- "The Visitors"
- "Head over Heels"
- "When All Is Said and Done"
- "Soldiers"
- "I Let the Music Speak"
- "One of Us"
- "Two for the Price of One"
- "Slipping Through My Fingers"
- "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room"
The First Ten Years
- "I Still Have Faith in You"
- "Don't Shut Me Down"
- "Just a Notion"
- "Little Things"
- "Merry-Go-Round"
- "Elaine"
- "Put on Your White Sombrero"
- "Should I Laugh or Cry"
- "You Owe Me One"
- Category