Agnetha Fältskog (album)
Agnetha Fältskog is the debut studio album by Swedish pop singer and future ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog. It was released in Sweden in early 1968 through Cupol Records.
| Agnetha Fältskog | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 1968 | |||
| Recorded | October 1967 – 1968 | |||
| Studio | Philips Studio, Stockholm | |||
| Genre | Schlager | |||
| Length | 33:29 | |||
| Label | Cupol (CLP 64) | |||
| Producer | Karl Gerhard Lundkvist | |||
| Agnetha Fältskog chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Agnetha Fältskog | ||||
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Album information
Fältskog had been singing with the local Swedish "dansband" Bengt Engharts in Jönköping for quite a while when the group decided to send a tape of demos to Cupol Records in autumn of 1967. Singer, producer and A & R man Little Gerhard (né Karl-Gerhard Lundqvist) listened to the tape which included Fältskog's song "Jag var så kär". Lundqvist was so impressed with the song and Fältskog's voice that he called her at the car firm where she was working at the time and offered her a recording contract, only as a solo singer, without the band.
Eventually, Fältskog's first recording session took place on 16 October 1967, at Philips Studio in Stockholm. This recording session produced four songs, which would all end up on her first album: "Jag var så kär" and "Utan dej mitt liv går vidare" (both composed by Agnetha herself) as well as "Följ med mig" and "Slutet gott, allting gott". "Jag var så kär" and "Följ med mig" were eventually be released as Fältskog's debut single (CUPOL CS 45-211) in November 1967, the latter up-tempo track being its A-side. But it was Fältskog's self-penned tear-jerker "Jag var så kär" which became her first entry and also number three on the all-important radio chart Svensktoppen in January 1968. After this success and with selling more than 80,000 copies, the single topped Sweden's official sales chart at that time, Kvällstoppen. After the following success of the tracks "Utan dej mitt liv går vidare", "Allting har förändrat sig", "Den jag väntat på" and "Snövit och de sju dvärgarna", most of them composed by Fältskog herself, Cupol released her debut album in the spring of 1968, containing all tracks previously issued on these singles as well as a few new recordings.
She wrote "Försonade" and submitted it to Melodifestivalen (Swedish Eurovision heat) for singer Gunnar Wiklund, but it was rejected. The song could also recently be heard in the film Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) in the scene where Eli plays it on a tape recorder for Oskar.
The album has since been re-issued both on CD and iTunes.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Title (English translation) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jag var så kär" | Agnetha Fältskog | Agnetha Fältskog | I Was So in Love | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Jag har förlorat dej" | Agnetha Fältskog | Dieter Zimmermann | I Have Lost You | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Utan dej mitt liv går vidare" | Agnetha Fältskog | Agnetha Fältskog | My Life Goes on Without You | 2:49 |
| 4. | "Allting har förändrat sej" | Karl Gerhard Lundkvist | Karl Gerhard Lundkvist | Everything Has Changed | 3:09 |
| 5. | "Försonade" | Agnetha Fältskog | Agnetha Fältskog | Reconciled | 2:56 |
| 6. | "Slutet gott, allting gott" (Swedish version of "Honey Stuff") | Stig Anderson | Ben Wilson, Judy Lynn, Lynn Wilson | All's Well That Ends Well | 1:43 |
| Total length: | 17:25 | ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Title (English translation) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tack Sverige" | Agnetha Fältskog | Dieter Zimmermann | Thank You, Sweden | 3:00 |
| 2. | "En sommar med dej" | Ingvar Fältskog | Ingvar Fältskog | A Summer with You | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Snövit och de sju dvärgarna" | Agnetha Fältskog | Dieter Zimmermann | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | 3:07 |
| 4. | "Min farbror Jonathan" | Agnetha Fältskog | Dieter Zimmermann | My Uncle Jonathan | 2:31 |
| 5. | "Följ med mig" (Swedish version of "Hello Love") | Agnetha Fältskog | Mark Anthony | Follow Me | 1:35 |
| 6. | "Den jag väntat på" (Swedish version of "Your Love Is Everywhere") | Agnetha Fältskog | Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent | The One I Waited For | 2:24 |
| Total length: | 16:02 | ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Title (English translation) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Sjung denna sång" (med Jörgen Edman; Swedish version of "Sing C'est La Vie") | Agnetha Fältskog | Sonny Bono, Charles Greene, Brian Stone | Sing This Song | 2:40 |
| 14. | "Någonting händer med mig" (med Jörgen Edman; Swedish version of "Something Happened to Me") | Bo-Göran Edling | Alan Moorehouse | Something's Happening with Me | 2:35 |
| 15. | "Borsta tandrollen bort" | Agnetha Fältskog | Agnetha Fältskog | Brush the Tooth-Trolls Away | 1:52 |
Singles
Out of the 12 tracks recorded for Agnetha Fältskog's debut studio album, a total of ten songs were released as either single a-side or b-side in 1967 and 1968. Only two of them charted on the official Swedish sales chart at that time, Kvällstoppen. Also included in the following list is Agnetha's duet single with Jörgen Edman, which was released in 1968 but did not appear on the original album.
| Release date | A-side | B-side | Label number | Swedish charts peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 1967 | Följ med mig (Follow me) | Jag var så kär (I was so in love) | CS 211 | |
| March 1968 | Slutet gott, allting gott (Well that ends well) | Utan dej mitt liv går vidare (Without you my life goes on) | CS 217 | |
| 1968 | En sommar med dig (A summer with you) | Försonade (Reconciled) | CS 233 | |
| August 1968 | Den jag väntat på (The I waited for) | Allting har förändrat sig (Everything has changed) | CS 236 | |
| 1968 | Sjung denna sång (Sing This Song) (with Jörgen Edman) | Nånting händer med mig (Something happens to me) (with Jörgen Edman) | CS 239 | |
| 1968 | Snövit och de sju dvärgarna (Snow white and the seven dwarfs) | Min farbror Jonathan (My uncle Jonathan) | CS 244 |
Svensktoppen
Throughout her pre-ABBA solo career, Fältskog's success was mostly visible by looking at her entries in the famous Swedish Svensktoppen chart. This chart is not based on sales figures but compiled by a jury instead. A total of five songs of hers made that hitlist in 1968. It is interesting to mention that mostly her B-sides eventually made the Svensktoppen top 10.[1]
| Chart entry | Title | Peak position | Time in (weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 January 1968 | Jag var så kär (I was so in love) | ||
| 31 March 1968 | Utan dej mitt liv går vidare (Without you my life goes on) | ||
| 15 September 1968 | Den jag väntat på (The one I waited for) | ||
| 22 September 1968 | Allting har förändrat sig (Everything has changed) | ||
| 1 December 1968 | Nånting händer med mig (Something happens to me) (with Jörgen Edman) |
Sources
- booklet, Agnetha Fältskog: Agnetha Fältskog De Första Åren
- Bright Lights Dark Shadows – The Real Story of ABBA by Carl Magnus Palm
References
- Svensktoppen archiv. http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2023&artikel=454888. Retrieved on 19 May 2011.