Bad Copy

Here we are again. This time around I will be talking about the song “Take A Chance On Me” so here you go…

The Original:

The original version of this song was released by the Swedish pop group ABBA.

ABBA formed in 1972 in Stockholm. The original members of the band were Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They split up in 1982 and got back together in 2016 with the same lineup. As of 2024, the band has either broken up or are on hiatus. I mean, the members are in their late 70s and early 80s so they are probably slowing down their musical careers. The name ABBA is actually the name of a fish cannery in Sweden (Abba Seafood). The band has stated that the name came from this factory but is also an acronym of each of the members’ first names.

The band’s first release was the 1973 LP Ring Ring.

Over the course of their career, ABBA has released nine full length albums, two live albums, 13 compilation albums, and four box sets. Seriously? They’ve released more compilation albums than studio albums? Milking that cow aren’t we boys and girls? They have been nominated for several Grammy awards but have never won. Most of their albums have gone multi platinum. Their most recent release was the 2021 LP Voyage.

In addition to the song we are talking about today, other highly successful ABBA songs include “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia,” “The Winner Takes All,” “Gimme Gimme Gimme,” “Fernando,” and “SOS.”

The song “Take a Chance on Me” was originally released for the 1977 album ABBA: The Album. This album was released in December 1977 by Polar Records, Epic in the UK, and Atlantic in the US. The album was produced by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. It was recorded in Stockholm at Marcus, Metronome, and Glen and in Kungalv at Bohus. The song itself was recorded at Macus in August 1977. It was written by Benny and Bjorn. The B-side to the single, which was released in January 1978 was “I’m a Marionette.”

The song reached #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself reached #14 on the US Billboard 200 and #1 on the UK Albums chart.

The Cover:

The cover version of this song (well, the one I will be talking about) was recorded by British synth-pop duo Erasure.

Erasure got their start in 1985 in London, England. The band consists of singer Andy Bell and keyboardist Vince Clarke. Vince was one of the original members of Depeche Mode, leaving the band in 1981 following the release of their album Speak & Spell. He wrote nine of the eleven songs on that album. The band cites their influences as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Kraftwerk, Gloria Gaynor, and, interestingly enough… ABBA.

Some of their more successful songs include “A Little Respect,” “Sometimes,” “Love to Hate You,” “Chains of Love,” and “Stop!”

Their first studio release as Erasure was, Wonderland, released in May 1986.

Since their inception, the band has released 19 LPs (a lot more than ABBA if you are keeping count), 6 live albums, nine compilation albums, 14 EPs, and seven box sets.

Their most recent release was Day-Glo, released in August 2022.

Their version of “Take a Chance on Me” was recorded for a 1992 EP titled Abba-esque. It was released by Mute and produced by David Bascombe. It included four tracks (five if you count the iTunes bonus track) and is comprised strictly of ABBA covers (“Lay All Your Love On Me,” “SOS,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Voulez-Vous,” and “Gimme Gimme Gimme”).

The Verdict:

First off, I’m going to make a confession. The first time I heard this song was from the 1982 children’s album Chipmunk Rock by Alvin and the Chipmunks. Hey! Don’t judge! I was only ten years old!

I’m going to jump right into it and let you know that I prefer the original. I like the Erasure version. I felt like they make a solid attempt at showing respect to the original. Well, this the exception of the break that starts around the 2:30 mark. I am not crazy about it. I don’t know why. Something about it just bothers me.

The main reason I think I prefer the original is because I feel like the vocal harmonies in the ABBA version are just much stronger. The Erasure version is good but I think only having the two singers make it lack something.

That being said, I am a fan of Erasure. I have liked them ever since I first heard them in the ’80s. However, I am also actually a closet fan of ABBA. I remember my parents owned quite a few of their albums when I was growing up. Oh, I guess I’m out of that closet now. Shit. Okay fuck it, I’m a fan of ABBA. Suck it.

But yeah, I like the original more.

But that’s me. What do YOU think? Which version do you prefer?

So that’s it for this edition of Cover to Cover. Hopefully it won’t take me a year to do another one.