Money Money Money was originally released on the on the first of November 1976. Abba were huge at the time and, as I remember, it was unusual to have a Top of the Pops without them featuring. Along with the likes of Dana, Showaddywaddy, the Manhattans and Bonnie Tyler, there wasn’t much for a young kid who was wondering what had happened to all the guitar bands.
However, just a few weeks later Anarchy in the UK was released and things were never quite the same again! I remember the chart show being quite strange after that with the mixture of middle of the road easy listening and angst-ridden youths screaming at everyone. I wasn’t all that interested in Abba back then, but this particular song got my attention.
Looking back, I believe I was drawn to songs in minor keys. I wasn’t aware of it then, except I think I noticed there seemed to be something a bit different about certain songs. That discordant little descending note in the chorus on the guitar stood out.
So, I thought it would be nice to pay homage to this great song by giving it the acoustic treatment. I also thought a more laid back, jazzy feel seemed to fit.
Another interesting thing, that I didn’t know at the time, was that Abba, like the Beatles, Madness and Queen seemed to have a liking for unusual chords/chord structures and song form. They often went far beyond the usual 3 or 4 chords. This became apparent to me when I started to try playing their songs in my early guitar days and discovered just how complicated they were compared to most pop music.
Hope you enjoy this version.