Agnetha Fältskog
Elva Kvinnor i ett Hus

ABBAmania is like malaria: once contracted, the disease appears at alternate times, following periods of dormancy (which make you think you've freed yourself from their pop hits) with intense flare-ups. The internet certainly doesn’t help with recovery; rather, it offers very versatile tools to delve deeper into the discussion and uncover ever more hidden aspects of the story of the Swedish band.

It happens, for example, that you discover that the true star of the group at its debut was Agnetha Fältskog, the blonde Agnetha Abba Queen (as she is defined in the cult "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"), who had already since the late sixties boasted a pop star career in her homeland, a sort of strange mix between Orietta Berti and Patty Pravo with a hippy twist. Listening to her pre-Abba songs, all strictly in Swedish (with occasional concessions to German), one gets the idea of Agnetha as a songwriter (yes, she wrote her own songs) dedicated to the classic "schlager" style, that is, sugary melodies with strong ties to Nordic folk. However, continuing to search, one also encounters a handful of deeply different tracks, distinguished by a decidedly mature pop, richer arrangements, and ever-changing, savvy atmospheres, and one finally notices that these tracks all belong to "Elva Kvinnor i ett Hus" (those in the know say it means "Eleven Women in One House"), an album released by Fältskog in 1975.

It would be easy to say that the reasons for such a gap are to be found in her experience with ABBA, while the history behind the LP in question ends up making the work even more precious. In 1974, after the boom of the single "Waterloo" and the flop of a couple of other singles, most people had convinced themselves that Abba was just another "one-hit wonder"; in England, some managers decided to ride the wave, trying to launch Agnetha as a soloist. This resulted in the single "Golliwog", which immediately fell into oblivion. At the same time, Abba reemerged, and with "SOS" and "Mamma Mia", they proved they were back to become an authentic phenomenon. For her part, Agnetha must have understood that the album she had in mind would be her last totally personal contribution for a while, deciding to put all her soul and talent into the project.

The result is not one destined to go down in history as a masterpiece or a milestone, but it is a true gem of adult pop, splendid easy listening like no longer exists, well composed, well interpreted vocally, and well supported instrumentally. If you avoid listening to the Swedish version of "SOS" with which the album, by record company imposition, opens, you enter a world different not only from the early Fältskog, but also from Abba's. "En Egen Trädgård" envelops us with generous strings and syncopated piano chords, letting us savor the beautiful singing melody (the only flaw: the whole "bridge" is entirely vocalized with "la-la-la"). There is then space for the more intimate compositions like "Tack för en Underbar, Vanlig Dag", simple three-quarter folk, the track most tied to the singer's "schlager" past, "Öch Han Väntar På Mej", delightful in its softly laid-back vocals on classical guitar and certain "trills" with a nice seventies taste, and the concluding "Visa I Åttonde Månaden", dedicated to her second pregnancy, hopeful and reserved in its simplicity. The cheekier and sexier Agnetha is found in the playful "Doktorn", a fun tango that would not have been out of place in the hands of the best Julio Iglesias, and in the astonishing "Gulleplutt" (that is, the Swedish version of that "Golliwog" mentioned earlier), a lively track where Agnetha's voice takes on deliberately childlike traits and the music is filled with reminiscences ranging from the less serious McCartney to the early Kate Bush. The experience with Abba leaves its mark in the single "Dom Har Glömt", a pop song admittedly quite predictable, and in the engaging "Var Det Med Dej", a track with a solid structure, determined also in its robust interpretation (but never coarse) and characterized by vaguely hippy-flavored choruses in the airy refrain. And finally, there is room for two very beautiful ballads; the first is "Mina Ögon", already appeared in "Ring Ring", Abba's debut album, with English lyrics and the title "Disillusion" (an almost unique case of a band song not signed by the Anderson-Ulvaeus duo). It's a classic ballad dedicated to lost love, sentimental enough, with verses in major key and a chorus in minor, which at times also assumes a certain epic quality (thanks in part to Agnetha's magnificent voice). The second, "Är Du Som Han", is the true jewel of the entire collection, with its lively piano chords that seem to come directly from Carol King, the beautiful vocal melody and the development of the track anything but predictable, one might almost say complex, if it weren’t for the fact that it is all rendered with a naturalness and sobriety worthy of the best music.

"Elva Kvinnor..." was not, and does not remain, a work destined for a commercial "big bang", but it is a work of truly exquisite sincerity and delicacy, that benefits in the long run, so much so that at the time, in Sweden, its climb up the charts stopped at eleventh place, but remained there for no less than fifty-three weeks. You know, sales figures don't say much about the quality of the offering, but with a bit of curiosity (and maybe a visit to this website) you can also afford an absolutely satisfying musical experience.