I Stand Alone

I no longer have this on vinyl. In the back of my mind, it always felt like something was missing and I am pleased to add ‘I stand alone’ to my CD collection.‘I stand alone’ (1987) was produced by Peter Cetera of Chicago. His duet with Agnetha (I wasn’t the one) appeared on his 1997 compilation. Peter’s distinctive voice can be heard backing ‘Little white secrets’ and others.This album doesn’t quite reach the same heights as ‘Wrap your arms around me’ (1983) or ‘Eyes of a woman’ (1985), but it has gained added power if anyone wants to revisit 1987 or relive their youth. Following on from The ABBA years, all three long-players were recorded in English.‘I stand alone’ is more about the overall effect than the individual songs, although ‘The last time’ was released as a single. ‘Love in a world gone mad’ was recorded by Bucks Fizz on their 1986 album ‘The writing on the wall’. The weakest composition is probably the slow song ‘Are you going to throw it all away’, but even that is enhanced by the singer’s beautiful voice.It is well worth owning Agnetha’s trio of solo albums from the eighties (and two by Frida).

One of my favourite albums from Agnetha! It brings back good memories of 1987/88 when the album was released.Agnetha flew to the U.S. to record her vocals for this (I think I'm right in thinking 'the last time' she flew anywhere until her 60th birthday in 2010 due to her fear of flying ).The album has an overall cohesive sound to it due to the production from Peter Cetera (from Chicago) and co-producer Bruce Gaitsch. The stand-out tracks for me are 'Little White Secrets', 'Let It Shine', the title track; 'I Stand Alone' and the fantastic first single 'The Last Time'. This last one should have been a massive hit in the UK in my opinion!There is not a 'duff' track here unlike maybe some of her earlier albums and Agnetha has obviously spent a long time choosing the songs for their lyrics as well as their melodies. A slight shame that there are no self-penned songs here as on previous collections but Agnetha being the perfectionist she is probably thought they weren't good enough!Altogether a marvellous album that I would highly recommend and I can't wait until her new material that she is currently working on comes out!

Agnetha is of course best known for her career with chart-conquering Swedish pop group ABBA, but her solo career is less well-known. However that does not mean it is any less exciting."I Stand Alone" is a bright and breezy 1980s offering. Recorded in California, the West Coast influence is obvious, and a striking departure from the 'Euro-pop' more associated with Ms. Faltskog. Her warm and inviting vocals shimmer on a great mixture of tracks including the beautiful balladry of "Maybe it Was Magic," and more uptempo numbers such as "Love in a World Gone Mad" and "Little White Secrets"If in your entire life you only buy one solo Agnetha album, it has to be this one!

Although at the time of listening, I cannot name a particular track that stands out, all are well crafted and produced, and some may say of its time. However, I am listening to it in 2016, and still enjoyed listening to Agnetha's beautiful voice.

A lovely photo on CD . Beautiful.The songs are a mixture of really good and OK

Every song beautifully rendered with such feeling. Loved them all.

This CD shows more maturity than they very first solo CDs.Agnethas voice is what really sells it and the songs could have done with showing that off a bit.I think the songs were written by someone who's firs tlanguage is not English as some of the lyrics are a bit clunky and can be distracting becuase they are such a cliche.But overall, an easy listening CD that you will return to if you like Agnetha's voice

A great compilation but in my opinion not as good as others. I have some more recent CDs such as My Colouring Book and A and for me the emotion and quality of performance of these is better. I will play this but not as much as the others.