Elaine (song)

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"Elaine"
ABBA - The Winner Takes It All-Elaine.png
Single by ABBA
from the album Super Trouper (2001 reissue)
A-side "The Winner Takes It All"
ReleasedJuly 21, 1980
Genre Synth-pop [1]
Length3:44
Label Polar Music
Songwriter(s) Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s) Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
Audio
"Elaine" on YouTube

"Elaine" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was used as the B-side to the 1980 single "The Winner Takes It All". It was not included on any of their original albums but was later included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of Super Trouper.

Contents

Synopsis

The song is about a "devil-may-care path in pursuit of love". [2]

Composition

ABBA: Let the Music Speak describes "Elaine" as a "bold and brazen up-tempo number", adding that it has a "wealth of treated synth effects". The pace remains the same throughout the song, and the intro has a "melodic riff that is squeezed and contorted over a series of suspended chords". This is followed by a "whistlable refrain". [2] At the end of the second verse, the synths mimic the girls' voices. [3]

Analysis

The song has a degree of programmatic irony, as the "extrovert nature" of the refrain juxtaposes "Agnetha and Frida's decisive and cutting unison stabs". [2]

Critical reception

Abba - Uncensored on the Record says the song is "OK, in a rather frantic way", and adds that it "paled in comparison," in the author's opinion, to the song it was paired with in the single "The Winner Takes It All". [4]

References

  1. ↑ Stroude, Will (July 16, 2018). "The 10 best ABBA songs not to make the 'Mamma Mia!' films". Attitude . Retrieved December 8, 2024. Elaine" is a fast-paced frenetic synthy gem...even in their non-album tracks [like "Elaine"], ABBA showed a consistent commitment to pop excellence.
  2. 1 2 3 Tesch, Christopher Patrick; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. pp. 63–4. ISBN   9780646496764.{{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Tesch, Christopher Patrick; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 128. ISBN   9780646496764.{{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Tobler, John (2012-01-04). Abba - Uncensored on the Record. ISBN   9781908538239.
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