Abba music goes bossa

 Any good enough arranger can twist any tune into the rhythm of the bossa nova. This is just what has been happening hereabouts these past two years. Pinoys have gotten infected with the bossa fever and want to hear their music done the bossa way. Artists and producers from here and everywhere have only been too willing to oblige.

Take Sitti, who by the way, started the local trend and has already released three albums, or take the LA based BNB who early this year delighted music lovers with album Bossa Down Abbey Road, one of the best albums ever to feature the songs of The Beatles. The powerhouse group is back with another one titled Bossa Mia.

As those attuned with pop music news must have already surmised, Bossa Mia comes from Mamma Mia which was one of the biggest hits by ABBA. There was a time from the early ’70s to a decade later when Sweden’s leading export was a pop group named ABBA. For the first time a pop act from Scandinavia, a non-English speaking region, was topping the hit charts everywhere.

Hey, the hit lists of Billboard do not belong exclusively to the Americans or the Brits or the Aussies, etc., ABBA’s success seemed to say. If they have that indefinable but very necessary star quality and international appeal, then anybody from anywhere can make it big. In fact, ABBA’s conquest did open doors for many acts from other countries in the US and other countries.

ABBA was Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and their girlfriends Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog. They got the name ABBA from the first letters of their first names. Remarkably, they sold nearly 400 million records worldwide. The group ended its reign in 1982 when it decided to separate. Benny and Bjorn continued to write music while Anni-Frid and Agnetha went solo. But things were never the same as when they were together and the hits they created as ABBA remain popular to this day.

Bossa Down Abbey Road boasted of excellent quality production and Bossa Mia is no different. Once more with the competent team of Christian de Walden as producer and Ralf Stemman as producer and arranger, the BNB puts a new sparkle to the utterly charming infectious songs of ABBA. The result is thoroughly enjoyable. Included are The Winner Takes It All, Mama Mia, Fernando, Gimme Gimme, Chiquitita, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me Knowing You, One of Us, Waterloo, Super Trouper, Money Money Money, I Have a Dream, Take a Chance on Me and S.O.S.

Performing as BNB are Dennis “DJ” Clark, Brandy Jones, Bambi Jones, Rick Palombi and Warren Ham. Warren was with the famous group Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. He has toured and recorded with Cher, Toto, Kansas, Neil Diamond, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Olivia Newton-John and others. Rick, who is also an actor, has worked with Natalie Imbruglia, Neil Young, Amy Grant and Brian Wilson. He also wrote and produced for Meatloaf. DJ Clark is a songwriter, singer and vocal arranger. He started out with the family band, The Honey B’s, and was one of the performers in the acclaimed Motown Review.

Also a star of the Motown Review and part of The Honey B’s is bassist and singer Bambi Jones. She sang in the soundtrack of Chicken Run and toured and recorded with Enrique Iglesias, Luis Miguel, Michael Bolton, Macy Gray and others. Her sister Brandy is the percussionist of The Honey B’s. Brandy has worked with Evelyn “Champagne” King, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.J. Thomas and others. These guys all have successful individual careers in the music business but so enjoyed doing Bossa Down Abbey Road they eagerly got together again for Bossa Mia.

Have a Merry Bossa Christmas

In keeping with the spirit of the season but still in a sweet Latin mood is the album Have a Merry Bossa Christmas. The CD contains cover versions of Christmas favorites done the bossa way. There is nothing traditional about it but 2007 was a great year for the bossa and this should make the perfect capper to your memories.

Given a bossa spin for the album are Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, O Come All Ye Faithful, Silver Bells, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, Winter Wonderland, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Mary’s Boy Child, Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow, What Child is This? Away in a Manger, O Christmas Tree, Angels We Have Heard On High and even the operetta classic Toyland.