Rocktrospectiva: The Favorable And Consistent "Super Trouper" Turns 45

Released on 3 November 1980 "Super Trouper" was the 7th., studio album by Swedish pop band ABBA, a pop and pop/rock record that was the last album to be recorded while members Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson were married, as the two would divorce in 1981. The album's title is taken from the spotlight of the same name.The album spawned six singles "The Winner Takes It All", "Super Trouper", "On And On And On", "Happy New Year", "Andante Andante", & "Lay All Your Love On Me". Led by the international hit "The Winner Takes It All", Super Trouper was the group's sixth chart-topping album in the UK. It was also the best-selling album in Britain for 1980. 

In January 1980, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson went to Barbados to write songs for a new album, which resulted in five compositions. The first songs recorded for the album were "Andante, Andante", "Happy New Year" (originally intended as part of a never realised musical), and the backing track of the rockier "On and On and On". The sessions for the album was then interrupted by a short tour in Japan in March. Returning to the Polar Studios in Stockholm, the group then recorded and mixed the five tracks written, also including "The Piper" and "Elaine"  which would be released as a single b-side. 

Returning to the studio again in June with three new songs written to work on, including "The Winner Takes It All", which was released as the first single from the album in July would become a worldwide hit single, "Our Last Summer" and the country-flavoured "Burning My Bridges", which remains unreleased. After a summer holiday the group started the recording sessions again in September with yet another three new songs written, including "Me and I" and the electro-disco track "Lay All Your Love on Me". The third song in the September session was "Put On Your White Sombrero", which eventually was not included on the album. Having already decided that the album was going to be entitled Super Trouper, the group realised that they needed another track for the album to replace the ditched "Put On Your White Sombrero". Written in the studio as the last track for the album in October, the song fitted to become the title track and also a single.

Lyrically, many of the songs feature personal themes, most notably "The Winner Takes It All" which partly is about the break-up of Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog's marriage. "Our Last Summer" was based on a teenage romance Björn Ulvaeus had experienced in Paris in his youth. "The Piper" features an unusual lyric inspired by Stephen King's novel The Stand about the rise of a fascist-type leader. "Me and I" has another unusual lyric about conflicting sides in one's personality.

The previous year's divorce between Björn and Agnetha was a topic explored in "The Winner Takes It All", and the members' lives in Stockholm high society circles coloured the lyrics for "On and On and On". Other well-known songs on the album include the hit single title track "Super Trouper", as well as the electro-dance of "Lay All Your Love on Me". Probably due to the disco backlash at that time, the album saw ABBA returning to a more straightforward pop sound, as opposed to the preceding (and noticeably more dance-oriented) Voulez-Vous album. The album closed with "The Way Old Friends Do", which was recorded live a year earlier during their 1979 concert tour. Although not released as a single with this album, the song was later released as a single in 1992 to promote the compilation More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits.

Album cover designer, Rune Söderqvist, decided to use the spotlight theme and photograph the group, surrounded by circus performers, at Piccadilly Circus, London, but after failing to gain permission to base the shoot in central London, they instead invited the members of two local circuses to Europa Film Studios, Stockholm to take the photograph there.

The album received favorable reviews from music critics and noted that the album reflected the demise of disco music and returning to the pop/rock sound typical of their early albums, the group continued to create stunning pop music with remarkable consistency, another top quality collection of ballads and pop songs.

 

Super Trouper Track List: 

 

1. Super Trouper

2. The Winner Takes It All

3. On And On And On

4. Andante Andante

5. Me And I

6. Happy New Year

7. Our Last Summer

8. The Piper

9. Lay All Your Love On Me

10. The Way Old Friends Do (recorded live at the Wembley Arena in November 1979)