One from Frida

Despite the week being full of Agnetha news, of late I've been appreciating Frida more and more. She sang lead on some of ABBA's more experimental songs--such as "The Visitors (Crackin' Up)" and the aforementioned "Like an Angel Passing through My Room." She also sang lead on some of ABBA's best-loved classics, such as "Fernando," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," and the wonderfully campy Weimar-Republic-or-bust "Money, Money, Money," which she totally nails and completely takes the piss out of. (Forgive me, dear Frida, for my East End parlance.)

If people recall her at all in the U.S., other than as the "brunette from ABBA," it's from the heavy MTV rotation of her solo hit, "I Know There's Something Going On," featuring that trademark Phil Collins sound (before it became tiresome) and her sharp, slightly distorted vocals.

I have a good friend here in Pittsburgh who, instead, swears by her second post-ABBA solo LP, Shine, one I didn't even know existed until I stumbled across a cassette recording of it in a Washington, D.C., record (yes, record) shop sometime in the mid- to late-'80s. (It was never released in the U.S. but was apparently sold in Canada. Yet another reason to emigrate.)

Shine has its moments, but no, for me the best post-ABBA Frida solo album was her last (to date), Djupa Andetag (Deep Breaths), released in 1996. The album is sung entirely in Swedish, which seems like an odd move, but I happen to think she sounds her best on this album of any of her three post-ABBA recordings. Her vocals are less distorted, the production less bombastic. "Älska Mig Alltid" is a perfect example of the beauty and simplicity of the music, the songs, and her voice on this record.

Not everything is soft on this album. She performs a killer, bouncy duet with Marie Fredriksson of Roxette, "Alla Mina Bästa År," which I seem to feature on every other mixtape I make for friends. It's so joyous and uplifting, even though I get the sense that the Swedish lyrics may be slightly more melancholic than the music would lead you to believe.

Allegedly, Frida had plans to record another album after this one. But her daughter died in a car accident in 1998 and her husband from cancer in 1999, so plans were shelved. She's done some one-offs with Jon Lord, Swiss pop performer Dan Daniell, and Swedish guitarist Georg Wadenius, but apparently lives a quieter, less on-the-scene life in Switzerland. However, she has had a role in producing a series of live concerts, "Zermatt Unplugged," does charitable works, and shows up at ABBA functions, such as their induction into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Certainly if Agnetha can make another album, so can Frida. But I'm just happy she gave us this last, splendid, musical gift.

Tusen tack, Frida.