Rock'n Roll Band is the first ABBA song officially intended to be on Bjorn, Benny, Agentha, and Frida's first album together, however this song wasn't originally released as an ABBA song.
Released in November in 1972 as a b-side, Bjorn and Benny first began recording this song in August. This first version of the song is similar enough to ABBA's version, which was released in March, 1973, with a few differences. When comparing the two, there are less instruments in the Bjorn and Benny version, Agnetha and Frida don't appear in the song at all, and there is an extra line in between each verse and chorus; "Rock 'n' roll music makes me dizzy" and "Rock'n' roll music makes you happy".
Bjorn and Benny's version still has quite a rocky feel, and is really good on it's own. But I think it's safe to say that when the song was converted into an ABBA song, it was elevated to a whole new level. The electric guitar alone, I'd presume played by Janne Schaffer, really adds so much to the intro. And then Agnetha and Frida's backing vocals, from the "She was" and "Oh yeah"s in the verses, and their harmonies in the chorus really emphasize that early ABBA sound.
Bjorn has always been extremely good at crafting a setting in his lyrics, and just the first line of the first verse alone helps you to picture the scene. "Sitting in the darkest corner in the candlelight I saw her face, she was looking so sad and lonely," sets the tone and mood of the song so perfectly, like I can already imagine what it looks like, and where the main character of the song is.
While both versions of these songs are great in their own ways, the LIVE recording from ABBA's 1975 our is absolutely out of this world.
The studio version of the song is sang by Bjorn and Benny on lead vocals, however Frida takes the lead on the live version. While we only have one bootleg recording of this song from ABBA's concert in Eskilstuna, Frida's energy level is still captured well and she really makes the song her own. For the live version, Bjorn and Benny made some changes to the lyrics to be from a female perspective rather than a male, however I still can't really decipher what Frida sings. Regardless, this live version is really epic, and proves how amazing a singer Frida is.
All three known versions of this song are amazing in their own right and deserve a good listen. :)
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