Rutger Gunnarsson

[Paul F.]

[quote name='JJTee' post='723226' date='Jan 24 2010, 07:58 PM']...
There was another bass player for ABBA - an English chap called Mike Watson. ...[/quote]
[url="http://www.littlemike.se/"]http://www.littlemike.se/[/url]

[JJTee]

Some insight into the ABBA sound

[Philwbass]

I know this is an old thread but a big thank you to all the participants.
I gathered everything I could find into one article on the bassists of Abba:

[url="http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/"]http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/[/url]

If you have anything to add to that please comment here or there


Phil

[Philwbass]

Oh...if anyone read the whole thing already I blew the coding on the links section so I have now fixed that! Enjoy!

[spongebob]

Very informative, many thanks - an enjoyable read!

I was jamming with some Abba this week. I think the songs are so omnipresent that it's easy to forget how amazing they are. I personally think they represent the best pop ever.

I really love 'The Name Of The Game' - there's so many fantastic chord changes in there, so clever. To mention the article - 'Summer Night City' as well -brilliant.

In fact, I can't think of such an unbroken run of great pop that incorporates so many styles.

Gives a good excuse to post this - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ90ZqH0PWI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ90ZqH0PWI[/url]

[4000]

I love ABBA so much. Always have; even when they were uncool I was proud to fly the flag. My first album was ABBA's Greatest Hits and they are one of my favourite bands of all time.

[Dom in Dorset]

I spent a happy evening playing along with ABBA a few months back, I already knew that many of their songs are more complex than most pop but the bass lines are always a couple of steps away from the obvious root based lines that I was coming up with on the fly.
I'm hoping that the local musical theatre group will do Mama Mia at some point , the bass job is mine even if I have to see to it that every other bass player in the South West has an unfortunate accident.
Favourite song - SOS

[scalpy]

[quote name='BobVbass' timestamp='1264683727' post='727508']
Absolutley forst class and inspired playing in Abba's tunes - I learnt many for a functions band I was in and was so surprised I hadn't noticed how great the lines were.

Other surprises - Kenny Loggins - Footloose - cracking bassline (sounds like a synth to me) but great laugh and (preparing to be shot) Alan Lancaster's stuff for early quo <bang> really great solid and unusual in places
[/quote]

Footloose- Nathan East.

Right, back on topic...!

[ratman]

Those bass parts are so much fun to play. It's a shame ABBA tunes aren't so popular with most function bands any more, I miss playing them. A lot.

[RhysP]

There have always been a few ABBA songs I've liked, but after watching the documentary on them on BBC4 the other week I bought myself a box set of all the albums and have been playing them for the last couple of days.

Great songs, fantastic arrangements, really inventive bass parts & those girls certainly could sing.

Absolutely perfect pop music that just makes you feel really good when you listen to it..

[Dingus]

Another Rutger fan here.

Everyone of a certain age grew up listening to ABBA, and everybody liked them , even if they wouldn't have admitted it at the time. The 1970's in Britain would have been completely different without ABBA and the simple joy they brought to our lives . We would probably have become a grim and dour Socialist state on the verge of bankruptcy , or something along those lines . Oh hang on a minute, we[i] were[/i] a grim and dour Socialist state on the verge of bankruptcy , I forgot!

Anyway, , the basslines on those ABBA records were perfection , as was just about everything else about them.

[wombatboter]

I play in an Abba-tribute band, love the basslines (somewhere between disco and rock)
Still weird that when you see this clip with the original bassplayer (Gunnarsson) he plays it like any bassplayer from any random coverband without the fire I remember...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO_uoOuQm1U

Edited March 24, 2014 by icastle
Link fixed.

[EMG456]

Me too (a fan, that is) and proud to say that I used to argue the case for them to all my narrower minded muso pals back in the day. I used to take some flack for it but now I feel strangely vindicated...

Gunnarsson also did stellar work on the Bjorn, Benny and Tim Rice musical Chess and I believe oversaw all the new recordings for the Mama Mia film as well as playing the bass of course.

If the mythical gig ever happens, hopefully Rutger will be there to enjoy it!

Cheers

Ed

Edited January 4, 2014 by EMG456

[Philwbass]

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1388769269' post='2325898']
Very informative, many thanks - an enjoyable read!

...
[/quote]

Thanks Spongebob, I have to say it was an article it was a lot of fun to research!

[Philwbass]

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1388769653' post='2325903']
I love ABBA so much. Always have; even when they were uncool I was proud to fly the flag. My first album was ABBA's Greatest Hits and they are one of my favourite bands of all time.
[/quote]

I never bought any of their music until recently. It was so omnipresent when i was growing up I never felt the need. Starting listening again recently and realised how much I loved it.

[Philwbass]

RhysP: Yes, the documentary piqued my interest. Normally I dislike those talking heads-type things but this one led me straight to the music. Only then did I think of writing the article. The singers were both absolutely top class it's true.
Stuffed: yes, hard to remember just how grey life was sometimes in the 70s in the UK. Such great songwriting and I'm just learning now that the studio musicians had big contributions to the music...they were very much a band.
Wormbatboter: I agree, din't know of that video. Maybe it's because Voulez Vous isn't one of his own basslines. And Ola Brukert isn't there. Thanks for the video.
This one of Rutger's lines though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmU4rM7uxiU
played by the same band - pity the singers aren't a pass on the original. Rutger sounds more spirited here though.
Good one Ed, I think I should have mentioned Chess and Mamma Mia in the article maybe...I heard the same

Edited March 24, 2014 by icastle
Link fixed.

[Philwbass]

I've had some interesting discussions since writing the article. Interestingly I discovered that it seems ABBA's key studio musicians were not given written music and mostly created their own parts. I've rewritten key sections and added another photo. Ed I have made sure I added the musicals to Rutgers bio too.

[url="http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/"]http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/[/url]

[lowdown]

[quote name='Philwbass' timestamp='1388750841' post='2325523']
I gathered everything I could find into one article on the bassists of Abba:
[url="http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/"]http://philwbass.com...ssists-of-abba/[/url]
Phil
[/quote]

Thanks for that - A very good read.

I have done a couple of ABBA theatre production shows over the years,
and the tunes are great fun to play.

[EMG456]

[quote name='Philwbass' timestamp='1388951707' post='2328091']
I've had some interesting discussions since writing the article. Interestingly I discovered that it seems ABBA's key studio musicians were not given written music and mostly created their own parts. I've rewritten key sections and added another photo. Ed I have made sure I added the musicals to Rutgers bio too.

[url="http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/"]http://philwbass.com/2014/01/02/the-bassists-of-abba/[/url]
[/quote]

Excellent piece Phil - I'm liking the look of that Hagstrom bass too!

I always imagined from Rutger's work that he was one of these players who just sits down and plays. Maybe a chord chart and a few runs through trying different ideas out and then go! He had the ability, musicality and also good taste that let his employers more or less just trust him to get it right. Something like another long standing bass hero of mine - the late great Dee Murray whose work with Elton seems to suggest a similar approach.

Cheers

Ed

[Philwbass]

Very happy today! I got a couple of emails from Mike Watson who played on some of the original recordings.
He confirmed there was no sheet music for the Abba sessions except for the string section.
He did tell me something I haven't heard before - that he played the bass on 'Gimme, gimme, gimme, a man after midnight!'
This track had always made me wonder as it didn't sound like Rutger but also not particularly like Mike. Mike even dropped in some popped notes on this one.

Mike also confirmed that he recorded the tracks with his 1966 Jazz bass with Schecter pickups. Better get updating my article.

Oh, also Mike confirmed that Rutger played the bass on Fernando contrary to what I wrote.