I subscribe to the notion that you can never go wrong when it comes to covering anything by ABBA. The power pop icons, the purveyors of sensational hooks, these Swedish exports have only been surpassed in their home country by….well, no one. Okay, okay, Ace of Bass came close and A-ha, well, they are Scandinavian, but they are Norwegian. Sweden’s Matilda Lindell, the lead singer in the tribute, ABBA The Concert, is releasing her own interpretation of the foursomes’ biggest hits. First on the list is the irresistible “Money, Money, Money”. She carries the ABBA torch with high regard. Agnetha Fältsko, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus should rest easy that Lindell has it covered.

WEBSITE: https://www.matildalindell.com/

Further cementing Lindell’s charming offering is the accompanying music video. It’s the perfect depicting of the song’s protagonist, a waitress, trying to nab herself a wealthy man. In the music video’s case, it’s an older man with some fancy dance moves. Visually, too, Lindell captures the voices the represent her backup singers – she doesn’t use the full instrumentation in “Money, Money, Money” and the acapella singers nail the bass rhythm and percussion naturally. Lindell worked with Daniel Greayer (who also edited the music video), Johanna Cervin, Mia Greayer, Sebastian Rilton and the voice of Linnéa Rilton. Terje Thoresen is the rich man in the video.

Lindell has that natural earthy tone in her voice that sort of curls around each lyric. She’s very real, and if you were literally trying to imagine her as a waitress, you could. Her tenor is relaxed, but reaches very beautifully into the octaves required to match Lyngstad’s original take (the song was originally recorded in 1976). I loved, loved the use of the acapella group to provide the backing voices. I think when you hear a cover song you want it to sound very near and dear to the original, and if it doesn’t you fight it along the way. That’s not the case in Lindell’s “Money, Money, Money”. The only thing missing is the piano/keyboard ching-ching-ching music bed. But, when she sings a man like that is hard to find, but I can’t get him off my mind, ain’t it sad, and if he happens to be free, I bet he wouldn’t fancy me, that’s too bad, so I must leave, I’ll have to go, to Las Vegas or Monaco, to win a fortune…

Lindell masters the pace and sensuality. She has a devilishly seductive plot brewing in her mind. Lindell’s delicious tone and demeanor breathes new life into the classic tune. Her voice lends me to believe that no matter what ABBA tune she covers, she’s going to treat it with the same respect it so lovingly deserves. Lindell, too, should venture into original music – I’d like to hear her voice in a self-penned or outside of the ABBA biodome to take a gander at how she sounds. I’m confident fans that love the ABBA original “Money, Money, Money” will be well-invested in Lindell’s version. She’s definitely on my radar.

Garth Thomas