ANNI-FRID LANGSTAD(FRIDA) - TO TURN THE STONE

TO TURN THE STONE

ANNI-FRID LANGSTAD(FRIDA)

SONGWRITERS: GIORGIO MORODER & PETE BELLOTTE

COUNTRY: NORWEGIAN-SWEDISH

ALBUM: SOMETHING’S GOING ON

LABEL: POLYDOR RECORDS

GENRE: POP

YEAR: 1982

 

        Princess Anni-Frid Reuss, Dowager Countess of Plauen(née Lyngstad; born 15 November 1945), better known by her nickname Frida, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the Swedish pop band ABBA.

       Born in Bjørkåsen (Ballangen), Norway, to a Norwegian mother and a German father, she grew up in Torshälla, Sweden, and started her first solo career there, as a jazz singer in 1967, through a talent competition called New Faces. She won the competition with her song, "En ledig dag", leading to a television appearance on Hylands Hörna on Dagen H; as a result, she was signed by EMI, and in turn was signed by Stig Anderson's record label, Polar Music, after years of releasing several singles and an album, Frida under the earlier record label. Although she had moderate success in Sweden, as she was a contestant for Melodifestivalen 1969 with her song "Härlig är vår jord", she did not reach international fame until she joined ABBA, which has sold over 150 million albums and singles worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music acts in history. After the break-up of ABBA, she continued an international solo singing career with mixed success, releasing the albums Something's Going On(1982) and Shine(1984); the latter being her last international album. In 1996, Lyngstad recorded her final album in Swedish, Djupa andetag(Deep Breaths), released by Anderson Records, before retiring from music.

     In April 1964, Anni-Frid married Ragnar Fredriksson, with whom she had two children; they divorced in 1970. The following year she was engaged to Swedish pianista Benny Andersson, also a member of ABBA, until they married in 1978. The couple separated in 1980 and divorced in 1981. In 1992, Lyngstad married Prince Heinrich Ruzzo of Reuss, Count of Plauen, who was a prince of the former sovereign House of Reuss; since then she has held the titles of Princess Reuss and Countess of Plauen with the style of Her Serene Highness. Heinrich Ruzzo died of lymphoma in October 1999, leaving her the titles of Dowager Princess and Countess. She currently resides in Genolier VD, Switzerland, sharing a home with her British partner, Henry Smith, 5th Viscount Hambleden.

            Something's Going On is the third solo album by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad(Frida), one of the founding members of the Swedish pop group ABBA, and her first album recorded entirely in English. Her previous two albums had been recorded in Swedish. Recorded in early 1982 during the final months of ABBA, the album was released in September of that same year.

          Produced by Phil Collins with Hugh Padgham, the album featured a harder-edged and more rock-oriented sound than the music she had previously recorded with ABBA, and it included Collins' distinctive gated reverb drum sound. The album was met with a positive reception by both critics and the public, with sales in excess of 1.5 million copies, making it the best-selling solo record of any of the ABBA members to date. The album has since been re-released several times, including a 2005 remastered version that contained several bonus tracks. Promotional videos from the album are included in the DVD documentary entitled Frida – The DVD.

The moon retreats behind a silver cloud

As darkness throws its cloak towards the earth

 

And mystery replaces what we thought we knew

To turn the stone

to turn the stone.

The one dimension only shows one side

But do we see the same through different eyes?

As you and I peer into life's kaleidoscope

To turn the stone

to turn the stone.

 

Eternal sands of time shiff endlessly

Behind a veil of motionless disguise

 

An eyelid flash is all it really seems to need

To turn the stone

to turn the stone –

To turn the stone

to turn the stone.