99. Bumblebee (Voyage 2021)


My first meeting with this song was on the same November 2021 morning as I heard for the first time the seven new songs released on the Abba Voyage album (in addition to the three tracks already released on singles). I was expecting something wonderful, but by the time I heard Bumblebee I had already felt the gloom of not getting what I had been expecting. This disappointment has coloured my attitude to this beautiful song ever since, but I have now tried to have another listen to Anni-Frid Lyngstad's vocals, Benny Andersson's keyboards and backing vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and, I presume, Björn Ulvaeus to find something in this song that I hadn't heard before.


During the four years of its existence I've categorized Bumblebee among other songs on Voyage that I think are "lost opportunities", "songs they should have worked on more" and songs "that lack a certain something to make them fulfilling Abba recordings". After trying to listen to the song now as if for the first time I agree with my earlier thoughts to some extent. 

The instrumental track of this song is dominated by the flute-like synthesizer melodies and keyboard pattern that sounds like a xylophone. Some acoustic guitar and marching drum pattern adds some less synthetic sound to the sound palette but the overall arrangement is still too sterile and dull to my liking. Already during the Abba years, but also in their later collaborative works, Benny and Björn had an excellent knack of turning a very normal song into something great by throwing musical curve balls to the arrangements. Bumblebee would have definitely needed these curve balls to make it an interesting song. It is beautiful but not engaging enough to make me care.

However, listening to Bumblebee now with an open mind and a pair of attentive ears made me notice and appreciate the vocal arrangement more than before. The background vocals have beautiful details that I think I haven't heard before, details that escape me when I am listening to this record in the car or in the background of my remote working day. 

Unfortunately these newly discovered vocal highlights are not enough to make me like this song as a whole. This recording on Abba's apparently last album would have needed more thought on how to make this song special instead of a beautiful but rather forgettable plea for the environment. Maybe a little less synths, a little more guitar, some edge in the arrangement and more backing vocals?

Pay attention to:
  • Backing vocals
  • Backing vocals again
Coming up... Lay All Your Love On Me


 

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