102. Rock Me (Abba 1975)


My first ever encounter with this song was in 1979 when my sister and I got The Greatest Hits Volume 2 album for Christmas. I knew most of the songs on the album (the reason I wanted it for Christmas was the inclusion of Gimme Gimme Gimme, the song that made me an Abba fan), but Rock Me was the oddball track that didn't fit in. I still don't understand, even when thinking objectively, how it was considered one of the group's "Greatest Hits".


My reaction to this song now is very much the same as 46 years ago. Who is singing, and why is he/she/they singing the way they do? We know how sublime the combination of the voices of Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog can be, but in this song (and another song coming later) the unison in the opening chorus by Frida, Agnetha and Björn Ulvaeus (or at least that's what it sounds) is far from that. The contrast of that sound against the usually beautiful harmonies by the Abba members (even including the male voices) is like a slap in the face. Things don't get much better in the verses sung by Björn alone, with his pompous, rocky, raspy voice that just doesn't fit my apparently narrow view of the Abba sound. Luckily, towards the end of the song, the female voices bring more fresh air to an otherwise stuffy recording. Also, Benny Andersson's honky tonk piano lightens the mood.

On Abba's third album the group felt the pressure to find a hit formula but at the same time, they felt loose enough to make odd attempts in different styles. Since three of the five songs on the album's b-side can be found in the bottom ten positions of my Abba ranking, you can probably tell that I don't appreciate these attempts very much.

Pay attention to:

  • The female voices taking over from 2:05 onwards.
  • The honky tonk piano by Benny.
Coming up: Crazy World

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