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"I Let the Music Speak" is a song by ABBA, featured as the first track to side two of their 1981 album The Visitors. It is the fifth-longest ABBA track, after "Eagle", "The Day Before You Came", "The Visitors", and "Chiquitita".

Synopsis

Billboard said the song "is the singer's personal acknowledgement of the wondrous transcendental power and sweep of music". Abba - Uncensored on the Record says the song "suggest that after all the good times and bad times, music will never let you down".

Composition

The song opens with a "rolling and wishful piano figure", and includes a "warm synth string ensemble", focusing on the alto and tenor sections. The woodwind filigree is courtesy of flautist Jan Kling. The song also has an acoustic guitar starting in the second verse, which blend with Benny's grand piano, which is the "leading voice in the rousing musings of the chorus". The melodic design is quite angular - following the recitative medium. Frida's main vocals are assisted by Agnetha's "pouncing falsetto grabs" prior to the chorus.

Critical reception

Abba - Uncensored on the Record notes the song has a "theatrical presentation" and doesn't sound like a pop song. The song was listed among 4 others as one of the "best cuts" of the album The Visitors. Managing Information, Volume 7, Issues 6-10 explains "Songs such as I Let the Music Speak', and the album's title-track were a major break from their traditional style." ABBA:Let the music speak describes the song as a "thespian ear-grabber" and "a rich tapestry of rhythmic contemplation, deftly easing from waltz to march time and back again".

Legacy

Benny and Bjorn explained that "I Let the Music Speak" was an early example of their foray into musicals: "Songs like "Thank You for the Music" or "I Let the Music Speak" had a theatrical quality. You could see "Chess" as a development from what we did with Abba".

I Let The Music Speak has lent its name to various media, including a 12-song album tribute to the songs of Benny and Bjorn by Anne Sofie von Otter, and also a book about ABBA entitled ABBA: Let The Music Speak.

The opening line "I'm hearing images, I'm seeing songs, no poet has ever painted" was included as the quote at the beginning of the chapter entitled "'I let the music speak': cross domain application for a cognitive model of musical learning'".

Notable covers include:

• "Is 't zo bedoeld", Dutch version by Bonnie & José on their album Herinnering (1985)
• "I Let the Music Speak" by Anne Sofie von Otter on her album of the same name (2006)
• Instrumental version included in the movie Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

References

1. Ewing, Tom (18 May 2012). "ABBA: The Visitors [Deluxe Edition] Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 December 2024. They had a long dalliance with musical theatre-- the pomp-pop fantasia "I Let the Music Speak" is their last and most bloated attempt.
2. Tesch, Christopher Patrick; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. pp. 79–80. ISBN 9780646496764. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1982-02-13). "Billboard". {{cite journal}}: |last1= has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. ^ Tobler, John (2012-01-04). Abba - Uncensored on the Record. ISBN 9781908538239.
5. Tesch, Christopher Patrick; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 80. ISBN 9780646496764. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1981-12-12). "Billboard". {{cite journal}}: |last1= has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
7. "Managing Information". 2000. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
8. Tesch, Christopher Patrick; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 79. ISBN 9780646496764. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. "Benny and Björn talk influences". Archived from the original on January 6, 2010.
10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc (2006-09-30). "Billboard". {{cite journal}}: |last1= has generic name (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. Tesch, Christopher Patrick; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. ISBN 9780646496764. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
12. Rebuschat, Patrick; Williams, John (2011-01-01). Statistical Learning and Language Acquisition. ISBN 9781934078242.

• 1981 songs
• ABBA songs
• Songs about music
• Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus