Jim Colyer

Love this group!

Polar Music International AB has announced the Christmas, 2005 release of ABBA: The Complete Studio Recordings. This box set will contain 9 CDs & 2 DVDs with a booklet of color photos. A second booklet will contain lyrics. The first 8 CDs will be ABBA's studio albums with B-sides and Swedish, German, Spanish & French versions. The 9th CD will consist of rarities. The DVDs will feature all of ABBA's video clips, a documentary history of the group and an unreleased concert. This is the ultimate ABBA collection.

Universal is putting together an ABBA Box Set for 2005. Here is the 1994 Box Set. My! How the decades roll by!

The thing about Rod Stewart, when you hear him you know who it is. So important to a singer if he is going to last. I have never been a buyer of Rod's records, but he somehow manages to come up with commercial sounding stuff. He has his classics like Maggie Mae & Tonight's The Night. All he has to do is keep the ball rolling. The American Songbook thing was a great idea. He is convincing on those old standards. No other rocker could pull it off. Rod Stewart has style and that recognizable "gravel" in his voice. That is why he hangs in. http://www.jimcolyer.com

I am not sure how much of Little Richard's persona is real and how much is an act, but he is telling the truth when he calls himself the "Architect of Rock & Roll." Richard was my first favorite singer, 1956-58, when I was 10, 11 & 12. I bought his records and liked him more than Elvis. Even today, to hear Little Richard cut loose is the most exciting thing in music. James Brown can not touch Little Richard.

I can only speak for myself. But I wrote 400 songs, and these are the artists who influenced me. http://www.jimcolyer.com/music/ 1 ABBA 2 The Beatles 3 Elvis Presley 4 Shania Twain 5 John Lennon 6 Little Richard 7 Agnetha Faltskog 8 Burton Cummings 9 Ricky Nelson 10 Credence Clearwater Revival 11 The Bee Gees 12 Chuck Berry 13 Jerry Lee Lewis 14 The Guess Who 15 Bob Seger 16 Del Shannon 17 Ace Of Base 18 The Eagles 19 Roxette 20 Donna Summer

I give 'em 6 months.

Go Spice Girls! I am ready for the 90s revival. I have had enough of the 80s revival.

Starting a record label is almost impossible unless you are rich. Even if you are rich, a record label is a good way to go broke. Mike Curb makes it here in Nashville because he has 50 million dollars and Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina & LeeAnn Rimes. I tired putting my songs on my own label for awhile, "Jim Colyer Records." It was a disaster. Now, I put newer stuff on my website in MP3. I do not try to sell. If I believe in a song, I record it. I am going to record an environmental song I wrote called Save The Planet and take it to Hard Rock Cafe which uses "Save The Planet" as its logo. I will ask the corporate office in Orlando, Florida if I can use "Hard Rock Cafe" as the label and sell CDs in their restaurants and shops. I think the song could go international. Listen to my stuff. If you like anything, maybe you can release it on your label. http://www.jimcolyer.com/music/

Steve Miller was okay in his day. The one song that sticks with me is "Jet Airliner." But I can not imagine who would pay hard earned money to see a Steve Miller concert.

Revenge of the Sith is the best of all the Star Wars movies.

CHESS went to Broadway in 1988. Its run was short and its reviews not very good. The Broadway cast recorded a soundtrack. Tim Rice still wrestles with the storyline, trying to improve it.

Here is Frida's album, Something's Going On. Phil Collins produced it. I have had reservations about this album because I feel like Phil Collins was overexposed in the 1980s. A Frida fan on an ABBA forum criticized me because I am obviously partial to Agnetha over Frida. So, here is Frida's first solo album after ABBA. I will say, "To Turn The Stone" is a fine song. Solo careers of Agnetha & Frida> http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=43

Elvis Presley is the father of modern music. The last 50 years sit on his shoulders. His influence can not be underestimated. http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=58

Agnetha went 17 years without an album. In 2004, she did My Colouring Book. Notice she spells "colouring" with a "u," the way the British do. ABBA put a "u" in "Trouper" in the Super Trouper album. Agnetha is 55 now, and my infatuation with her is history. I reserve my celebrity crushes for young women. It is Shania Twain now.

I felt compelled to show "Eyes Of A Woman," the other solo album Agnetha did in the 1980s. I agree, Agnetha Faltskog may be the worst... name... ever. She insisted on using her last name on the solo albums. Vanity, I guess. Frida from ABBA used her first name only. I had such a crush on Agnetha it is hard to describe. I had her pictures on my walls and watched her videos over and over. After my divorce, I settled for celebrity crushes over real women.

I got so deep into ABBA that when they broke up in 1982, I pursued their solo careers. I drifted away from American and British acts and eventually wound up in Stockholm, Sweden. I spent 6 weeks there experiencing Swedish culture and music. The 2 guys from ABBA, Benny & Bjorn, staged a Swedish musical in Sweden in the 1990s. It is about the first Swedish emigrants to come to the United States in the 1850s. It is a monumental work. I write about Kristina fran Duvemala at my site. Links are in the Articles/Opinions forum.

ABBA members, Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus, wrote and staged a Swedish musical in the 1990s. Kristina fran Duvemala is about the first Swedish emigrants to come to the United States in the 1850s. This is heavy stuff. Kristina is 4 hours long and in Swedish. It is Swedish folk music. Kristina was a hit in Stockholm from 1995 through 1999. Benny & Bjorn's dream now is to get a shorter English version to New York and Broadway. This is taking time and a lot of work. Kristina is based on 4 classic Swedish novels by author Vilhelm Moberg. They were made into films starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman. I write about Kristina fran Duvemala at my website. The Emigrants (Synopsis of Vilhelm Moberg novels) http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=56 The Emigrants (Swedish film) http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=33 The New Land (Swedish film) http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=34 Kristina fran Duvemala (Swedish musical) http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=32

I saw Revenge of the Sith last night. It was good, the best one since the original 1977 film. The story makes sense if you take the time to fit the pieces together. No question, the original characters are more likable (Harrison Ford as Han Solo, etc.), but Ewan McGregor rose up to do a strong Obi-Wan in Episode III. Hayden Christensen seemed sinister as he gradually sunk into Darth Vader. The Star Wars series is here to stay. People will watch it as long as movies are made.

Jerry Lee Lewis should be higher than 24. I remember seeing him on TV around 57 or 58. He was WAY ahead of his time. His blonde locks fell down around his shoulders as he pounded his piano. His hair was longer than The Beatles' hair in 64. I was probably 12 when I heard Great Balls Of Fire on the radio. It was like electricity went through me. Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On, Great Balls Of Fire and Breathless summed up the sex act. There was no place to go after that except to have kids. Rock and roll quieted down in 59. It settled into Doo Wop which was really a 40s revival with a rock and roll influence. Jerry Lee Lewis was there at the beginning with Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. http://www.jimcolyer.com

I looked over the 50 top influentials, and it's like "yes, no, yes, no, yes, no." I never did agree much with Rolling Stone Magazine. We agree on Elvis & The Beatles. From there, I either left them or they left me. I do not see Aretha Franklin being #9. Her only big record is Respect. It was written by Otis Redding. But by the mid-60s, women's lib had come along. and it sounded more authentic to hear a woman demanding respect. Men had gotten centuries of respect. Aretha may be the forerunner of female vocalism, the ranginess of moderns like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. She may be #9 because Rolling Stone Mag feels compelled to put a black woman in its top 10. I am okay with that but I would choose Donna Summer over Aretha. Donna Summer had a plethora of hits from 1975 to 1983 and has periodically returned. Rolling Stone no doubt has a problem with Donna being billed as the Queen of Disco. The music industry grew bent on labelling disco as a fad even though it produced anthems like I Will Survive and YMCA. Donna Summer had some great offerings: Love To Love You Baby, Last Dance, Bad Girls, Hot Stuff, She Works Hard For The Money. She remained true to the song. It has not been her goal to see how many octives she could slide up and down while tearing the song all out of shape. This is a problem with modern female vocalists. A friend in Nashville refers to it as vocal acrobatics. They do not sing. They yell, squeal and scream. Donna Summer may ultimately be a white man's black woman, but that is not why I put her above Aretha. I simply think she made better records. I did not even see ABBA on Rolling Stone's Top 50 which totally blows me away. And that Bob Marley is where he is, is unexplainable. All I know is that he wrote I Shot The Sheriff and did something about Red Wine. I have no clue whom he has influenced. I have followed music since rock & roll began and have written 400 songs of my own. Rolling Stone Magazine does not care about my opinions. It cares about its own opinions. A magazine is a corporation. They reflect everyone while reflecting no one. They are entitled to have their say as I am entitled to have mine and everyone else is entitled to have theirs in this great country we live in.

People like this song. It may be the futurism in the first verse: "I can travel the world, circle the globe, take a trip to Mars." It may be the production. It is hard to separate a song from its production. There have been hits simply because they "sounded good." Anyway, I am proud of this one. All Roads Lead To You http://jimcolyer.com/@tracks/3/lofi.mp3 ALL ROADS LEAD TO YOU I can travel the world, circle the globe Take a trip to Mars Wear myself out on a lost highway Reaching for the stars A million men may want me Baby, I'll be true I'll be there when you need me All Roads Lead To You Sometimes I feel like I've been down Every dead-end street I pick myself up, make a U-turn Get back on my feet if the lights are green and the skies are blue Honey, I'll get through I'll be there when you need me All Roads Lead To You If there's a way home, I'll find it Let your lovelight burn until then I'll make my way through this traffic To be in your arms again I can travel the world, circle the globe Take a trip to Mars Wear myself out on a lost highway Reaching for the stars A million men may want me Baby, I'll be true I'll be there when you need me All Roads Lead To You I'll be there when you need me All Roads Lead To You All Roads Lead To You c2005 Jim Colyer ASCAP http://www.jimcolyer.com/music/

It is all about what you like when you are growing up.

Mine too!

1 JIM COLYER - Save The Planet 2 ABBA - Dancing Queen 3 THE BEATLES - I Wanna Hold Your Hand 4 ELVIS PRESLEY - Hound Dog 5 SHANIA TWAIN - Any Man Of Mine 6 ABBA - Fernando 7 THE BEATLES - Revolution 8 LITTLE RICHARD - Good Golly Miss Molly 9 JERRY LEE LEWIS - Great Balls Of Fire 10 GERRY RAFFERTY - Baker Street