Story of A Heart Review
ba-da-bing | Dearborn, MI USA | 12/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A fabulous CD. Benny Andersson has proven himself to be one of the most eclectic and inventive composers of the modern age. He has combined sounds of classical, Swedish folk and modern romance to make a memorable collage of musical sound. This is not an album for those seeking to listen to a single style or sound of music, but rather for those wishing to be swept up by variation and invention and pure enjoyment."
An interesting solo effort from one of the "B's"
William Merrill | San Antonio, TX United States | 03/09/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Here's how Story of a Heart breaks down. There are five vocal songs, one very ABBA-like (the title track), the other four more like showtunes. The rest of the album is nine instrumental numbers, which range from light Celtic-sounding tunes, to oom-pah-pah teutonic waltzes, to Rota-esque romps. The four showtunes didn't do much for me, but the song "Story of a Heart" is a gem, with Helen Sjoholm singing very much in the Frida & Agnetha mode, with harmonies that are strikingly similar to ABBA's. I think the song would have been a radio hit for sure if it had come out in the '70s. As for the instrumentals, they are all gentle and pleasant to hear, but a couple of them are keepers for me. "Bed of Roses" is a sweet (Scott) Joplin-meets-Newman (Randy) piano and violin theme, and "Song from the Second Floor" is a beautifully melancholy piano piece. I generally enjoyed the entire album, but I would probably have gone with only three stars if not for two things: (1) the great title cut all by itself is almost worth hearing the album, and (2) Frids and Agnetha have had steady solo careers since leaving ABBA, but we haven't heard from Benny as often. So this is a welcome return from him."